1
Upload
Choose a clear scan, ordered images, or a PDF manuscript.
Turn handwriting into reviewable text.
Upload historical manuscripts and receive an editable first draft that stays connected to the original page. Line breaks, spellings, and uncertainties are preserved so you can review with confidence.
Built for review, not blind automation.ManuLens creates a first draft to support your expertise. You stay in control.
Chapter I
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, and where is the use of a book, thought Alice, without pictures or conversations?
So she was considering in her own mind, as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid, whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain was worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when a white rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.
There was nothing very remarkable in that, nor did Alice think it so very much out of the way to hear the rabbit say to itself “dear, dear! I shall be too late!” (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet.
Drag the copper seam to compare the original and transcript.
2
Review
Edit the first draft beside the original, with page boundaries preserved.
3
Export
Download TXT or JSON for research, editing, or publication workflows.
A careful first draft
Designed for researchers, librarians, and archivists.
Keep the page and the transcription together while you correct names, spelling, punctuation, and line breaks. ManuLens does not hide uncertain output behind a score.
- Page boundaries remain visible
- Original is always one action away
- Payments are not open during the pilot
Historical document transcription
Manuscripts this workflow supports.
ManuLens is manuscript transcription software for historical document transcription and handwriting recognition workflows that need human judgment, page context, and recoverable progress.
- Family letters and correspondence
- Historical manuscripts and archives
- Church records, registers, and ledgers
- Diaries, journals, notebooks, and field notes
Private by design
Your documents, your data.
Original uploads, page artifacts, and normalized OCR JSON are held in separate private storage. The database stores object references, digests, state, and saved transcript revisions—never browser data URLs or raw provider payloads.
Public-domain sample: Lewis Carroll’s Alice manuscript. The sample is isolated under /demo; it never appears as an authenticated document.
Questions before upload
Handwritten manuscript OCR, plainly answered.
What is handwritten manuscript OCR?
Handwritten manuscript OCR turns scanned handwriting into searchable text. ManuLens keeps that first draft connected to the original page for human correction.
Can ManuLens read cursive handwriting?
It can process cursive and irregular handwriting when a configured provider is available, but recognition is never presented as certain. Every result remains reviewable.
Does ManuLens preserve page structure?
Yes. PDF pages are split in page-tree order, page boundaries remain explicit, and each saved transcript revision stays attached to its source page.
Can I export the OCR result?
Yes. TXT and JSON exports are generated from the latest transcript revisions persisted on the server, not from an unsaved editor draft.
How are uploaded files processed?
The server verifies type, signature, size, and page count before private storage. Paid provider execution remains disabled unless separately authorized and configured.
Private pilot