Use Optical Reader to Detect and Translate Texts and QR codes Using the Camera on Samsung Galaxy S4

3 Parts:

How to use the Optical Reader to Detect Texts on S4

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This is part of the VisiHow series on how to use the Samsung Galaxy S4. You can visit the main VisiHow on how to USE SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 for a full list of S4 VisiHow Articles

Samsung Galaxy S4 can recognize text and extract information from pictures and QR codes using the camera. Even texts in different languages can be detected and translated into the language of your choice. These functions are made possible through Samsung Galaxy S4 optical reader. When set to auto mode, optical reader detects and translates texts in real time.

1. 1
   Press the "Menu" button on the lower-middle portion of your phone's front screen

   .

   You will be taken to the home menu.

   

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2. 2
   When you are on the home menu, tap on the "Apps" icon

   

   on the lower-right part of your touchscreen to view the application pages

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3. 3
   You will now be taken to the application pages

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   Scroll your way through until you find the application icon for "Optical Reader". Tap on it to open the application.

   

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4. 4
   Optical Reader will now open

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   The "Aim pointer" window will appear, telling you what information can be detected using the app. Tap on the check box beside the "Do Not Show Again" so the information won't show up the next time you open the application.

   

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5. 5
   Tap on the pointer in the middle of your phone to start using the reader

   .

   

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6. 6
   Optical Reader will then scan the data using your phone's camera

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   Once it detects the texts, it will give you options based on the detected text. In this example, the text detected is a link so Optical Reader gives an option to open the link using your browser, add the link to your favorites, or share the link to others.

   

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7. 7
   Tap on the Globe/Internet icon

   

   to open the link using your mobile browser app

   .

   Note: Default language for detection of text is set to English. You can change this by tapping on the "Settings" icon

   

   and selecting the language that you want to detect and the language to translate to.

   

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8. 8
   Tap the "Favorites" icon

   

   to add the links to your bookmarks

   .

   

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9. 9
   Tap the "Share" icon

   

   to share the link with others

   .

   

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10. 10
    If you want to switch from reader to capture mode, tap on the "Camera" icon

    

    on the upper-right part of the application's page

    .

    

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11. 11
    Tap on the Capture/Shutter icon

    

    to capture the image

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12. 12
    After capturing, you will be taken to the capture result page, where all the texts that are detected will be underlined

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    Certain icons may appear before an underlined text. It means that the application has detected the text as a link

    

    or a number

    

    . Tap on the underlined text to view more information on it.

    

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13. 13
    After tapping on a text, you can edit it to correct some errors in detection, if the detected text does not actually match the actual text

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    Tap on the "Edit" icon

    

    to do this.

    

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14. 14
    Tap "Done" once you've completed your desired actions

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15. 15
    You can add the recognized text as a contact to your Samsung Galaxy S4 by tapping on the "Add Contact" button, located on the upper part of the application screen

    .

    

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16. 16
    Tap a recognized text and tap on the "Translate" icon to translate it into any of the available languages on the application

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17. 17
    You will now be shown the translation for your chosen text

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    From this example, the English word "support" has been translated into the Spanish word "apoyo". Tap on the "Speak" icon

    

    to hear how both words are pronounced, or tap on the "Share" icon

    

    to share the translation with others. When you are done, tap on the "Back" button

    

    on the lower-right part of the phone.

    

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18. 18
    Tap on the "Detect Text"

    

    icon to recognize a portion of the image

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19. 19
    You can drag the points on the blue box to choose the specific text the you want to detect

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    Tap "Done" to proceed.

    

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20. 20
    You have just learned how to use Optical Reader to recognize text and translate them into other languages using your Samsung Galaxy S4

    .

    

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Optical reader closes as soon as I open it?

When I open OR, a window appears saying "Additional files will be downloaded so that you can use Optical Reader" When I press "OK" the app shuts down. I've never been able to use this app.

One way to refresh this application, is to go into Application Manager and clear all cache, stop process and clear data. You can perform this by doing the following:

1. Go to Settings.

2. Go to Application Manager.

3. Find Optical Reader.

4. Clear cache, data and stop the processes.

Revisit the app for use after performing these steps.

Where do I go on my Samsung Galaxy 4 to see photo translator, such as menus in Spanish to English?

What app do I use on Samsung Galaxy 4 mini to translate text from Spanish to English?

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