Definition

1. Noun:
   • Electronic text stored as a digital image: "machine-displayable text" refers to text in an electronic format that is designed to be shown on a screen or digital display. It is stored not as editable characters but as a fixed image, like a picture of text.

Usage

• This term is used in computing and digital document management to describe text that is captured or saved in a non-editable, graphical format.
• It is often contrasted with "machine-readable text," which is stored in a format that software can process, edit, or search.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The scanned document was saved as machine-displayable text, making it easy to view but impossible to edit.
  • Many PDFs contain machine-displayable text rather than selectable text, which can be a problem for accessibility tools.

Advanced Usage

• "Optical Character Recognition (OCR)": A technology used to convert machine-displayable text (like a scanned image) into machine-readable text (editable and searchable characters).
  • We used OCR software to transform the machine-displayable text from the old book scans into a searchable digital archive.

Variants and Related Words

• Machine-readable text (n): Electronic text stored in a format that a computer can process, edit, and analyze directly (e.g., plain text, HTML). This is the key contrasting term.
• Digital image (n): A broader category that includes pictures, graphics, and text saved in an image format (e.g., JPEG, PNG, TIFF).

Synonyms

• Rasterized text: Text that has been converted into a grid of pixels.
• Image-based text: Text that exists as part of a digital image.

Related Concepts

• Accessibility issue: Machine-displayable text often poses challenges for screen readers used by visually impaired individuals, as the software cannot interpret the text within the image.
  • The website's use of machine-displayable text in its graphics created significant accessibility issues.

Noun

1. electronic text that is stored and used in the form of a digital image