On March 31, ABBYY released a completely new version of the product, FineReader PDF for Mac. Based on the latest technologies, with a new user interface, it has been developed to support the latest macOS Big Sur.
If you have additional questions, feel free to contact the Support team.
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127 comments
It would've helped if the ABBYY team actively spread this information to its customers (idk, email or something? not expect them to monitor the specifications log, after having purchased a product?) immediately at the moment this bug was identified to warn them: you guys, you might wanna wait with the update if you need FineReader. Because now I'm stuck with BigSur and non-operational FineReader that I normally need on a daily basis. I honestly could have waited for the update...
Guys, this is really poor. Not only has Big Sur been generally available for 5 days now, it has been in beta for many, many months. One of the primary reasons for the betas is to allow developers like yourselves to ensure your software is fully working and compatible, ready for the GA launch of the new OS.
Your support for Mac OS has been just execrable! FRP has not been updated in a significant way in many years.
I really need a version of FineReader that is compatible with Big Sur. Right now, I am waiting to upgrade my operating system based on this one app!
How do we file a ticket to get the upgrade? I purchased this software in the fall from the Apple Store.
Do i have to look around for other software? i hope not, until to day, before the update (Big Sur) finereader was the best sofware i used for scanning and converting files. i hope you wil come soon with an update, at the moment is finereader almost useless.
Dear Victoria,
So now the beta has been disabled, version 12.1.14 doesn't work properly with Big Sur... and after being stranded for half a year, to use the version that does work with Big Sur we have to pay another 85 euros? Do I have that right? That's a pretty steep upgrade, especially for customers that have been helping you with feedback.
Um wow.
So I'm a developer and I have worked with MacOS extensively. It's not that hard to get ahead of this and fix bugs for a new OS ahead of the OS release. Apple gives us four months to work out kinks.
Having worked on the inside of development teams, I can tell you that for the vast majority of software (including business and professional software) that "waiting for the gold master to avoid beta bugs" and "we're a small team" are just excuses for "our leadership doesn't care enough to get ahead of this and would rather saddle our support team with the burden of responding to angry customers."
Frankly, it's pretty sad when companies don't respect their customers and their support staff like this.
Is the new version an upgrade? it's more an downgrade. I can not open existing Finereader FRDOC made by the previous version. Where is the editor in the new version where you had -in the older version- Cutting pages, Spliting pages, Perspectife and some more, i can't find it in the Big Sur Version.
I thaught, after waiting for such a long time for the update that must be more than perfect. It was the best OCR software until now, that's history now. I hope there wil coming an update very soon. At the moment you should rename the software in to BadReader.
So, how exactly do we upgrade?
I hope that this is an April Fool's joke and there will be a new version available soon.
You expect us to pay for an upgrade which is essentially a downgrade?
Please don't tell me that my only options are running the previous version (or Windows) in a virtual machine...
I'm using both macOS and Windows versions, both last available non-beta versions. Before Big Sur update, I used both more or less equal, but since Big Sur I'm using Windows version only. I didn't noticed much until I started using Windows only, but, comparing both versions in more or less same hardware:
I really would like to see a macOS version comparable to Windows one, but, as I'm reading here, macOS one seems subpar even being more modern...
My two cents.
Trial the new version on BigSur, but as someone else also experienced; project files created in previous version are said to be corrupted. But they aren't; they open in the previous version on my Catalina Mac...
No new version for me; will be useless since i can't continue working on my existing files created in previous version.
hello Victoria,
I wonder three questions about:
1. in what the App Store version is different from our retail version?
2. how can we buy the app version without pay again for it?
3. can we install the App Store version over the retail?
Thank you!
Salvo
I would suggest you not submit this to the Appstore. The reviews will not be kind. The product is not ready. Finereader 15 on Parallels user.
Rafael Ontivero, aucl,
MBP i7 16GB also noticeable slower with the beta.
Besides speed, the Image quality, and color mismatch issues currently prevent me from using it to create pdf's that will need to be re-created everything works correctly.
Also the beta isn't a universal build, so it would not run native on Apple M1 Macs. So the beta isn't even running on my newer hardware.
PDF export seems to allow much more detailed choice on the kind of PDF we want to get, and that's very welcome, but unfortunately, there is no explanation on what does what, where to use what.
Having tooltips for the buttons in the PDF viewer toolbar would also help, so it wouldn't be necessary to understand/learn by doing/clicking.
Basically the beta looks promising, however I think it would have helped the development process to have a more iterative process.
A good macOS 11 (Big Sur) version can't come soon enough.
Please increase your support for Mac users - there are a lot of us out here :-)
Thanks!
So do we all need to do a support ticket, Victoria? I have asked the same question.
I have been beta testing the new version of FineReader for Mac for almost 2 weeks. It appears to be a complete rebuild of the app. It looks great and works *really* well. To the point where I've been re-recognizing (OCR) PDFs that I'd previously OCRed in other apps.
While it's not yet perfect (I've pestered Victoria and the team with many suggestions), the bugs are all minor and the app feels releasable to me. I look forward to general release timing news.
Thanks, David
... Using our license from the earlier version, that is.
Same problem here. It's also frustrating that you are offering a 50% discount right now on upgrades to FR Pro, but it is not compatible with Big Sur. You should offer the same discount when you finally resolve Big Sur compatibility.
100% agree with Blair Kirkland's comment.
Where is the FOLLOW button? I don't see that option anywhere on this thread page.
Hello, please, tell me how I should do. I downloaded the new ABBYY for MAC, and it didn't accept my license. I tried finding a link to download the old ABBYY for Mac (and upgrade it to the new one) but the link on my 2017 order does not work. I need this software back asap because I have a HUGE project to ORC before I start translating it to deliver on the 16th.
The beta version is EXTREMELY slow. Before Big Sur I could OCR a 400-page book in 10-15 min on my iMac (late 2015, 24GB). Now it takes HOURS. I started OCR on a 423 page book about 6 hours ago. It finished in about 4 hours and now I'm trying to export it as a PDF. It seems like it's doing the OCR all over again as it seems like it will take 4 hours to finish the export. Once OCR is done, exporting should be a matter of a few minutes.
I have the same issues as Julian above.
I agree with other comments that this should have been fixed before Big Sur was released to the public. I, like others, am dependent upon this software for my work. I simply cannot make other arrangements- except for buying alternative software - whilst Abbyy takes it time. This is about a company's commitment to its customers. I think it speaks volumes. If this issue is not fixed within a week, I will be forced to change software. I imagine others are in a similar position. Why would a company want to lose its customers? I suppose it is because we have already paid! This is not OK.
Thanks for the update, Victoria. When I go to the "Check for Upgrades" link in the my FineReader12.1.14, it takes me to a page different from your link above: https://www.abbyy.com/checkforupdates/?Product=FRProMac&Distributive=Retail&Revision=FSAR12000005694203582959&Language=en-
US&PartNumber=1215%2f34&Target=CheckUpdate&Version=12.1&Revision=14&Build=1052435
I agree with Jason, I give Abby time til the end of December to fix this, and come with an upgrade.
otherwise I uninstall “finereader” and go looking for similar software, I think it’s going to be prizmo.
To David R - Thanks very much for this review! I have the beta but haven't played with it yet. Your report encourages me to dive in.
Best,
p
Should we, existing finereader 12 user, buy the license again???
I found the new version (now called ABBYY FineReader PDF), paid for the upgrade (surprised it didn't ask me for my previous license, but that's OK), downloaded it and installed it. Then I tried use it to open an existing .frdoc created with 12.1.14, but it wouldn't open it and claimed it was corrupted. I now see from the release notes that projects created with a previous version are not supported. That's unfortunate -- perhaps ABBYY is going to produce something to convert such documents to the new version's format? I guess I'll just keep both versions around for a while, but there's going to some confusion, since macOS sees both kinds as "ABBYY FineReader Document", so it's not possible to get the OS to use the right version to open a given project file.
But anyway, it's good to have this new version, so I can finally upgrade to Big Sur.
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