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SimpleIndex

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There are 2 types of PDF files. PDFs created by scanning applications use images, while PDF files created by software or printer drivers use text. SimpleIndex can read bar codes from either type of document.

With image PDFs, SimpleIndex will use normal image barcode recognition. With text PDFs, SimpleIndex can read the value of the barcode from text (if it was created with a font) or convert the PDF to an image and read it (if the bar code is an image).

To read the barcode from text is much faster and all versions of SimpleIndexinclude the ability to parse the text of PDF file.

Find out more about bar code scanning here:

Instant Integration With Any Application

Monday, 14 November 2022 by Simple Software

SimpleIndex® provides a great alternative to “reinventing the wheel” using a document imaging SDK to implement scanning in your custom application. SimpleIndex uses a command line interface to enable developers to execute customized scanning workflows from another application. This lets you take advantage of SimpleIndex‘s TWAIN/ISIS scanning, zone OCR, barcode recognition and database export features without having to re-code them all yourself.

Whether you are an IT consultant creating an application for internal company use or a software developer looking to add scanning features to your application, SimpleIndex provides the easiest solution available.

To use SimpleIndex as a scanning front-end for your application, simply:

  • Create a SimpleIndex job file configured to scan, index and save files the way you want
  • (Optional) configure the database export to create/update document records in your DB
  • Use a “Shell” command to execute the job file from your program

When you execute the job file from your program, SimpleIndex will scan, read barcodes, OCR zones, etc. and organize the documents into the folders and filenames your program requires. The database export can be configured to add or update records in your database with information captured from the documents as well as the image file path or binary data. Index values can be passed from your program to SimpleIndex via the command line. The whole process can be configured to run minimized so the user never even sees the SimpleIndex screen.

KB Articles for Integration

  • Exclude Index Field from Index Log
  • Turn Off Prompts and Pop Ups on Job Configurations
  • Change the Font Size of Index Fields
  • Large documents (>500 pg) Slow to Process - Workaround
  • Regular Expression (RegEx) - Syntax or Type
  • Index With Non-Latin Character Sets
  • Skip to Blank Index on Save Index
  • Stop Autorun When Double Clicking Configuration
  • Autonumber Increment Value
  • Overlap of SimpleView Viewer in SimpleIndex Display
1-Click Processing, Bar Code Scanning, Command Line Interface, Database, Document Automation, Document Imaging, Front End Scanning, OCR, Office PDF Document Indexing, RPA, TWAIN & ISIS Scanning
1-Click ProcessingBar Code ScanningCommand Line InterfaceDatabaseDocument AutomationDocument ImagingFront End ScanningOCROffice PDF Document IndexingRPATWAIN & ISIS Scanning
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Indexing Solutions with Barcode Recognition

Monday, 14 November 2022 by Simple Software

Barcode recognition is the most efficient way to capture index data printed on documents. If you are unfamiliar with the use of barcodes in document scanning, you can learn more about barcodes in our Barcode Scanning Guide, but if you want to know more about barcode use with SimpleSoftware products, read on.
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Some documents already have key information in barcode format on them. In many cases adding a barcode to a document is as simple as changing or adding a font. Adding barcodes to new documents is preferable as all the index data is on the document at the time it is created and in a format that can be read with near 100% accuracy.

As an alternative to placing barcodes on the individual documents, it is possible to print out a barcode cover page and place it on the file before it is scanned. The SimpleCoversheet application was designed to make this easy by providing a simple interface for selecting index values and printing a standard coversheet that contains these values in barcode format.

Barcode recognition can also be useful when you have documents with a variable number of pages that will all receive the same index values. If it is not possible to generate an indexed coversheet for these at the time they are created, a generic barcode coversheet can be used to separate the scanned images into multi-page files, one for each document. A second process can then be used to index these images one file at a time instead of one page at a time, greatly increasing throughput.

Barcode Recognition Features

With SimpleIndex Barcode you can:

  • Read barcodes printed on scanned paper documents
  • Read barcodes embedded in PDF files
  • Automatically rename files based on barcodes
  • Export barcode data to CSV file or any database
  • Separate multi-page documents with cover pages
  • Recognize 2D formats like PDF417, DataMatrix, Aztec and QR Code
  • Recognize 30 different 1D barcode formatsCode 39, Codabar, UPC, Code 128, EAN 13, 2 of 5, etc.
  • Recognize postal barcodes like Planet, PostNet, Royal Post and Australian Post
  • Lookup barcode values in a database for additional data
  • Complete list of document scanning & indexing features

With SimpleCoversheet you can:

  • Create barcode coversheets for use with SimpleIndex and other scanning applications
  • Print barcodes on Avery label templates that can be applied to documents
  • Affordably enable every employee to print barcodes
  • Create coversheets that allow SimpleIndex to automatically index and file documents
  • Enable scanning and indexing from MFPs, network scanners and digital copiers
  • Perform “mail merge” with barcodes to print many coversheets at once
  • Supports many 1D and 2D barcode formats

KB Articles for Barcode Recognition

  • Turn On Replacement Characters for Barcodes
  • Regular Expression (RegEx) - Syntax or Type
  • Autonumber Increment Value
  • What are some other terms for Bar Code Scanning Software?
  • Can SimpleIndex read bar codes from existing PDF files?
  • I cannot recognize PDF417 or QR Code bar codes. What does "Advanced "Only" mean?
  • Can I split TIFF or PDF files based on barcodes as a separator and also name the file with the barcode value?
  • Will SimpleIndex read multiple barcodes on a page and save the value to the appropriate index field?
  • Is there a way to just use part of a bar code or OCR value? For example, extract "50" from the value "124450"
  • How can I delete the barcode or blank page cover/separator sheet that I don't need to save?
1-Click Processing, Bar Code Scanning, Barcode Printing, Barcode Recognition Software, Command Line Interface, CSV, File Indexing, Patch Code, PDF, PDF417, QR Code, Scanning Coversheet, Scanning Software, SimpleCoversheet, Unattended, Unattended Processing, Watermark PDF Files, Workflow Software
1-Click ProcessingBar Code ScanningBarcode PrintingBarcode Recognition SoftwareCommand Line InterfaceCSVFile IndexingPatch CodePDFPDF417QR CodeScanning CoversheetScanning SoftwareSimpleCoversheetUnattendedUnattended ProcessingWatermark PDF FilesWorkflow Software
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Turn On Replacement Characters for Barcodes

Tuesday, 08 December 2020 by Alex Stewart

With OCR processing certain characters will read incorrectly in some cases, such as an I reading as a 1 and an O reading as a 0. If this is expected to happen you can set the OCR to use the character replacement feature to replace all instances of the letter O with the number 0.

Barcodes don’t have this issue nearly as much during the recognition process as OCR does, but sometimes it can be beneficial to have this replacement option available for the barcodes as well. This is turned off by default, but can be turned on in the Job Configuration’s XML text.

Instructions for enabling replacement characters in barcodes:

  1. Right click on the Job Configuration file that you would like to suppress the prompt on and select Open With>Notepad
  2. Search the XML settings text open in Notepad for this term:
    <BARCODE_REPLACE_CHARS>
  3. Set the value between from “False” to “True”. It should look like this:
    <BARCODE_REPLACE_CHARS>True</BARCODE_REPLACE_CHARS>
  4. Save and close the file.
Bar Code ScanningBar CodesBarcode OCRBarcode Reading SoftwareBarcode Recognition SoftwareOCRPDF Barcode Recognition
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Change the Dictionary Separator Value

Monday, 29 July 2019 by Simple Software

This is used to change the dictionary separator value when doing thesaurus matching from the default character of | to any character(s) that you want. This can be useful in cases where the values you would like in your list or dictionary might include the pipe character or “|” or “Shift Backslash”

This setting is also used as the delimiter when parsing multiple index field values from bar codes (e.g. field1|field2|field3).

Instructions for changing the dictionary separator value:

  1. Right click on the Job Configuration file that you would like to suppress the prompt on and select Open With>Notepad
  2. Search the XML settings text open in Notepad for this term:
    <OCR_DICT_SEPARATOR>
  3. Change the value in-between from “|” to any other single character that you want.
  4. For TAB separation use %TAB%
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Separator1.jpg

Bar Code ScanningBar CodesBarcode OCRBarcode Reading SoftwareBarcode Recognition SoftwareOCROCR Form ProcessingOCR ScanningPDF Barcode RecognitionZone OCR
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What are some other terms for Bar Code Scanning Software?

Monday, 29 July 2019 by aaron

People searching for software to read bar codes from scanned documents, or create document separator sheets for batch scanning operations, can use a variety of terms to find what they are looking for. This page helps you find Bar Code Scanning Software on our website.

Related terms include: bar code creator, bar code printer, bar code stickers, barcode 2d generator, barcode generate, barcode printing software, barcode software freeware, free bar code software, free barcode software, generator barcode, label barcode, print bar codes, print barcodes, recognize PDF417 barcodes, bar code documents, bar code reading software, bar code scanner software, Bar Code Scanning Software, bar code scanning technology, bar code software, barcode data capture, barcode documents, barcode image software, barcode imaging software, barcode ocr, barcode ocr software, barcode reading software, barcode recognition software, barcode scan software, barcode scanner software, barcode scanners software, barcode scanning software, barcode software, document scanning bar code, document scanning barcode, PDF barcode recognition.

Bar Code PrintingBar Code ScanningBarcode Recognition SoftwarePDF417QR CodeScanning Software
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Can SimpleIndex read bar codes from existing PDF files?

Wednesday, 28 February 2018 by dwilder

There are 2 types of PDF files. PDFs created by scanning applications use images, while PDF files created by software or printer drivers use text. SimpleIndex can read bar codes from either type of document.

With image PDFs, SimpleIndex will use normal image barcode recognition. With text PDFs, SimpleIndex can read the value of the barcode from text (if it was created with a font) or convert the PDF to an image and read it (if the bar code is an image).

To read the barcode from text is much faster and all versions of SimpleIndex include the ability to parse the text of PDF file.

Find out more about bar code scanning on our Bar Code Scanning Guide.

Bar Code ScanningBar CodesBarcode OCRBarcode Reading SoftwareBarcode Recognition SoftwarePDF Barcode RecognitionPDF417QR Code
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  • Published in Bar Codes, Import, Office PDF Text Processing
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I cannot recognize PDF417 or QR Code bar codes. What does “Advanced “Only” mean?

Wednesday, 28 February 2018 by dwilder

This error applies to versions of SimpleIndex prior to version 7. All current versions of SimpleIndex include 2D barcode recognition. The Barcode and Professional licenses include the faster and more accurate Accusoft bar code recognition engine. In order to enable the Accusoft engine with a Server license you need the Advanced Barcode Server add-on.

For SimpleIndex 6 and below:

2D Barcode Recognition (aka Advanced Barcode) is licensed separately from the standard barcode recognition. You can add 2D Barcode Recognition to SimpleIndex Barcode or Full versions. A second serial number must be activated to enable this feature.

Advanced Barcode also removes the 6 barcodes per second limit on recognition speed. Processing will go 5-20 times faster depending on your processor speed. Advanced Barcode recognition speed and 2D formats are enabled in the demo.

Find out more about barcode scanning on our Barcode Scanning Guide.

The Feature Matrix included with our Pricelist has more detail about the which capability and engines are included with the different editions and add-ons of SimpleIndex.

Bar Code ScanningBar CodesBarcode OCRBarcode Reading SoftwareBarcode Recognition SoftwarePDF Barcode RecognitionPDF417QR Code
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Can I split TIFF or PDF files based on barcodes as a separator and also name the file with the barcode value?

Wednesday, 28 February 2018 by dwilder

Yes you can split TIFF and PDF files using barcodes as well as name files using the values from barcodes.

To do this simply create a barcode field and check the “Filename” and “Forward” options for that field on the Index tab.

The “Filename” option means the barcode values will be used to name the files. The “Forward” option means the barcode value will be carried forward to pages after it that don’t have barcodes.

Bar Code PrintingBar Code ScanningBar CodesBarcode OCRBarcode Reading SoftwareBarcode Recognition SoftwarePDF Barcode RecognitionPDF417QR Code
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  • Published in Bar Codes, SimpleCoversheet
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Will SimpleIndex read multiple barcodes on a page and save the value to the appropriate index field?

Wednesday, 28 February 2018 by dwilder

Yes, it can. By default barcodes on any page are read left to right and top to bottom. The first barcode read on the page will be filled into the first barcode field set up in SimpleIndex and so on. You can also narrow down results by matching against a template or dictionary as well as excluding barcodes that are not in a defined zone.

Bar Code PrintingBar Code ScanningBar CodesBarcode OCRBarcode Reading SoftwareBarcode Recognition SoftwarePDF Barcode RecognitionPDF417QR Code
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Is there a way to just use part of a bar code or OCR value? For example, extract “50” from the value “124450”

Wednesday, 28 February 2018 by dwilder

To do this example, create a barcode field (Field 1 for example) and a 2nd field with type “Fixed”. In the template for the 2nd field, enter %FIELD1[5,2]% to get “50” from “124450”.

%FIELD1% would get the entire value for Field #1, the barcode field. By adding the [5,2] you tell SimpleIndex to start at the 5th character (5) and take 2 characters from the value (50).

Find out more about barcode scanning on our Barcode Scanning Guide and read up on Optical Character Recognition on the SimpleOCR scanning solutions guide.

Automatic Data CaptureAutomatic Indexing SoftwareBar Code ScanningBar CodesBarcode OCRBarcode Reading SoftwareBarcode Recognition SoftwareClipboard OCRDocument ImagingDocument ScanningImage ScanningInvoice OCRKeyword IndexingOCROCR Form ProcessingOCR ScanningOffice PDF Document IndexingPDF Barcode RecognitionPDF417QR CodeQuickBooks Document ManagementScanned Document IndexingScreen Scraping OCRScreenshot OCRTWAIN Scanning SoftwareZone OCR
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  • Published in Bar Codes, OCR, Office PDF Text Processing
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How can I delete the barcode or blank page cover/separator sheet that I don’t need to save?

Wednesday, 28 February 2018 by dwilder

To delete any barcode page go into ‘Options’, to the ‘Barcode’ Tab and click the ‘Delete barcode page’ check box.

Blank page deletion is done through the minimum file size threshold located in ‘Options’ in the ‘Batch’ Tab. The option is called ‘Min. File Size (blank pages)’ and it has a field which you can enter numeric values on the left. The number corresponds to the number of pixels or bytes on the page.

To pick a number that will delete the blank pages and keep the pages with information you want, look at your largest blank page and your smallest page with information that you want saved and make the ‘Min. File Size (blank pages)’ number in between that.

For example, one of your largest blank pages is 4KB and one of your smallest pages with information is 8KB. You want to make the number in the ‘Min. File Size (blank pages)’ field in between 4000 and 8000. 6000 would be a good number to start with in this situation. At first, you will want to make sure this number is keeping all the pages you need and deleting those you do not want. Increase this number if blank pages are being saved; decrease it if pages with information are being deleted.

Bar Code PrintingBar Code ScanningBar CodesBarcode OCRBarcode Reading SoftwareBarcode Recognition SoftwarePDF Barcode RecognitionPDF417QR Code
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  • Published in Bar Codes, SimpleCoversheet
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Some pages in my documents have unwanted barcodes that are being read. How can I exclude these from recognition?

Wednesday, 28 February 2018 by dwilder

There are several methods for doing this. The fastest, most effective method is to enter a Template for your barcodes to ensure only barcodes that match a specific pattern will be used for that field.

Unfortunately it is not always possible to define a template to describe your barcode. In this case you can employ these methods:

-Specify the “Barcode Type” for the barcodes you want.

-If the wanted barcodes appear on a cover sheet with other barcodes on it, select “Pages with > 1 Barcode” from the “Pages to Process” option.

-If the documents use cover sheets and are quite large, it can be more efficient to scan them one at a time. In this case you can select “First Page Only” from the “Pages to Process” option. This will dramatically improve performance as well, since recognition can be skipped for all but the first page.

-You can set the zone coordinates for a Barcode field using the same method as OCR. Barcodes outside this zone will be ignored.

If multiple barcode zones are drawn, all zones will be searched for all barcodes. This means if a barcode matching the template for Field 1 is found in the zone for Field 2 it will still be read. Only barcodes outside of all zones will be ignored.

Find out more about barcode scanning on our Barcode Scanning Guide.

Bar Code ScanningBar CodesBarcode OCRBarcode Reading SoftwareBarcode Recognition SoftwarePDF Barcode RecognitionPDF417QR Code
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How can I use barcodes or blank pages as Document Separators.

Wednesday, 28 February 2018 by dwilder

For processes that require fast separation for each document a barcode or blank sheet can be used.  Simply insert the barcode sheet (generic barcode sheet with the same value on each sheet) or blank sheet as the first page of each document before scanning or processing with SimpleIndex.

There are two different methods for document separation, which either use just one SimpleIndex Job Configuration file or two that run in tandem.  The advantage on just using one is that you can keep everything for the process together in one configuration file.  The advantage to using two is that you can have the barcode/blank separation process happen automatically and then once separated the user can view the documents for indexing the second job configuration.

How the separation works in SimpleIndex is by having the software increment an autonumber every time it sees a Barcode or Blank Page.  It then names the files with the autonumber or uses the autonumber to group the pages together depending on if you are using a one or two Job Configuration process.

One Job Configuration Instructions

  1. Create a Job Configuration.
  2. Set-up a Barcode Index Field in the Indexing & File Naming step or set the Blank Page Deletion in the Image Enhancement Step.
  3. Create an Autonumber index field in the Indexing & File Naming step.
  4. Set the number that you want to start on in the template of the  Autonumber index field.  Starting with “00001” is a good choice for this.
  5. In the Advanced Setting step expand Autonumber Settings and set the Autonumber Increment Event either to Barcode Field Found or Every Blank Page depending of if you are using Barcodes or Blank Pages as separators.
  6. Also check the box labeled “Combine pages into documents after processing” in this same step

Two Job Configurations Instructions

  1. Create a Job Configuration.
  2. Set-up a Barcode Index Field in the Indexing & File Naming step or set the Blank Page Deletion in the Image Enhancement Step.
  3. Create an Autonumber index field in the Indexing & File Naming step.
  4. Set the number that you want to start on in the template of the  Autonumber index field.  Starting with “00001” is a good choice for this.
  5. Check the Filename checkbox for the Autonumber field.
  6. In the Advanced Setting step expand Autonumber Settings and set the Autonumber Increment Event either to Barcode Field Found or Every Blank Page depending of if you are using Barcodes or Blank Pages as separators.
  7. Also check the box labeled “Combine pages into documents after processing” in this same step
  8. Create a second Job Configuration file that has the Input folder set to the same folder that the Output folder was set to in the first Job Configuration that separates with the Autonumber field.
  9. Uncheck “Split-Multi-Page Files” in the File Input step
  10. Configure the Index fields that you would like to assign to the documents that have been split in the first Job Configuration
  11. Open the first Job Configuration and set the second Job Configuration to run after it is complete by going to the Advanced Settings step, expanding Pre-Process & Post-Process and then putting in the full path to the configuration file in the Post-Process field. 
    EX. The second job configuration is named “Step 2 Naming.sic” and is in C:\Images then this would be put in the Post-Process:  C:\Images\Step 2 Naming.sic

Related Links

  • SimpleIndex.com – Barcode Scanning Guide
  • SimpleIndex.com – Barcode Recognition
  • SimpleIndex Wiki – Bar Code Recognition
  • SimpleIndex Wiki – Image Properties
  • SimpleIndex Wiki – Autonumber

Bar Code PrintingBar Code ScanningBar CodesBarcode OCRBarcode Reading SoftwareBarcode Recognition SoftwarePDF Barcode RecognitionPDF417QR Code
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  • Published in Bar Codes, SimpleCoversheet
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Why are my barcodes not being recognized properly?

Wednesday, 28 February 2018 by dwilder

Several factors can affect barcode recognition.

-Scan in Black & White instead of color. Barcode recognition must convert color to B&W which can decrease quality.

-Print barcodes with a laser printer. Dot-matrix barcodes are very difficult to read accurately.

-Check your Zone settings. If there are zone coordinates defined for any barcode fields, only barcodes in those regions will be recognized.

-Check the barcode format. Code 39 (the most common font-based barcode) requires a * at the start and end of each barcode for it to be readable. Many document barcodes are missing this character.

-Check the barcode engine.  SimpleIndex uses the DTK engine (included with Standard, OCR, Barcode and Pro) and the Accusoft engine (included with Barcode and Pro) to recognize barcodes on the page.  You can pick the one the desired engine or pick Voting to use both engines. 

-Check the barcode type. Select “Unknown or All” if you don’t know the type. If you do know the type, select it from the list to prevent false positives.

-Check the Template setting. If the template does not match the barcode exactly it will appear as though no barcode is read. Remove the template to see what is being recognized.

-Check the Pages to Process.  This option tells it which pages to process in the entire batch, so normally the default setting of Every Page is best, so each page is read to determine if it has a barcode.

-Check the “Minimum Confidence” value. A higher value will prevent false positives (incorrect values) but may cause fewer barcodes to be read. If a barcode is detected on a page it will be enhanced and re-read until all barcodes are read above the minimum confidence level. 0 will disable re-reading.

-Check “Enhanced Analysis (Slower)”.  By checking this box extra checks will be done on the each page to find the barcode at the cost of processing speed.

Related Pages

  • SimpleIndex.com – Barcode Scanning Guide
  • SimpleIndex Wiki – Barcode Options
  • SimpleIndex Wiki – Barcode Recognition

Bar Code ScanningBar CodesBarcode OCRBarcode Reading SoftwareBarcode Recognition SoftwarePDF Barcode RecognitionPDF417QR Code
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The All-In-One Scanning & Sorting Tool

Tuesday, 30 January 2018 by Simple Software

SimpleIndex® has the ability to perform a wide variety of scanning and document organization tasks quickly and easily.

This makes it a must-have tool for IT departments and consultants who often need to:

  • Scan and store various documents on network shares or cloud storage
  • Organize existing MS Office, PDF and other files on your network
  • Attach files to records in a custom database
  • Integrate scanning into custom business applications
  • Add document capture to Robotic Process Automation bots
  • Automate data entry from paper or electronic documents
  • Reduce click charges for centralized scanning departments

The missing piece of the IT document management puzzle

With a cost and setup time that is negligible compared to other enterprise capture platforms, SimpleIndex makes sense even when your company already has one. For example:

  • When SimpleIndex has unique features your other software doesn’t, like Office and PDF text parsing, PDF Bookmarking or Electronic Imprinting.
  • When setting up a new workflow requires extensive setup time and management approvals to use the central system.
  • When click charges make a project prohibitively expensive.

The wide variety of scanning and indexing tasks you can do with SimpleIndex make it an incredibly useful tool to have in your arsenal.

Find Out More

  • Download or get an Online Demo
  • SimpleIndex Feature Guide
  • Wiki Manual Pages
  • Compare Versions & Licensing

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  • Will your SimpleQB allow me to scan in old invoices or bank statements directly into QuickBooks?
  • How do I use the Media Wizard to create searchable DVDs or thumb drives?
  • How do I export index data to a database?
1-Click Processing, Bar Code Scanning, Command-Line, Database, Document Automation, Document Capture Solution, Document Imaging, Document Management Software, Imprinting, Imprinting & Watermarking, MS Office, OCR, Office PDF Text Processing, PDF Bookmarking, RPA, Scanning Software, TWAIN, TWAIN & ISIS Scanning
1-Click ProcessingBar Code ScanningCommand-LineDatabaseDocument AutomationDocument Capture SolutionDocument ImagingDocument Management SoftwareImprintingImprinting & WatermarkingMS OfficeOCROffice PDF Text ProcessingPDF BookmarkingRPAScanning SoftwareTWAINTWAIN & ISIS Scanning
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Network Scanners & Copiers

Tuesday, 30 January 2018 by Simple Software

Most digital copiers have the ability to scan a TIFF or PDF file to a shared folder on your network. However, getting an image with a recognizable filename and index fields you can search on is usually a labor intensive, if not impossible task. SimpleIndex with SimpleCoversheet provides a way for the whole office to organize documents they scan with your existing digital copiers.

SimpleIndex uses barcodes to automate the process of tagging and filing documents. This can be accomplished by embedding barcodes in the documents when they are printed, or by using SimpleCoversheet to create barcode index pages that are encoded with the filing data.

SimpleIndex can be configured to run fully unattended as a Windows service or scheduled task. It monitors the folder for new scanned files, reads the barcodes and files them accordingly. The key values from the barcodes are used to tell SimpleIndex when a new file starts, what folder to store the document in, what to name the file and other tags to use for searching.

The advantages of this approach to scanning are:

  • Use your existing digital copiers instead of buying dedicated scanners
  • The person creating the document is responsible for indexing it
  • Scan the document and forget it

KB Articles for Network Scanners & Copiers

  • Connect SimpleIndex to FTP Site
  • FastImport to Disable Automatic Processing During Import
  • Stop/Turn Off Image Deletion when Blank is Recognized
  • Disable StopFile
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  • Check and Repair All PDF Files
  • How do I limit the number of files pulled from the input folder?
  • Can SimpleIndex read bar codes from existing PDF files?
  • I have a scanner/copier that creates PDF and TIFF files and saves them to my file server. Can I use SimpleIndex to create a searchable CD/DVD from these files?
  • How do you select what types of files to process?
1-Click Processing, Bar Code Scanning, Barcode Recognition Software, Distributed Scanning, File Indexing, PDF, Scanning Coversheet, Unattended, Workflow Software
1-Click ProcessingBar Code ScanningBarcode Recognition SoftwareDistributed ScanningFile IndexingPDFScanning CoversheetUnattendedWorkflow Software
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Barcode Scanning Guide

Saturday, 13 January 2018 by Simple Software

So you want to organize your documents using barcodes? That is an excellent idea! Not only will it improve the speed and accuracy of your document management workflow, but it is easier to set up than it sounds.

The guide is written to give you real information instead of marketing, but you can follow the links links to read about the relevant features of SimpleIndex and other document management solutions on ScanStore.

Other Useful Guides

  • How to Scan Documents
  • Scanners Guide
  • OCR Guide
  • ICR Guide
  • Data Capture Guide
  • Software Review

Scanning Guides? Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Read no further! Contact our experts and we’ll configure the whole scanning process for you remotely using the demo version of SimpleIndex!

Why use barcodes in document scanning?

There are many benefits to using barcodes while scanning your documents.

Traditional scanning methods require you to scan your documents in pre-separated batches and then manually name and organize the resulting files. Barcode scanning, on the other hand, allows you to scan multiple batches in a single stack and let the software automatically name and organize the files based on the embedded barcode information. This allows you to take full advantage of your automatic document feeding scanner. After all, what’s the point of paying for a high-speed scanner if your scanning speed bottlenecks at the processing stage?

As in OCR based document scanning software, barcode scanning software uses information on the scanned images themselves to name files and place them in the appropriate folders. However, OCR can sometimes incorrectly recognize certain words and phrases, especially when you are trying to scan at lower resolutions to reduce file size and scanning time. This results in having to perform validation and correction, which slows down the process. Barcodes condense all the necessary information in a format that is much easier for computers to decipher, even at lower resolutions, with almost 100% accuracy. This allows you to reduce file size and scanning time without the cost of additional validation and correction.

What is the difference between the various types of barcodes?

Barcodes come in many standards, but they can all be grouped into two general flavors:

1D (linear) barcodes and 2D (matrix) barcodes.

Linear barcodes are composed of parallel lines of varying widths and distances from each other, such as the UPC’s that are scanned from your purchases with a laser barcode reader at most stores.

Matrix barcodes are usually square (though sometimes circular) arrangements of smaller squares, circles, or triangles, such as the QR codes that you can scan with your phone from many modern advertisements. Matrix barcodes can pack more information per unit of area than their linear counterparts, but not all software is designed to read them.

There are both advantages and disadvantages to using one standard over
another. In addition to the amount of information that can be stored and the
capability of your particular scanning software in deciphering it, some
standards have additional functions such as checksums, which automatically
validate whether or not the barcode was read correctly. A few common standards
used in the document scanning business are listed below:

  • 1D Barcode standards include:Codabar
    • 2 of 5
    • Code 39
    • Code 128
    • EAN 13
    • UPC
  • 2D Barcode standards include:
    • Aztec
    • DataMatrix
    • PDF417
    • QR Code

Where do you get barcodes for document scanning?

Now that you know a little bit about barcodes and why you should use them, you might be wondering how to apply them to your documents. There are a few different methods, depending on your situation.

If you can still edit the document, your best bet would be to use a special barcode font, which will allow you to type a string of characters or digits directly into a barcode format on your document using a regular keyboard. You can find many barcode fonts online for both download and purchase, with some that are purely decorative and others that match to a particular industry standard. We particularly recommend BarcodesInc.com as a source of a good free barcode font.

Often, files cannot be edited due to access, permission, or simply because they are already printed out. For instance, if you are scanning a backlog of files, it becomes difficult to add barcodes to the existing pages. Have no fear! You can still use barcode scanning by either applying barcode marked stickers, such as Avery lables, onto a blank area on the first page of each document or by printing out and inserting coversheets to separate the files.

With applications such as SimpleCoversheet, you can create one-off coversheets or link it up to a data source and automate creating a separator for every customer folder in your filing cabinet.

What scanner settings are best for barcode recognition?

While barcodes are naturally more accurate than text-based document management, there are still ways to ensure a higher degree of recognition. Resolution plays a part, and although barcodes are more forgiving than OCR, 300dpi is still the recommended resolution for the highest degree of accuracy. Likewise, since most barcodes encode information in the contrast between black and white areas of the page, bitonal (black-and-white) scanning is preferred over the anti-aliasing effects of greyscale and color scanning. You can also adjust the brightness and contrast options in your scanner settings to improve recognition on documents where the barcode is not being read.

What are the guidelines to ensure barcodes will be read?

The way barcodes are printed also has an effect on how easily they will be recognized. Coversheet software usually
has formatting standards built in to ensure that barcodes are printed in a way that can be recognized by scanning software.

There are both minimum and maximum sizes that barcodes can be scaled to while remaining useful – usually ranging between 80% – 200% of the suggested size. The suggested size varies by standard, but the most common width is around 1.5″. Keep in mind that there should also be at least a 0.3″ clean margin between the barcode edge and any other markings to avoid confusing the software.

The different barcode standards have varying amount of error correction built in, allowing for more and less compact barcodes with the same level of accuracy at equivalent scan settings. There are also error detection methods, such as check-sum, which act as redundancy checks by running the data through an algorithm and confirming that the result is equal to a small, easily recognized part of the barcode.

What are the limitations of reading barcodes?

As with any automated process, barcode recognition has some limitations. Different scanning applications use different barcode recognition engines, which are the prebuilt blocks of code that perform the actual recognition. As with any software, some of these engines are better and/or faster than others at the same job, and they vary in the types of barcodes that they can recognize. You must make sure that your scanning software has the capability of accurately recognizing the barcode standards you use.

Regardless of the software that you use, image quality will play a factor. While barcodes simplify the format that data is encoded in, reducing the margin for error, degraded barcode images can still cause the engine to incorrectly read the data encoded therein. Degradation can happen digitally or physically. Digital degradation can occur when an image is shrunk to a smaller resolution and then sized back up or when an image is copied too many times and thus accrues artifacts and other transcription errors. Physical degradation can occur when a printed barcode is smeared, worn, torn, or marked upon prior to scanning. Both of these alter the contrast and precise distances between parts of the barcode that determine the data that is encoded.

Bar Code Scanning, Barcode OCR, Barcode Printing, Barcode Reading Software, Barcode Recognition Software, Batch Scanning, Document Capture Solution, Document Scanning, Fast Scanning, Front End Scanning, Image Scanning, PDF Archive Scanning Software, PDF Barcode Recognition, Scanned Document Indexing, Scanning Software, TWAIN & ISIS Scanning
Bar Code ScanningBarcode OCRBarcode PrintingBarcode Reading SoftwareBarcode Recognition SoftwareBatch ScanningDocument Capture SolutionDocument ScanningFast ScanningFront End ScanningImage ScanningPDF Archive Scanning SoftwarePDF Barcode RecognitionScanned Document IndexingScanning SoftwareTWAIN & ISIS Scanning
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Document Barcode Recognition

Saturday, 13 January 2018 by Simple Software

This video shows how barcode recognition can be used with our 1-click processing feature to index files quickly, easily, and accurately.

If you are unfamiliar with the use of barcodes in document scanning, you can learn more about barcodes in our Barcode Scanning Guide.

With a single click, a batch of documents is imported, barcodes are recognized, and files are exported to organized folders and filenames, as well as a SimpleSearch document database.

In the second part of the video, a SimpleSearch configuration is used to search and view the files processed in the first part.


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Bar Code ScanningBarcode OCRBarcode Reading SoftwareBarcode Recognition SoftwarePDF Barcode Recognition
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Barcode Recognition

Tuesday, 03 October 2017 by dwilder

Indexing Solutions with Barcode Recognition


Barcode recognition is the most efficient way to capture index data printed on documents. If you are unfamiliar with the use of barcodes in document scanning, you can learn more about barcodes in our Barcode Scanning Guide, but if you want to know more about barcode use with SimpleSoftware products, read on.

Some documents already have key information in barcode format on them. In many cases adding a barcode to a document is as simple as changing or adding a font. Adding barcodes to new documents is preferable as all the index data is on the document at the time it is created and in a format that can be read with near 100% accuracy.

As an alternative to placing barcodes on the individual documents, it is possible to print out a barcode cover page and place it on the file before it is scanned. The SimpleCoversheet application was designed to make this easy by providing a simple interface for selecting index values and printing a standard coversheet that contains these values in barcode format.

Barcode recognition can also be useful when you have documents with a variable number of pages that will all receive the same index values. If it is not possible to generate an indexed coversheet for these at the time they are created, a generic barcode coversheet can be used to separate the scanned images into multi-page files, one for each document. A second process can then be used to index these images one file at a time instead of one page at a time, greatly increasing throughput.

Barcode Recognition Features

With SimpleIndex Barcode you can:

      • Read barcodes printed on scanned paper documents
      • Read barcodes embedded in PDF files
      • Automatically rename files based on barcodes
      • Export barcode data to CSV file or any database
      • Separate multi-page documents with cover pages
      • Recognize 2D formats like PDF417, DataMatrix, Aztec and QR Code
      • Recognize 30 different 1D barcode formats
        Code 39, Codabar, UPC, Code 128, EAN 13, 2 of 5, etc.
      • Recognize postal barcodes like Planet, PostNet, Royal Post and Australian Post
      • Lookup barcode values in a database for additional data
      • Complete list of document scanning & indexing features

With SimpleCoversheet you can:

      • Create barcode coversheets for use with SimpleIndex and other scanning applications
      • Print barcodes on Avery label templates that can be applied to documents
      • Affordably enable every employee to print barcodes
      • Create coversheets that allow SimpleIndex to automatically index and file documents
      • Enable scanning and indexing from MFPs, network scanners and digital copiers
      • Perform “mail merge” with barcodes to print many coversheets at once
      • Supports many 1D and 2D barcode formats


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Bar Code PrintingBar Code ScanningBarcode OCRBarcode Reading SoftwareBarcode Recognition SoftwarePDF Barcode Recognition
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Applications

Tuesday, 03 October 2017 by dwilder

Out of the Box Solutions:

These advanced SimpleIndex configurations provide out-of-the-box solutions for common scanning applications, and integrations with popular third party applications. Please contact us for more information about these integrations or to get a demo from our experts.

  • Mortgage – LoanStacker is a pre-configured solution for scanning and recognizing over 500 mortgage loan origination and closing documents with SimpleIndex‘s dictionary matching OCR.
  • Title Attorneys – Title attorneys that use RamQuest can automate the scanning of title and settlement documents using SimpleIndex.
  • Accounts Payable Invoices – Our invoice scanning solution can read the Vendor Name, Invoice Date, Invoice Number, PO Number and Total fields from invoices and export the data to your accounting software. Using SimpleQB you can fully integrate this solution with Intuit QuickBooks. For more advanced solutions capable of capturing line item data, see the Invoice Processing page.
  • NAPA Auto Parts Invoices – All NAPA authorized auto parts dealers receive invoices from NAPA that need to be archived. SimpleIndex has an out-of-the-box configuration that lets NAPA dealers scan and file these invoices.
  • Litigation Support – SimpleIndex can export scanned documents to the Summation DII data file format, allowing you to put the low cost, streamlined SimpleIndex scanning workflow to use in litigation support applications.
  • Patent Scanning – Read the patent number, title and abstract from any US patent document.
  • Statement Splitting – Companies that receive multiple bills or account statements in a single PDF file can automatically split these into separate PDF files in seconds.
  • Laboratory Document Management – Our partner, BlueRiver Systems, uses SimpleIndex as the document capture interface for their document management solution designed especially for the clinical laboratory market.
  • Federal Income Taxes – automatically recognize all the major forms and schedules in a federal tax return and create a bookmarked PDF with labels for each.

Case Studies:

PDF files detailing various SimpleIndex Case Studies:

  • Professional Civil Process
  • Breegle Building Products

 

Common SimpleIndex Applications

SimpleIndex‘s open architecture and automation features mean it can perform virtually any scanning and indexing task. These sample applications show how SimpleIndex can be used in a variety of business environments.

  • Invoice processing
  • MSDS – Material Safety Data Sheets
  • Automatic indexing for network scanners
    and copiers
  • Front-end scanning for custom applications
  • Distributed document scanning
  • Scanning & sorting tools for IT
  • Scanning service bureaus
  • Document imaging resellers

 

Industry-Specific Applications

PDF brochures on how to put SimpleIndex to use within your industry:

  • Health Care
  • Financial
  • Education
  • Legal
  • Transportation

KB Articles for OCR Applications

  • Language Pack for Standard/Tesseract OCR
  • Languages Supported in SimpleSoftware OCR Engines
  • What is Document Imaging?
  • Change the Dictionary Separator Value
  • Change the OCR Font or Type
  • Regular Expression (RegEx) - Syntax or Type
  • Autonumber Increment Value
  • I'm using full page OCR. The information is all appearing in the txt file but it is losing format about half way through. Data to the right is ending up at the end of the txt doc. Can this be fixed?
  • Is there a way to just use part of a bar code or OCR value? For example, extract "50" from the value "124450"
  • If I have a form which is filled manually by hand, can SimpleIndex read the data from it?
Bar Code Scanning, Bar Codes, Document Scanning, File Indexing, OCR
Bar Code ScanningBar CodesDocument ScanningFile IndexingOCR
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Recent KB Articles

  • SimpleIndex Standard Workstation
  • SimpleIndex Barcode Workstation
  • SimpleIndex OCR Workstation
  • SimpleIndex Professional Workstation
  • Simple Software Server Processing Add-on for SimpleIndex
  • SimpleIndex Barcode Server 1M
  • SimpleIndex Capture Suite
  • SimpleIndex Barcode Recognition Add-on Workstation

Feature Cloud

Document Automation OMR Text Processing Image Scanning Server OCR XSLT Data Conversion Software Solution SimpleView 1-Click Processing Bar Code Scanning Patch Code Robotic Process Automation TWAIN & ISIS Scanning SimpleSend Batch Scanning Bates Numbering Software Search Full-Text Search Barcode Printing Oracle Read PDF Forms PDF Data Extraction Software Command-Line Document Numbering System ISIS Driver TWAIN Scanning Software SimpleQB File Indexing QR Code Imprinting PDF Compression Required Documents Auditing TIFF PDF Annotations Automatic Data Capture Scanning Coversheet TWAIN Document Capture Solution Document Imaging Barcode Recognition Software Microsoft Word Data Extraction SQL Server Watermark PDF Files Distributed Scanning OCR Scanning

Online Support Options

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