Reading Order

Release 1.7.1

The Reading Order displays the order in which the HTR will read the lines in an image. This RO is created automatically during the layout analysis, but can also be changed manually later. With the automatic LA, the RO is determined by the coordinates of the lines in the image: the top line, which is furthest to the left, is number one, and so on.

If the writing in the image is not completely horizontal or if baselines are split, this can cause errors in the Reading Order. If you correct the LA, you should always look at the RO again, otherwise the transcribed text gets confused and makes little sense. To change the RO you can either click on the circles at the lines where the line numbers appear and correct them directly. Or you can change the RO by selecting the corresponding line in the layout tab and moving it with the mouse. If the later full text is to make sense at first glance, such corrections are essential. After all, the RO determines the context of the content. If the HTR-Result of the document is only to be used for a full text search and is not to be displayed in structured full text, the RO is less relevant.

 

Tips & Tools
If you want to move a line forward or backward, the numbers of the following lines will change automatically. Sometimes it is necessary to calculate a bit beforehand which number will be the correct one.
Very important: When the author writes an increasing line from left to right – which happens very, very often – and when the baseline is split on the LA, the second half of the split BL will have the smaller number. If you want to merge these baselines with the Merge Tool, you have to look at the RO first. If the RO is wrong, Transkribus will merge it with a loop according to their coordinates. This baseline can no longer be interpreted by the HTR.
Edit: This problem was solved with the version 1.8.0. The problem now only occurs with vertically recognized lines.