How to Add Text to Scanned Documents in Word

Annotating the Scanned Document
1.
Open a new document or create a blank page in an existing document. Using the 'Insert > Picture > From File' command, insert the scanned document.
2.
Right-click on the scanned document or select the 'Format' tab on the Word 2007 ribbon. Select 'Wrap Text' from Other commands and choose 'Behind Text' as the wrapping style. Repeating the right-click command, select 'Arrange,' and choose the 'Send to Back' command. For the position of the scanned document, select 'Format Picture' or 'Format Object.' From the Position command, set the scanned document to Horizontal: 'Center of Page' and Vertical: 'Center of Page.'
3.
Select 'Text Box' from the Insert menu, and draw or place its approximate location over the scanned document. Set the Text Wrap to 'Behind Text,' as described in Step 2. If the Text Box 'bounces' all over the place, selecting it and setting the Text Wrap as 'Behind Text' will end any positional conflict.
4.
Add and format the text. If the text box was selected and then cleared, you can select the box, right-click and choose 'Add Text' from the Context menu that pops up.
5.
Use Shapes rather than the Text Box option from the Insert command. This allows the annotated text to be displayed within arrows, stars, call-out boxes or other available shapes. Text is added using the right mouse button and choosing 'Add Text.'
Adding Text As If It Were Part of the Document
6. Repeat steps 1 and 2 from Section 1 and position the scanned document on the page. Using the instructions from Step 3, Section 1, create a Text Box, and using the mouse with the left button held down, draw it to the approximate width of the scanned text margins.
7.
Match the font, size and color if the font face is known (in most cases, Arial or Times New Roman). Then enter the desired text. When completed, right-click and choose 'Format Object.' From the Color tab, change the background and outline to 'No Fill' and 'No Outline.'
8. Adjust the size of the Text Box as needed to match the margins of the scanned document. It is also possible to use 'Format Object,' select the 'Text Box' tab and change the internal margins to '0' for left, right, top and bottom. Then, using the screen rulers (or turning them on with 'View > Rulers'), match the width of the box to the margins with the more accurate guide.
Using OCR to Edit the Scanned Document
9.
Start Microsoft Document Imaging or other OCR program. Open the scanned document in the program.
10. Select the 'Send Text to Word' button. The OCR software 'reads' the scanned document, recognizes letters and exports the results as a plain text document (TXT) into Word. Graphics, if needed, are exported separately from JPG or PNG files.
11.
Open the document in Word---usually in an HTML format---now containing editable text and characters. Images can also appear if in the original document. Graphic images may not display where shown in the scanned document and will have to be adjusted manually.