Not every text field in a survey needs the same level of processing. Some fields contain critical data that must be verified character by character, while others hold optional comments that only need a quick scan. PaperSurvey offers eight recognition modes so you can balance accuracy, verification effort, and processing limits for each field individually.

Text recognition modes

Good accuracy

The recommended mode for longer text fields. PaperSurvey recognizes handwritten text and automatically accepts responses where confidence is above 90%. Responses below that threshold are flagged for your review.

This strikes the best balance between automation and accuracy. Confident responses are handled automatically, and you only spend time verifying the uncertain ones.

This is the default mode for Long Text fields.

This mode is not ideal for short, high-value fields like names, email addresses, or ID numbers. A 90% confidence threshold means that roughly 1 in 10 characters could be wrong in auto-accepted responses. For a comment or paragraph of feedback, a minor misread is usually acceptable. For a name or email address, a single wrong character makes the data unusable. Use 100% accuracy for those fields instead.

Best for: Open-ended feedback, comment fields, and general survey text fields where minor recognition errors are acceptable.

Verify always

PaperSurvey recognizes the text but flags every response for manual verification, regardless of confidence level. Unlike Manual mode, text is still recognized automatically, which means the recognized text is pre-filled when you verify, saving you from typing each response from scratch.

Best for: Fields where every response must be reviewed by a person but you still want recognition to speed up the verification process.

100% accuracy

The strictest mode for fields where every character matters. PaperSurvey recognizes handwritten text but only auto-accepts responses where the system is 100% confident. Everything else is flagged for manual verification.

This is the default mode for Short Text and Email fields. Expect more responses to land in your verification queue with this mode. Encourage respondents to WRITE IN CAPITAL LETTERS for better recognition accuracy.

Best for: Names, email addresses, ID numbers, codes, and any field where a single wrong character would cause problems.

Custom accuracy

This mode lets you set your own confidence threshold for auto-acceptance. Responses above your chosen percentage are accepted automatically, while those below are flagged for review.

The threshold defaults to 90% and can be adjusted anywhere from 0% to 100%. Lower thresholds mean fewer items to verify but more potential errors. Higher thresholds mean more manual review but greater accuracy.

Best for: Situations where the default 90% threshold does not match your accuracy requirements, or when you want fine-grained control over the automation balance.

Recognize, never flag

PaperSurvey recognizes the text and accepts all responses automatically, regardless of confidence level. No responses are flagged for verification.

This is the fastest option when you need results quickly and can tolerate some recognition errors.

Best for: High-volume surveys where speed matters more than catching every error, supplementary comment fields, and preliminary analysis.

No recognition

Skips text extraction entirely. Responses are accepted as blank, though the original handwriting remains visible in scanned images.

Best for: Optional comment fields you do not plan to analyze, surveys where only quantitative data matters, and fields where you want to preserve your recognition quota.

Manual

Skips automatic recognition and flags every response for manual entry. You type each response yourself while viewing the scanned image.

This mode does not count against your recognition limits, making it useful when you have exceeded your monthly quota or when handwriting is too complex for automated recognition.

Best for: Complex handwriting styles, fields requiring human interpretation, and situations where you have reached your recognition limit.

OCR (machine-printed text)

A specialized mode that reads only machine-printed characters. It ignores handwritten content entirely and uses optical character recognition optimized for typed or printed text.

Best for: Pre-filled form fields, date stamps, info-daters, printed label stickers, and any field containing machine-generated text.

Number and date recognition

Number and Date question types use specialized digit recognition optimized for handwritten numerals. This technology is separate from general text recognition and delivers significantly higher accuracy. Number fields only read digits. If your identifier contains a mix of numbers and letters, use a Short Text field instead.

Key advantages:

• Much higher accuracy than general text recognition
• Does not count against handwriting recognition limits
• Automatic validation for dates
• Minimal verification needed

Best practices for number fields

Recommended: Fixed digit boxes. Specify the exact number of digits expected. This provides individual boxes for each digit and delivers the highest recognition accuracy.

Changing modes on existing surveys

When you change the recognition mode for a field that already has processed responses, PaperSurvey re-evaluates all existing responses against the new threshold. Responses that were previously flagged may be automatically accepted, and responses that were previously accepted may be flagged for review.

You will see a preview of how many responses will be affected before confirming the change.

Choosing the right mode

Long text fields default to Good accuracy and email fields default to 100% accuracy. These defaults handle the majority of cases well. From there, adjust based on your needs:

1. Data criticality. Switch to 100% accuracy for fields where every character matters.
2. Volume. Use Recognize, never flag when processing thousands of responses and speed is the priority.
3. Recognition limits. Choose Manual or No recognition to preserve your monthly quota for the fields that matter most.
4. Response type. Select OCR for machine-printed text instead of handwriting.
5. Fine-tuning. Use Custom accuracy when 90% is not quite the right threshold for your use case.
6. Mandatory review. Use Verify always when every response needs human review but you still want recognition to pre-fill answers.

Monthly recognition limits

Text recognition counts against monthly limits, while number and date recognition is unlimited. Limits reset on your billing cycle, and using Manual or No recognition modes preserves your quota for the fields where automated recognition provides the most value.