Relying on the old filing cabinet filled with paper documents is becoming more and more of burden. Your competition knows that electronic document management brings cost down and streamlines their operations. Are you ready to break away from the paper and get your document management solution in place? Great! That’s our specialty.PDF Form Read Write Data

The phrase “document management” is rather broad and can apply to a variety of scenarios depending on the needs (and size) of the business. In some instances we are talking about a system that merely gives us an efficient way to scan paper and save it out in an orderly, intuitive structure. Other times, we need to bring in search and viewing capabilities that are all handled inside a single piece of software. Likewise we may be working with more than just digital versions of paper files, such as MS Office documents, CAD drawings and graphics files. We can even run into the need for advanced features like document lifecycle management and workflow. These features are especially important when regulations such as HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley apply, to keep prying eyes away from critical information, and to limit liability by removing old docs once they’ve passed their business or regulatory prime.

What is Document Imaging?

Document Imaging was the more commonly used term in the early days of document scanning and OCR and refers to any system used to replicate documents used in business. It evolved from the microfilm days where it was referred to as Document Image Management.

Document Imaging allows for the scanning of paper documents, as well as the processing of files saved electronically. These files are then named and saved for later searching.

Other document imaging terms include automatic imaging software, best digital imaging software, best imaging software, desktop imaging software, digital document imaging, digital imaging software, document imaging download, document imaging PDF, document imaging processing, document imaging products, document imaging software, document imaging solution, document imaging solutions, document imaging systems, document imaging technologies, document imaging technology, document imaging tools, image to database, imaging resource, imaging scanning software, imaging software companies, imaging software download, imaging software for windows, imaging solution, scanner imaging software, scanning and imaging, scanning imaging, and software for imaging.

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Multiple Sort Fields on Search

If you have a Search/Retrieval configuration that you want to have Sort by more than one column do the following.

1. Open the configuration pad in Notepad.
2. Search for the option value <SORT_FIELD>
3. Normally there is one value in the section that looks like this:  <SORT_FIELD>FIELD1</SORT_FIELD>
4. Add the fields that you want to search by as the database columns like this:  <SORT_FIELD>[FIELD1],[FIELD2]</SORT_FIELD>

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Can SimpleIndex integrate with Microsoft SharePoint?

Any document processed with SimpleIndex can be uploaded directly to your SharePoint document library, and any custom columns or metadata tags can be set automatically using the SimpleIndex index field values.

Find out more at our SharePoint Document Scanning page.

Integrated custom metadata is only supported in SharePoint 2010 and above, including SharePoint Online / Office 365. Microsoft .NET 3.5 and the SharePoint 2010 Client Object Model are required and must be installed separately in version 7. Version 8 includes a download option in the Global Settings Wizard. Version 8.4 and above include them automatically. Version 7 users can Download the SharePoint 2010 Client Object Model here.

To configure SharePoint export, go to the Advanced Options screen in your Job Options and enter the URL of your document library in the SharePoint Document Library URL setting.

The easiest way to integrate with SimpleIndex is to simply map a network drive to the SharePoint document library and set your Output folder to use this drive. SimpleIndex will create folders and name files automatically using your job settings.

In this configuration, only the Title tag is set. You can also use SimpleIndex‘s file property feature to set EXIF tags (images) or PDF file properties for the Title, Subject, Author and Keywords tags.

One thing to remember when configuring SimpleIndex jobs for SharePoint is the extra restrictions on filenames in SharePoint. For a detailed list please visit SharePoint File Name Restrictions. When using the integrated SharePoint feature with SharePoint 2010 these invalid characters are automatically replaced when exporting.

There are also several inexpensive or free applications that allow you to upload documents processed with SimpleIndex to SharePoint. These can be useful when you have a slow connection and need the files to upload in the background without slowing down production. Here are two of them:

SharePoint Upload Service

SharePoint 2010 Bulk Document Importer

If your SharePoint integration has requirements not met by these solutions, our Professional Services department will be able to design a SharePoint interface to meet your specifications.

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Is it possible to search for and retrieve documents with Windows desktop search?

Windows Search works great with SimpleIndex because all index data can be saved to the folder and file names as well as the file properties, and OCR text can be saved to hidden layers in PDF files. Windows Search will read all of these elements when building its index and will return any matching files when you search.

Using Windows Search on a file server allows for instantaneous searching across terabytes of documents and text for all of the users on your network.

IFilters allow Windows Search to search within file contents.

Here are three popular PDF IFilters that will enable text searching for PDF files:

If you have issues with PDF text searching in Windows 10, this article has detailed instructions for resolving PDF IFilter issues:

https://fixedit.itxpress.biz/2018/07/05/searching-pdfs-in-windows-10/

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Is the document Search/Retrieval and View functions available in SimpleIndex or available only with the SimpleSearch add-on module?

All of the search functions can be used with any SimpleIndex license. SimpleSearch is only needed to enable searching from other workstations.

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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?

This feature is included in SimpleIndex at no additional cost and is called the Media Wizard.

The Media Wizard is located in the “Send” file menu and is called Media Wizard. It allows you to burn your images, indexes, a database and a free SimpleSearch viewer for just the CD or DVD. It also provides an easy way to get the maximum amount of information on the media that you want it on.

You set up the Media Wizard by pointing it to your image folder and database and you select the media that you would like to put it on. It then saves a file folder with all the files that you would need in the size of the media you are using in the location that you designate. You then burn these files using the burning application of your choice.

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Is it possible to restrict user access to certain documents in Retrieval Mode?

If the database you use to store index information has security access features, you can use these to manage access to documents with SimpleIndex retrieval mode.

In your database, create user accounts and groups and assign them the appropriate permissions to records in your document database.

In SimpleIndex, check the “Require Logon” option on the Logging tab to force the user to logon to the database using the accounts you created. When they search and view documents, they will only be able to access records that the corresponding database user has been assigned access to.

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How do you configure full text searching in Retrieval mode?

On the Database tab there dropdown in the lower portion of the panel for Full Text OCR Field. Put the name of the field that will store the full-text data there. This must be configured both for Insert and Retrieval mode configurations. The database field needs to be sufficient length to store the entire text of your document.

Of course, the Insert Mode configuration must have “Enable Full Page OCR” checked to generate full text data from images. Text from MS Office documents, PDF files and existing OCR text files can be used without setting this option.

When designing your Retrieval Mode configuration, create a Text field to use for full text search queries. On the Database tab, set the corresponding “Database Field Name” to the full text database field.

When searching on your full text field, SimpleIndex finds the text you enter no matter where it appears in the document. It is able to match partial words. It does not perform boolean or natural language searches. The text entered must match the document text exactly.

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Your All-In-One Scanning & Sorting Tool

SimpleIndex® has the ability to perform a wide variety of scanning and document organization tasks quickly and automatically. This makes it a must-have tool for IT departments and consultants who often need to:

The wide variety of scanning and indexing tasks you can do with SimpleIndex make it an incredibly useful tool to have in your arsenal. Even if your company already has an enterprise document scanning system, the low cost, fast setup and automated processing features of SimpleIndex can be put to use in many places where your existing system either doesn’t work, is too complex for the task or costs too much in click charges to be feasible.

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Affordable Document Management

SimpleIndex® is a great solution for small businesses and departments that need a quick and affordable way to scan, organize and view documents. SimpleIndex provides a wide variety of retrieval options, many of which require no special software to find and view documents.

The most affordable solution uses Windows folders and filenames to organize and find documents on a shared network drive. SimpleIndex lets you use index field values to create folders and filenames automatically, automating the process with barcodes, OCR and database lookups where possible. Other applications force the user to create folders and name files manually, making ad-hoc document management too labor-intensive to be practical.

You may also use SimpleIndex with SimpleSearch to create a keyword-searchable database that lets you find and view documents based on one or more index values. There are several advantages to using SimpleSearch instead of Windows folders:

  • Find documents based on specific keywords or phrases
  • Drop-down lists to select possible keyword values
  • Use “And” and “Or” logic to search multiple field values
  • Search the full text of OCR’d documents
  • Search results are returned instantly
  • Quickly browse through all matching files, even if they are in different folders
  • Integrated file viewer with zoom, annotation, print and email functions
  • Index data stored in a database and can be re-used for reporting and other applications

There are many ways to store and retrieve your documents using SimpleIndex. Click here to learn more about them.

Bringing Document Imaging to Everyone

The introduction of low-cost scanners and hard drive space has made many small businesses consider going digital with their documents. However, many find that the document management systems available are too complex and expensive to be practical in a small office. SimpleIndex was designed to solve this problem by removing many of the costly and cumbersome “gotchas” that make practical implementation of these systems impossible.

Here are some of the ways SimpleIndex saves you money:

    • Standalone scanning, indexing & retrieval license starts at $500.
    • Many companies offer affordable basic scanning solutions, but charge big for labor-saving features like barcode recognition and OCR that are necessary to make most scan jobs practical. SimpleIndex offers the complete package for $500.
    • No limitations on processing volume (“click charges”).
    • SimpleSearch provides a fully functional client/server document management system for minimal cost per workstation.
    • Create searchable CDs or DVDs for document distribution with no additional modules to buy or royalties to pay.
    • Files are stored in standard formats using logical folder and filename structures, allowing you to find documents without any special database or retrieval software just by browsing their folders. 20 years from now when no software exists that can read your document database, you will be glad you have this feature!
    • SimpleIndex integrates with any custom database, allowing you to use existing infrastructure or free database formats instead of buying expensive database licenses for your imaging users. This also allows direct integration with your custom business applications with little or no programming.
    • SimpleIndex integrates seamlessly with most document and content management systems available on the market today. Often this results in a much more streamlined input process for much lower cost than the interfaces provided with these systems.
    • The labor required to scan documents has been a huge barrier for small businesses. SimpleIndex includes advanced template matching and dictionary matching OCR algorithms that let you extract index information from anywhere on a document, providing an unprecedented level of automation. Instead of calling this “Dynamic Forms Processing”and charging you an extra $10,000, we include this for free with our OCR module.

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Scanning & Document Migration for SharePoint

SimpleIndex gives you an affordable, automated way to populate custom metadata tags when migrating documents to SharePoint. SimpleIndex uses a variety of methods to extract data, including zone OCR, barcode recognition, mark recognition (OMR) and text pattern matching. The data is assigned to index fields that correspond to the custom columns in your SharePoint document library. The extracted values can be reviewed and corrected if necessary before uploading.

Uploading individual documents to SharePoint is easy. The hard part is migrating thousands of files and tagging them with custom metadata that can be used for fast, precise searching and sorting.

Without metadata, only the filename is used for searching scanned documents. OCR can be used to enable text searching of images, but there are several limitations to text searches:

  • OCR cannot recognize any handwritten data
  • Low quality scans or documents with complex layouts often OCR poorly
  • OCR errors mean that you won’t always find all the files you are searching for
  • Cannot perform date range or number range searches
  • Cannot sort results by anything other than title and create/modified date

Advantages of the SimpleIndex SharePoint migration solution include:

  • Complete document imaging solution as well as electronic document migration
  • Advanced text pattern matching finds precise data in unstructured text
  • Parse folder and file paths to find metadata values
  • Unattended server processing mode available
  • Easy yet powerful alternative to managed metadata services
  • Far more features for the price than other SharePoint migration tools

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Document Management

Designing Your Document Management Solution

If you have not yet decided on a plan for how to organize your scanned images for later retrieval, you should take some time to consider the possible options. There are several ways to search and view documents scanned with SimpleIndex®:

  • Use SimpleSearch to use keyword searches to find and view indexed documents
  • Use SimpleView to browse folders, search files, view, edit and annotate scanned documents without a database
  • Use a third-party document management system for integrated searching, viewing, workflow, HIPAA compliance and other document-centric functions
  • Use SharePoint to share documents online, create custom document workflows and employ records management standards
  • Use the Windows Search Bar to search the names AND contents of files stored on Windows Server 2008 or later.
  • Integrate SimpleIndex directly with your custom application using the Command Line Interface
  • Work with our professional services team or an Authorized Dealer to create a customized solution or direct integration with virtually any application
  • Use a custom database or spreadsheet such as MS Access, SQL Server or Excel to store the index data and provide links to the stored document images

 

Use SimpleSearch

SimpleSearch is included with all versions of SimpleIndex and can also be licensed by itself. SimpleSearch implements the same SimpleIndex interface in “Retrieval” mode, hiding all the menus and toolbars used for scanning. Index fields normally used to assign values are used for searching instead.

SimpleSearch can use SimpleIndex‘s built-in database to perform searches, or connect to any other database, even those for existing business applications. Users simply type index values they want to find and SimpleIndex displays the matches. Partial matching and full text searches are also supported. Displayed documents can be printed, e-mailed or opened in their associated application (Word, Adobe Reader, Excel, etc.). SimpleSearch can view several common image formats, PDF files and can preview files for any OLE-enabled application installed on your computer (MS Office, Adobe applications, AutoCad, etc.)

Using a Document Management System

There are a wide variety of small business and enterprise document management systems available on the market today. They manage stored images and index data, and provide users an interface to search for and view these images. Many perform advanced functions like workflow management, revision tracking and access auditing for HIPAA compliance. SimpleIndex has the ability to interface with these systems, making it an ideal scanning front-end for use with most document management systems on the market.

Integration with document management software is done via the Index Log Files that SimpleIndex creates. Documents are scanned and indexed with SimpleIndex, and a log file is created that lists each image scanned and the index information associated with it. Virtually all document management systems come with standard or optional components that allow you to automatically import images and index information in the format SimpleIndex provides.

Many document management systems have a scanning module that is sold separately, at significantly greater cost than SimpleIndex. With a single scanner, SimpleIndex can provide an easier and more cost-effective scanning interface than the default module. With multiple scanners, the low cost of SimpleIndex makes it possible to implement Distributed Document Capture for a fraction of what it would cost otherwise.

Use the Windows Search Bar

On Windows Server 2008 or later you can enable Windows Search Service and the indexing options that come with it to quickly find your files using the search in the top corner of your Explorer window. Once Windows Search is setup on the server, on your local PC simply pick any shared drive or folder that you would like to rapidly search and add it to a library. When you type a word or phrase in the search bar Windows will search not only all the file names but the content of the files as well. More information on setting up the search capability on Windows Server can be found here.

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Database Integration

Unprecedented Control of Database Interactions

Open database integration is a powerful feature of SimpleIndex® and one that furthers its interoperability with custom programs. Instead of using a proprietary database, SimpleIndex allows you to map its index fields to cells in any database table. It can be configured to create new records, update existing ones or retrieve them for viewing. Using these three basic database functions, SimpleIndex is able to interface with and operate on any database.

Automatic Indexing Using Existing Data

The Autofill feature of SimpleIndex is an easy way to associate many index fields with one document without retyping data that already exists in another database. Autofill uses a database lookup to retrieve records that match a key value entered by the user. Blank index fields are then filled in automatically with the data from this lookup. The result is a document database with many different possible search fields, of which only one needed to be entered during scanning.

The key field may be typed by the user, or it may be read from the document automatically using barcode recognition or OCR. The lookup is performed either when the user changes this field or when the index values are saved. If the lookup finds multiple matching records, the user will be notified and the first set of values will be used by default.

When used with pre-index batches, key information can be read automatically from barcodes or OCR and matched to database records with a single click. Search on up to 99 index fields without a single keystroke!

Output to XML or Any Text Format

SimpleIndex 8 offers export to XML files, as well as the SimpleExport module. SimpleExport makes it possible to integrate with any third party database, application, or document management systems (DMS) that accepts an XML or text file import.

SimpleExport converts the index values from a SimpleIndex job to any output format through XSL Transformations (XSLT). You may use one of the built-in scripts to export to a pre-defined system or design your own. SimpleExport runs automatically after each batch is exported, or it can run as an unattended Windows service.

SimpleExport can also be used as a standalone application for automating XSLT transformations, converting CSV or TSV (delimited text files) to XML, converting images to base64 or integrating other scanning applications with third party software.

Match and Attach Mode

SimpleIndex features “Match and Attach” mode, which combines the power of the Autofill feature with the ability to update existing records in your database. This lets you “attach” images to existing database records by “matching” them with values from SimpleIndex.

With other systems you must create a temporary database and write a custom import to match the scanned images to existing records. When indexing with OCR or barcode recognition, the entire process can be accomplished with our 1-click interface.

 

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