Using Read by Zaweba from the command line

Most people will only ever use Read by Zaweba through its window. But it also has a small command line, and that opens up a few useful tricks: opening files from a script or shortcut, starting a screen grab from a key on a macro pad, or reading a picture straight to the clipboard from another program. It's how Snap by Zaweba's Copy text button works.

The program is ZawebaRead.exe, and it understands three kinds of instruction.

Opening files and folders

Give it files or folders and Read opens them, just as if you had dropped them on the window: ZawebaRead.exe followed by the paths. That's handy for a desktop shortcut that always opens a particular scans folder, or for an "Open with" entry for picture files.

Starting a screen grab

The --grab option starts a screen grab, the same as pressing Read's hotkey. The screen freezes and the region overlay appears, with window highlight, magnifier and size label. Drag round some text and Read reads it and copies it.

This is useful when you'd rather start a grab from somewhere other than the keyboard shortcut: a taskbar shortcut, a launcher, or a button on a macro keypad.

Reading one picture to the clipboard

The --grab-text option takes a picture file. Read reads it, copies the text to the clipboard, shows a notice and exits. Nothing else opens. Add --review and the result opens in Read instead, so you can check it first.

Because it exits on its own, --grab-text is suited to other programs and scripts. It reports what happened with an exit code: 0 means the text was copied, 1 means no text was found, 2 means the picture couldn't be read, and 3 means the clipboard was busy. A script can check the code and react, for example by trying again a moment later when the clipboard was busy.

Where it fits

The command line is the glue between Read and the rest of your setup. Snap uses it so a capture becomes text in one click. You can use it the same way from your own tools: a screenshot utility that saves a file can hand that file to Read, and the text is waiting on the clipboard.

For heavier jobs, the window is still the better place. Reading a whole folder into searchable PDFs or .docx files is what the Batch tab is for, with a queue, progress, words to check and a list of any files that couldn't be read.

Things to keep in mind

The command line reads a picture with the same engines and clean-up as the window, so the same advice about good pictures applies. Small screen text, handwriting and decorative fonts aren't reliable. If accuracy matters, use --review and check the result beside the picture.

Quote paths that contain spaces, as with any Windows command. And remember that --grab-text works on one picture at a time; for many, use Batch. Read by Zaweba keeps all of this on your PC, whether it's started from a script or by hand.