Chapter 5. Reading, Transcribing, and Annotating
About Reading in Fichero
Fichero uses a single reading workspace that adapts to the selected document. For page images and scans you work with the page image itself, zoom and magnifier tools, and the extracted text alongside. For PDFs, the app uses a page-aware PDF reader. For folders and multi-page material, the Reader and inspector stay linked to the current page.
The main rule is simple: the Reader’s Page tab shows the image or PDF, while the inspector’s Source section shows what Fichero extracted from it.
Renditions
A page can carry alternative images — for example, the archival original, an enhanced version, and a background-removed version. Flip between a page’s renditions with the ↑ and ↓ arrow keys, or with the chevrons in the preview.
Reading Extracted Text
The inspector’s Source section is the quickest place to read what Fichero extracted from a document: transcriptions, extracted text, and page content. Its Outline segment gives structured navigation — chapters, sections, and pages, and what is on each — when an outline is available.
Annotations
Annotations are markings tied to a page, a text span, or a highlighted region. They live in the Reader’s Notes tab (in the Marks sub-mode) and in the inspector’s Notes section.
You can:
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add a quick note annotation from the add barsearch existing annotations by text, tags, or claimclick an annotation to reveal its source page or regionedit annotation textcopy cropped content from region- or span-based annotationspromote an annotation into a claimdelete an annotationIf there are no annotations yet, the empty state points you toward adding a note or highlighting a region on the page.
Notes
Notes are separate from annotations: they are free-text notes linked to the document as a whole. You can add a note inline, edit it in place, delete it, and review saved notes with their metadata.
The practical distinction: use an annotation when the note belongs to a page, span, or region — it can be revealed back on the page and promoted into a claim. Use a note when the note belongs to the document as a whole.
Editing Pages
Editing tools live on the Reader canvas toolbar. Edits are non-destructive image and page operations, so you can adjust a scan — straighten, enhance, clean up — without altering the original. Editing is available for images, PDFs, and page documents; reading and editing stay in one workflow on the same canvas.
Bounding Boxes
When Fichero transcribes a page, it can record bounding boxes — the pixel regions on the page image where each word or line sits. Boxes are what tie extracted text back to the exact spot on the scan: select a word in the transcript and Fichero can show you where it is on the page. Boxes are anchored to a specific rendition of the page; if a page image cannot be matched to a recorded frame, Fichero shows no boxes rather than boxes in the wrong place.