“…file name might contain invalid characters…” when saving to Word in Readiris

Problem

When you click the “Recognize & Save” button in Readiris, you get the following error:

“Word cannot open this document. The document might be in use, the document might not be a valid Word document, or the file name might contain invalid characters…”

Cause

The name of your scanner contains a “/”, for example “Epson Workforce/BX305Plus” and the scanner name is begin placed in the document file name where “/” is a disallowed character.

Solution

1. In Readiris, on the top menu click Settings, then Text Format.
2. Check the “Ask file name and location” checkbox as shown below:
   
3. Click OK.
4. Press cmd + Q to Quit Readiris.
5. You will be asked if you want to change the default settings. Click Yes.
6. Now when you click Recognize & Save in Readiris, you will be asked to specify a file name. Change this as the default name will generate the same error you received previously.