# Compensate for Skew

Setting a non-zero value for skew in your region of interest can be necessary when the characters in your string can overlap horizontally, as illustrated in the following figure:

For these types of images the skew parameter for the affine rectangle of the region should be adjusted as shown:

With the region of interest adjusted for skew, the OCRMax tool can successfully separate the characters from each other as it processes successive characters in the string.

If the character strings in your acquired images can undergo a variable change in skew, enable the SkewHalfRange property.

Be aware, however, that enabling the OCRMax tool to overcome a change in skew has a negative effect on the performance of the tool.