Turning a scanned document into a Word document is fairly easy, and this process will show you turn a scan into editable text. For the purposes of this step-by-step procedure, I used Microsoft Word 2003 running on Windows XP Professional SP2, a Lexmark scanner and Adobe Photoshop. However, any scanner or version of Word should be fine, and Paint can be substituted in lieu of a more professional photo or image editor.
Instructions Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Tools" and select "Microsoft Office Document Imaging."
4. Click "File," then "Open." Open the folder where you saved your scanned image, click on the file, then click "Open."
5. Go to "Tools" then click on "Send text to Word." It will prompt a message asking where to save the file (click on "Browse" to choose where you want it to go), then click "OK." At this point, it may prompt a warning that it will take a while to process. The overall process shouldn't take more than a minute or two. Additionally, it may prompt to install the feature that allows the Word conversion to work. In this instance, you may need a copy of your Microsoft Office Installation CD, as it may prompt for it as well.
6. Look for your file to open in Word automatically once the process is complete. If it does not, go to the folder where you saved it, and open the file from there. The document will not be the exact format of the original document, but it will recognize all the words and lay them out for you automatically.
