docs: document Tesseract configs/ requirement (closes #1567)

When TESSDATA_PREFIX points at a hand-assembled tessdata folder lacking
the configs/ subdirectory (e.g. files pulled from tessdata_best),
Tesseract prints "read_params_file: Can't open hocr/txt" and produces no
output. The runtime now surfaces a clear error (v17.5.0); add the
matching documentation: a new errors.md entry and a note on the
TESSDATA_PREFIX docs.
This commit is contained in:
James R. Barlow
2026-06-27 00:32:22 -07:00
parent dfbb4c9275
commit 320876a6d1
2 changed files with 35 additions and 0 deletions
+7
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@@ -201,6 +201,13 @@ include:
Overrides the path to Tesseract's data files. This can allow Overrides the path to Tesseract's data files. This can allow
simultaneous installation of the "best" and "fast" training data simultaneous installation of the "best" and "fast" training data
sets. OCRmyPDF does not manage this environment variable. sets. OCRmyPDF does not manage this environment variable.
If you point ``TESSDATA_PREFIX`` at a hand-assembled ``tessdata``
folder (for example, individual ``.traineddata`` files downloaded
from tessdata_best), make sure it also contains the ``configs/``
subdirectory with the ``hocr`` and ``txt`` files. OCRmyPDF requires
these; without them Tesseract produces no output. See
:ref:`Tesseract cannot open its config file <tesseract-config-missing>`.
``` ```
```{eval-rst} ```{eval-rst}
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@@ -49,3 +49,31 @@ pdftk input.pdf cat output output.pdf
Sometimes Acrobat can repair PDFs with its [Preflight Sometimes Acrobat can repair PDFs with its [Preflight
tool](https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/correcting-problem-areas-preflight-tool.html). tool](https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/correcting-problem-areas-preflight-tool.html).
(tesseract-config-missing)=
## Tesseract cannot open its config file \'hocr\' or \'txt\'
:::{code}
ERROR - Tesseract cannot open its config file 'hocr'.
:::
OCRmyPDF asks Tesseract to produce `hocr` and `txt` output. Tesseract
reads the instructions for these output formats from configuration files
named `hocr` and `txt` that live in the `configs/` subdirectory of its
`tessdata` folder. If those files are missing, Tesseract prints
`read_params_file: Can't open hocr`, exits without error, and produces no
output.
This usually happens when a `tessdata` directory was assembled by hand --
for example, by downloading individual `.traineddata` files from
[tessdata_best](https://github.com/tesseract-ocr/tessdata_best) and
pointing `TESSDATA_PREFIX` at them -- because those repositories do not
include the `configs/` directory. A complete Tesseract installation from
your operating system\'s package manager includes it.
To fix this, ensure the `configs/hocr` and `configs/txt` files exist in
the `tessdata` directory that Tesseract is using. Copying the `configs/`
directory from a full Tesseract installation is sufficient. See
{envvar}`TESSDATA_PREFIX` for more on selecting an alternate `tessdata`
folder.