Microsoft Lens: 'Rebranded' Office 365 App Can Now 'Read' Your Handwriting!

Joen Coronel, Tech Times 04 February 2021, 09:02 am

Microsoft's previous Office 365 app, the Office Lens is now rebranded into Microsoft Lens. Not only the name of the app is changed, but Microsoft also upgraded its features, which just got better with the newest addition of 'handwriting recognition,' besides its function as a scanner.

What's New with Microsoft Lens

Office Lens on its first launch in 2014 was already awe-inspiring since it was introduced to be a document scanning app. When you are dealing with school papers and other documents, there's no problem in choosing it. You can also edit the scanned documents in Word.

Earlier this January, Office Lens was removed from the Microsoft Store, according to a report by Express. The downside just keeps on piling up as the said could not be accessed and downloaded by the Window 10 users. At the time, it was only available on iOS and Android.

For nearly seven years since Office Lens was introduced in the market, Microsoft really took its time to add more improvements besides scanning like PDF signing and PDF conversion to name a few. For the first time, its newest feature as Microsoft Lens bragged of its handwriting OCR capability,which will be the first update before an Office app comes to mobile in the next release.

Now, it seems that Microsoft is now on the right track of step-up in handwriting. Any form of written communication like letters, reports, and even notes from the whiteboards can now be scanned and transcribed.

"You will be able to scan handwritten letters, to-do lists, and other material and simply convert it into text," Microsoft pledged for the users earlier this week. In addition, the company also noted to add filters and better edge detection.

Microsoft added that through the Microsoft Lens, you will be able to make video "bites" for the chat function. You could visualize it like a brief video wherein you can insert texts, filters, and even emojis. Furthermore, the business customers could also benefit through this app since the content of the image will be the basis of its searchability.

In the following weeks, the updates for the Office app will be first launched in the US, specifically to the Android users followed by the iOs users, PC World reported.

Will Microsoft Lens Read my 'Bad' Handwriting?

If you are wondering if the newest Microsoft Lens feature will help you read your 'bad' handwriting, the answer is no. You need to write legibly so that the latest Office 365 app will understand and recognize that it is 'really' human handwriting. If you are a chicken-scratch writer, practice good handwriting and avoid making an illegible and messy style of scribbling.

While the new Lens is possible to develop more features as times pass by, give the app some time to improve, if the latest 'handwriting OCR capability still did not excite you.

Still, we have more to look forward to in future updates. As a matter of fact, the development of a small software is now a big improvement to our technological adoption.

This article is owned by Tech Times.

Written by Joen Coronel