475248 – SharePoint: Syntex Optical Character Recognition (OCR) extends support for Microsoft Office files

Product:

Microsoft 365 Apps, SharePoint, Syntex

Platform:

Online, Web, World tenant

Status:

Launched

Change type:

Links:

Details:

SharePoint OCR feature now extends support to Microsoft Office files. Previously, OCR was limited to PDFs and images but with this update, you can seamlessly extract and utilize text from any embedded images within any Microsoft Office files like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Change Category:
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Scope:
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Release Phase:
General Availability

Created:
2025-01-17

updated:
2025-10-10

Docu to Check

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MS workload name

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summary for non-techies**

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Direct effects for Operations**

Increased System Load
The introduction of OCR for Microsoft Office files may lead to increased processing demands on SharePoint servers, potentially causing slowdowns or outages if not properly managed.
   - roles: IT Operations Manager, System Administrator
   - references: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/sharepoint-developer-blog/sharepoint-syntex-optical-character-recognition-ocr-extends/ba-p/3651230

User Experience Degradation
Users may experience delays or errors when accessing or processing documents due to unanticipated load on the system, leading to frustration and decreased productivity.
   - roles: End User, Content Manager
   - references: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/sharepoint-developer-blog/sharepoint-syntex-optical-character-recognition-ocr-extends/ba-p/3651230

Configutation Options**

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Data Protection**

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explanation for non-techies**

Imagine you have a filing cabinet filled with paper documents. To find a specific piece of information, you would need to sift through each page manually. Now, imagine if you had a magical tool that could instantly read all the documents and highlight the information you need. This is similar to what Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology does for digital files.

Previously, SharePoint's OCR feature was like having this magical tool but only for PDFs and image files. It could read the text in these formats and make it easy to search and use. With the latest update, this capability has been extended to Microsoft Office files such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Think of it as expanding the magic tool's ability to now also work on your Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and Excel spreadsheets. If you have an image embedded in a Word document, for example, the OCR can now read the text within that image. This means you can extract and use the text from images within any of these Office files just as easily as you could from PDFs and standalone images before.

This change simplifies the process of managing and utilizing information stored in various file types. It’s like having a personal assistant who can quickly find and retrieve information from a variety of sources, making your work more efficient and less time-consuming.