How to use Attendance OCR

1. Install and open the app

1. Get the installer from the course coordinator. Finish saving and close the app before an update.
2. Open AttendanceOCR-Setup.exe and click Install. You may not see a Next button.
3. Wait for installation to finish. Leave Open Attendance OCR selected and click Finish.

Next time, use the desktop or Start menu shortcut. The OCR screen opens directly. Wait for Handwriting recognition ready. The finished installer includes the app and model. Users do not need Python, Excel, an API key or a Google Cloud project.

If installation is blocked, ask the coordinator or VCU IT for help.

2. Set up the shared Drive folder

Ask the instructors to share the assigned Attendance OCR folder with you. Inside it, keep a Papers folder and one Google Sheet named Attendance. Keep access limited to the instructors and assigned course staff.

1. Upload scanned PDFs into Papers using Drive’s New → File upload, or drag them into the folder.
2. Name each PDF with the date, class or instructor label, and number of student sign-ins. For example: 2026-10-14_Section-A_104-students.pdf. Count sign-ins, not PDF pages.
3. Check that every page is upright, readable and in order. Keep each class and date in its own PDF.

Use the attendance form supported by the app: a class/date heading, a visible bin and 26 numbered signature rows. Scan the whole page, including the edges.

3. Prepare the master Google Sheet

Use one native Google Sheet with two roster tabs, one for each class. The current app expects specific tab labels. Copy the exact labels shown in the app’s Choose Google Sheet setup reminder. Renaming them to arbitrary class names will not work in this build.

1. In both tabs, put Last Name in A1 and First Name in B1.
2. Leave C1 and all columns to the right empty at initial setup.
3. Copy the roster’s last names into column A and first names into column B, starting on row 2. Keep each student’s names together.
4. Check that each roster is in the right tab and no names are missing.

The app adds date columns and bins to these same tabs. Dates in the sheet use YYYY-MM-DD. A blank attendance cell means no bin has been saved there. ERROR means conflicting bins need review.

Additional hidden tabs hold recovery data. They share the spreadsheet’s access permissions. Do not edit or delete them during a review. Avoid rearranging the roster or editing output cells while someone is processing the PDF.

4. Sign in and choose your files

1. Click Sign in or Log in to Google Drive. Complete sign-in in your browser, then return to the app.
2. Click Choose Google Sheet, read the setup reminder and choose the shared sheet.
3. Select the correct Instructor / Class.
4. Enter the attendance date as MM-DD-YYYY and click SET. TODAY uses today’s date.
5. Start with Adaptive OCR mode. Fast favors speed; Thorough takes a closer look. Every mode still needs your review.
6. Click SELECT ATTENDANCE PDF and choose a PDF from Papers.

The app remembers your sheet. You do not sign in separately for each file, although Google may ask you to reconnect. To change sheets after starting a review, finish saving, close and reopen the app, then use Change Google Sheet. Finish saving before using the corner Sign out button.

5. Check the page and choose its bin

1. Check that the class and date on the paper match the app.
2. Read the bin on the current page and choose the same value in Current Page Bin: A, B, C, D, AA, BB, CC or DD.
3. Click PROCESS THIS PAGE. Wait while the app prepares the handwriting rows.
4. Review the students one at a time. Repeat the page checks on every page.

Do not assume the next page has the same bin. The attendance date applies to the whole PDF.

Previous page

Go back one PDF page while keeping confirmed work.

RESUME THIS PAGE

Continue a page that has already been prepared.

RETURN TO PAGE X

Return after visiting an earlier page to make a correction.

SKIP THIS PAGE: KEEP SAVED PROGRESS

Move past a page that cannot be processed. It still needs follow-up.

If a scan is cut off or unreadable, get a clearer scan. Do not guess.

6. Review the student names

1. Compare the handwriting with the suggested student. A high confidence score does not guarantee a correct match.
2. If correct, click CONFIRM STUDENT.
3. If incorrect, search the roster, select the right result and click USE SELECTED ROSTER NAME, or double-click the result. Then confirm.
4. For unclear handwriting, try RE-RUN THOROUGH OCR or MANUAL CROP. If you still cannot identify the student, skip the row and ask the instructor.

SKIP THIS ROW leaves the row unconfirmed. Use FINISH THIS PAGE: REMAINING ROWS ARE BLANK only after checking that all remaining rows are blank.

Raw TrOCR is the handwriting model’s reading. The roster match is a suggested student from the class list. Compare both with the paper.

7. Fix a crop or an earlier choice

1. Click MANUAL CROP.
2. Drag a box around the full handwritten name, leaving out the row number and neighboring names.
3. Click USE THIS CROP and check the new result.

CANCEL closes the crop window without applying it. RESET TO AUTOMATIC restores the original crop.

PREVIOUS / CORRECT goes back one row and removes its earlier confirmation so you can replace it. Choose the correct student and confirm again. Skipping a previously confirmed row removes that row’s confirmation.

Enter

Depending on the screen, select a roster suggestion, process a page or confirm a student.

S

Skip a row. Disabled while typing in the roster-search box. Use buttons when editing other fields.

Alt + Left

Go to Previous / Correct.

8. Save and resume your work

The app queues progress automatically. A click is not a confirmed save. Keep the app open until attendance and recovery have both saved to Google. Check the date column before finishing.

Unsaved changes remain in memory. A network outage, crash, power failure or forced exit can lose changes that have not reached Google. The normal close guard helps you wait; it cannot protect against every interruption.

One student has two different bins

The app writes ERROR for that student while saving the other valid students. Check the papers, correct the mistaken entry and save again. Repeated signatures with the same bin keep that bin.

Continue later

Reopen the app, select the same Google Sheet and the unchanged PDF, then accept the saved-progress prompt. Keep the roster unchanged. Only one person should review a particular PDF or session at a time.

9. If something goes wrong

Sync needs attention

Read the message, check your internet and permission to edit the sheet, then click Retry save. Keep the app open. Do not delete date columns to fix a save issue.

No files appear

Check the Google account and the folder’s sharing. Use the PDF button for PDFs and Choose Google Sheet for the roster.

Google blocks sign-in

The app’s testing status or your organization’s policy may limit access. Contact the coordinator. Reinstalling does not change those permissions.

Unable to resume

Check that the sheet, PDF and roster are the same. Ask the coordinator before deleting data or reinstalling.

Contact support with the app version and error message. Leave out student names, attendance papers, passwords and tokens.