Google Docs now converts the text in scanned documents to Google Docs.  This is a great feature, especially if you are a paperless office.  For example, you can upload an appraisal file that is in PDF format and not only store it in Google Docs, but search the text within the PDF file.

Upload your scanned images (JPEG, GIF, PNG) or PDFs, and Google Docs will extract text and formatting from the scans for you to edit away.

OCR works best with high-resolution images, and not all formatting may be preserved. The original images will be included in the new document to make it easier for you to correct mistakes.

How does it work?

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) lets you extract text from images using automated computer algorithms. Images can be processed individually (.jpg, .png, and .gif files) or in multi-page PDF documents (.pdf). For more information on OCR, check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_character_recognition

How do you upload a document?

Step 1:

Go to docs.google.com and log in.

Step 2:

Click the “Upload” button in the top left corner of the screen.

Step 3:

Select the file you want to upload.

Step 4:

Select to “Convert text from PDF or image files to Google Docs documents”.

Step 5:

You can select a folder to upload to, determine file permissions, and then start the upload.

That is it.  You can now view and edit your document.

To test the service, I creating a PDF file from an appraisal report and uploaded it to Google Docs.  You can see from the image below, Google easily extracted all of the text from the PDF but none of the formatting was preserved.

The OCR feature might be more and more convenient to real estate appraisers.  Appraisal orders and real estate contracts are commonly emailed as PDF documents.  If you use GMail as your email client, you can open the PDF in Google Docs and search for text within the document.

Click “view” to open an email attachment in Google Docs.

The document will be opened in Google Docs.

Now you can search for text within the document.   For example, you could search for the FHA case number in an appraisal order.  This might save you time by not having to read through the entire document to find the FHA case number.

Google Docs currently gives you 1 Gig of free storage.

You can buy an additional 20 GB of storage for $5.00 / year.

Do you use Google Docs to view your appraisal or real estate files?

Image by Ria Dis

Earth day celebrated its 40th anniversary last week.  In its honor, REbliss has put together a list of 8 things real estate appraisers can do to go green.

1) Go Paperless

a) Convert web pages to PDFs and store them digitally instead of printing.  You can use PDFmyURL to convert web pages to PDFs in one click.  There are also several Google Chrome extensions (Web2PDF and html2pdf) that will convert web pages into PDF documents.  There are also free programs available for creating PDF documents like CutePDF Writer.

b) Export your MLS data as PDF or excel documents instead of printing.  Many MLS services have the option to export your search results in several different formats.

c) Do you still use a fax machine?  Faxes can be both sent and received online.  You can forward your fax number to a service like eFax.  eFax will deliver your faxes to your email as a PDF document so you can store them digitally and not have to print them.

d) Does your appraisal company have documents each employee needs access to like a company manual?  Consider storing them on on a network for everyone to view online.

e) Buy an external hard drive to store your appraisal files digitally instead of keeping a hard copy.  You can use a product like Pogoplug to access your data remotely when out of the office.  You can also store your appraisal files in the cloud.  Here is a list of 10 free websites you can use to backup your appraisal files.

2) Use Recycled Paper and Remanufactured Ink and Toner Cartridges

There will always be something you have to print.  If you must print, use remanufactured toners and recycled paper. Business cards can also be made out of recycled materials.

3) Turn off your office equipment and lights at night

You can save energy and money by switching off your computers, printers, and lights at night.  During the day, be sure to turn off lights when you leave a room.  You can even set your monitor to power off rather than use a screensaver.

4) Recycle old computer equipment instead of throwing it away

Best Buy will recycle your electronic equipment no matter where you bought it.

And we’ll take just about anything electronic, including TVs, DVD players, computer monitors, audio and video cables, cell phones, and more. Most things are recycled absolutely free, with a few restrictions.

Staples also has a recycle program.

5) Use glass or ceramic coffee mugs instead of paper or plastic

Do you make coffee or tea in the office?  Use glass or ceramic mugs to help reduce waste.

6) Replace halogen lamps with compact fluorescent bulbs

Fluorescent light bulbs use approximately 75% less energy than traditional bulbs and last about 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs.

7) Recycle

Set up a recycle station in your office to collect trash, paper, and plastic.

8) Raise the A/C

You can save on energy costs by raising your air conditioner by just one degree.

Now go tell everyone about it!

Going green not only helps the environment and saves money, but can be used as leverage with current and potential clients.  Would going green help you gain your clients trust?

Do you have any tips to help real estate appraisers go green?

Pogoplug might be a good solution for real estate appraisers that need to access their computer files when they are out of  the office.  Pogoplug allows you access to your external hard drive from anywhere, essentially creating your own cloud storage.

The term “Cloud” refers to a place on the internet where you can store your files so they can be accessed from any internet connection.  The key with cloud storage is that instead of storing data on your own device, users rely on a third party storage servers.  You probably use some form of cloud computing everyday, Gmail, Flickr, YouTube, Facebook, etc.

The Pogoplug connects your USB drive to the Internet so you can easily share and access your files from anywhere.

The Pogoplug is the perfect accessory to your connected life. Imagine accessing all your files and media at home from any laptop or desktop computer, anywhere in the world, or sharing this content with friends and family without having to upload. There’s even an iPhone application so you can always “phone home” to get your files!

How does it work?

Pogoplug connects to both your external hard drive and your router.  Once connected, you enter your unique Pogoplug registration code into my.pogoplug.com and you are ready to use and access your data!

According to the website, it is a 60 second setup!

Your files are stored on your own hard drive and pass through the cloud via Pogoplug’s secure protocol.  With Pogoplug, your files are not stored out on the internet somewhere, but can be accessed from any internet connection.

So how much is the Pogoplug?

The Pogoplug is $129.00.  This might sound a little pricey, but with Pogoplug, you can create your own personal cloud storage.  You usually have to pay for a service such as Dropbox or ZumoDrive in order to access your files over the internet.  With Pogoplug, you store your own files on your own hard drive, connect the Pogoplug, and your done.  No service, no installation, and no monthly fee!

What about Security?

Pogoplug offers fully encrypted access to your files through the HTTPS protocol. This protocol is the same encryption security that your online banking system uses to protect your account access.

According to their website, there will be add-ons soon.

Pogoplug is getting even better all the time. Our system is expandable over the Web. Soon, your Pogoplug can connect directly to popular sites such as backup, file synchronization, photo printing and more.

It will be exciting to see what develops will make to work with the Pogoplug.

Pogoplug seems like a fantastic solution for Mobile Appraisers or anyone who needs to work remotely.  How often do you need to access your computer files when you are out of the office?

PDFmyURL is an easy way to convert web pages to PDF documents.  I  know it is already easy to convert a web page to a PDF document: go to File > Print. Select Adobe PDF (or what ever PDF writer you have) and Click “Print”.  This process is not long or complicated but what if you could do this 3 step process with just one click?  Anything that makes my life easier or eliminates mouse clicks is a no brainer for me.

PDFmyURL creates a PDF of any URL you enter into the site. There are two options for creating PDFs. 1)  Enter the address of the website you want converted into a PDF or 2) use their bookmarklet.

To use the bookmarklet, go to PDFmyURL and drag the bookmarklet into your bookmarks folder or directly onto your bookmarks bar in Google Chrome.  Then just click it to make a PDF of the web page you are viewing.

Here is a demo of PDFmyURL to show how fast and easy it is to use.

Click Here if you can not see the YouTube video above.

PDFMyURL is a free service.  I found PDFmyURL via Lifehacker.

There are many ways to create PDF files from web pages.  There are currently two Google Chrome extensions that will convert web pages into PDF documents.

Web2PDF chrome extension.  You can learn more about Web2PDF at their website.

html2pdf chrome extension.  You can learn more about html2pdf at their website.

There are also free programs available for creating PDF documents.

CutePDF Writer is a free download that you can use to convert documents to PDF.

CutePDF Writer installs itself as a “printer subsystem”. This enables virtually any Windows applications (must be able to print) to create professional quality PDF documents – with just a push of a button!

Is your real estate office paperless?  What is your favorite tool for PDF conversion that makes life easier?  Let me know in the comments!