Microsoft SharePoint document scanning and metadata indexing. Automatically capture scanned images and electronic files like PDF and MS Office, automatically extract data, organize the files and upload them to the relevant SharePoint document libraries.
Troubleshooting SharePoint Permissions Issues
The problem was being caused by the fact that the root site on the server did not grant the users read access.
For example, imagine they are trying to upload to:
” http://server/sites/mysite/test.pdf ”
The user has full permissions on mysite, but if they try to access http://server/ they get permission denied. Even though the user can upload to mysite, they cannot upload with SimpleIndex because the client objects require permission on the root site.
Granting the users at least read access to the root site at http://server/ resolves the issue.
SharePoint Managed Metadata
If a SharePoint user has a Managed Metadata column that they need to set the value for in SimpleIndex, the value they must use is the unique ID for that metadata value, not the value itself.
SharePoint 2010
To find the unique ID, go to a document library that uses the managed metadata column and view the documents in Datasheet view. The unique ID is the part before the semicolon in that column. In the example below, the ERM Classification of “Electric Deal Tickets” has an actual value of “1”.
You will need to have a document with each possible value in order to get all the values this way. If there are a great number of possible values, it is possible to use a script to download them or to pull them directly from the SharePoint database.
SharePoint 2013 & Office365
For SharePoint 2013 and Office365 you need to use the GUID identifier for the taxonomy term.To get the actual value for a managed metadata term, you can use the Unique Identifier that is displayed when you edit the terms in Term Store Management.
In order to get the full list of unique ID values, follow the steps on this here. Use this list to create an autofill table that will replace the text value with the unique ID and map that field to your column in the database.
Users may have access to other tables and views that aren’t in their schema. When connecting to the database these tables will show up in the list, but when you try to get the list of fields you get an “Invalid object reference” error.
To reference these tables, use [Schema].[Table] for the table name to explicitly reference the table.
You can also change the user’s default schema on the server to the one matching the table.
A third option is to create a view under the user’s default schema that selects the necessary records.
At the present time you cannot enter [Schema].[Table] in the wizard, so if you need to use this workaround configure the job in the wizard and modify the table name in the old job options screen.
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 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.
- Published in SharePoint Integration
How do I export index data to a database?
There are a variety of ways to connect to your database. Detailed instructions are provided in the Manual (check the Help menu). Here is a brief overview of the steps involved:
-Create a job configuration to scan and index files
-On the database tab, set the “Database Mode” to “Insert New Records”
-To use ODBC, enter the data source name or file in Data Source
-To connect directly, select your database type under “Select a Data Source” and click Start. A series of dialogs will prompt you for database connection information.
-Select destination Table or View and click Reload
-For each index field, select the corresponding database field that will receive that field value
-The “Output File Field” will receive the path to the exported file
Once you have created records in your database in “Insert” mode, you can change to “Retrieve and View Records” and use SimpleIndex or SimpleSearch to search and view the files.
- Published in Database & Retrieval, Export
I have a duplex scanner how do I set up SimpleIndex to scan 2 sided documents automatically?
Simplex versus Duplex scanning is a function of your scanner driver. SimpleIndex uses both TWAIN and ISIS drivers. ISIS drivers are faster for high-speed scanners and are preferred.
To configure duplex on an ISIS scanner:
1 Select “Use ISIS Driver” from the Scan menu if it is not selected
2 If this is your first time using ISIS, click “Select a Scanner” to select the driver for your scanner
3 Click Display Scanner Settings to display the ISIS driver settings
4 Find the setting for Simplex/Duplex and set appropriately. Each scanner model has a different driver interface. Refer to your scanner’s documentation if you cannot find the duplex setting.
To set the scanner settings using TWAIN:
1 Select “Use TWAIN Driver” from the Scan menu
2 If this is your first time scanning with TWAIN, click “Select a Scanner” and select your scanner
3 If “Display Scanner Settings” is not checked in the Scan menu, click it to select it
4 When you run the job, the scanner settings will be displayed prior to scanning. Find and select the duplex setting there. If you cannot find it, refer to your scanner’s documentation.
When scanning in duplex, you will want to enable automatic blank page deletion. Many scanners have this feature built-in, so check your driver settings to see if there is a blank page deletion option.
If your scanner doesn’t have blank page deletion, use the “Min File Size” setting on the Batch tab of the Options screen to enable it in SimpleIndex. This setting refers to the minimum file size (in bytes) for a page to be considered non-blank. Any file under that size will be deleted. This value varies depending on scan resolution, and does not work with uncompressed files.
- Published in TWAIN & ISIS Scanning
Is it possible to have the scanned image itself added to a database and not just the image path?
Yes. Image files can be inserted into binary fields in Access, SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL and other databases.
Check the “Store files as binary objects” option on the Database tab and the “Output File Field” setting can be mapped to a binary field.
If using PDF, MS Office or other non-image files, use the File Type Field to store the file extension of the stored file.
SimpleSearch mode will let you view files stored using this method as well.
- Published in Database & Retrieval, Export
What scanners are compatible with SimpleIndex? How do I find a list?
SimpleIndex is compatible with any device that has a TWAIN or ISIS driver. This includes virtually all makes and models of scanner, as well as many specialty scanners, digital cameras and other devices.
In the few instances when a scanner has a proprietary driver, it can still be used with SimpleIndex by first scanning to a folder and setting SimpleIndex‘s input to “From Folder” on the Input tab.
For many high-speed scanners (over 50 pages/minute), ISIS drivers provide improved throughput versus TWAIN. It is recommended you purchase the ISIS driver option with these scanners.
ISIS drivers also let you save your scanner settings to a file that can be distributed with your SimpleIndex configuration.
You can find more information on selecting the best scanner for your specific requirements on the ScanStore Scanners Guide, as well as a wide assortment of scanners available for purchase.
- Published in TWAIN & ISIS Scanning
How do you configure a field to select from a list of possible values?
List fields are populated using a text file or database field containing the values for that list. The text file scenario will be described first.
To configure a list field, go to the Index tab in the Job Options. Create a list field by selecting “List” for the field type and give it a name. In the “List File/Field” setting for this field, put the full path or UNC to the text file containing the list or click “Set” to browse to the file. If you have not created a file, you can put the path where you want the file stored here and click the “Edit” button. This will open the file in Notepad; new files will prompt you to create them.
On each line of the text file you will put one of the possible values that you want to be able to select from while you are indexing with SimpleIndex. You can copy this information from another source and paste it into the text file.
Save the file in Notepad and close it. The List field is now configured!
To use a database field, your configuration must be connected to a database using the settings on the Database tab. Any fields defined as “List” on the Index tab that have a corresponding field mapped on the Database tab will use the unique values from that field to populate the list.
You can check “Only allow values in list” to disallow users from entering a value not in the list.
Once the List index field is configured properly you can select the values from a drop down after scanning that appear in the main SimpleIndex window while indexing. It also makes the field autofill the closest match from the list based on the characters that you type in that field.
- Published in Indexing & UI
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.
- Published in Database & Retrieval, OCR
I know nothing about databases. Can I still use the database and Retrieval Mode features?
Yes! We’ve made it simple to create a database that you can use to store index information and perform searches with SimpleIndex Retrieval Mode.
Once you have configured a SimpleIndex job to scan and store documents on your network, use these steps to create a database to store index information for searching:
1. On the database tab, make sure “Create Generic Access DB” is selected in the drop-down and click “Start”.
2. Save the Access database in a location accessible to all SimpleIndex users.
All the settings on this form will be filled in automatically after you save the database.
3. Change the “Database Mode” to “Insert New Records”. This means that when the job is run, new records will be added to the database as new files are processed.
4. Save the this configuration.
5. To create a configuration for searching and viewing, simply change the “Database Mode” setting to “Retrieve and View Records”.
You may wish to change field types on the Index tab to “List”. This will let the users select from a list of possible values for that field when searching.
Save this configuration to a different file and use it when searching. That’s it!
- Published in Database & Retrieval
How do I configure SimpleIndex to scan documents?
First make sure that you scanner’s TWAIN driver (found on the included CD or manufacturer website) is installed and that the scanner shows up in the ‘Scanners and Cameras’ section of the ‘Control Panel’.
On the Batch tab of Job Options change the Input Files From setting from Folder to Scanner. With this option set, the scanner automatically starts when you click the Run Job button to process a new batch.
From the Scan menu you have the option to select your scanner, set compression settings, display or hide the scanner’s TWAIN settings interface or have SimpleIndex prompt the user when the feeder is empty.
The Scan to Input Folder command in the Scan menu lets you separate the scanning from processing. Use this to scan a sample image to draw OCR zones. Images are scanned to numbered TIFF images in the designated Input Folder.
- Published in TWAIN & ISIS Scanning
TWAIN and ISIS Scanning
SimpleIndex works with all TWAIN and ISIS document scanners.
Virtually all document scanners support both the TWAIN and ISIS driver standards. TWAIN is more common and is usually the only driver provided with consumer scanner models.
ISIS is the unfortunately named driver standard developed by Pixel Translations years before the acronym (which stands for “Image and Scanner Interface Specification”) had any jihadist connotations. ISIS provides a more standardized interface for high-speed scanners, and is often required to scan at the scanners rated speed.
TWAIN scanning is supported in all versions of SimpleIndex.
Support for ISIS is included with SimpleIndex Professional and available as an Add-on for other versions. ISIS is recommended for high-speed document scanners, or applications that require central management of scanner settings. ISIS driver settings are saved in your SimpleIndex job file so every user gets the exact scanner settings they need for each type of document.
What Happens After You Scan?
The difference between SimpleIndex and other applications is that it fully automates the process of indexing and filing your documents once they are scanned. Use bar codes, OCR, database lookups and other features to identify keywords and metadata, organize files into folders, or populate your database and document management system.
TWAIN & ISIS Scanning Video
Since scanning happens in the meatspace there’s really not a lot to show in a screen recording. But Google really likes videos so here’s a quick preview what it looks like when you’re scanning with SimpleIndex.
Unique Book & Magazine Scanning Features
SimpleIndex streamlines the process of scanning books and magazines. Anyone who commonly scans bound material needs SimpleIndex just for this feature!
Book scanning lets you scan bound books quickly on a flatbed scanner. The user is prompted after each scan so they only need to turn the page and press “enter” to perform the next scan. 2-page scans can be automatically split vertically or horizontally to create single page images.
When scanning a typical tabloid-sized magazine that is folded down the middle, SimpleIndex‘s magazine scanning function will automatically split the images in half, reorder and rotate the pages so they appear in proper reading order when finished. This can save hundreds of hours of manual image QC, or provide your clients with a level of image quality they can’t get from anyone else.
KB Articles for TWAIN and ISIS Scanning
- What is Document Imaging?
- What scanners does SimpleIndex work with?
- I have a duplex scanner how do I set up SimpleIndex to scan 2 sided documents automatically?
- Can I scan with a Kofax Adrenaline based scanner interface?
- I have a scanner with Virtual ReScan (VRS) that is not scanning properly. How do I solve this issue?
- How can I change from letter to legal size documents?
- What scanners are compatible with SimpleIndex? How do I find a list?
- I finished scanning a batch and found a page that did not get scanned. How can I insert the missing page?
- How do I automatically delete blank pages from duplex documents?
- How do I configure SimpleIndex to scan documents?
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.
KB Articles for Document Management
- Oracle database is slow to respond
- What is Document Imaging?
- Using alternate database schemas
- Multiple Sort Fields on Search
- Access Database Connection String
- How do I delete an image and it's database entry?
- Is it possible to search for and retrieve documents with Windows desktop search?
- 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?
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
Video Demos
These videos demonstrate several ways SimpleIndex® can automatically index different types of documents. If you are new to SimpleIndex, watching these videos is the easiest way to see what it can do. You can follow along using the sample files included in the SimpleIndex Trial.
- Zone OCR with template matching
- Document barcode recognition
- PDF OCR text parsing
- Sort and index MS Office documents
- Indexing with full-text OCR
- Running jobs from an icon
The sample files are copied to your Configuration Folder when you run the SimpleIndex Trial for the first time. If you can’t find the samples, copy them with the Global Settings Wizard in the File menu.
Compare Major Scanning Solutions
Integrated Solutions Built with SimpleIndex
Zone OCR with Template Matching
Document Barcode Recognition
PDF OCR Text Parsing
Sort and Index MS Office Documents
Full Page OCR Invoice Processing
KB Articles for Optical Character Recognition
- 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?
- How do you train the OCR engine for better accuracy?
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.
KB Articles for Database Integration
- Oracle database is slow to respond
- What is Document Imaging?
- Using alternate database schemas
- Multiple Sort Fields on Search
- Access Database Connection String
- How do I delete an image and it's database entry?
- Is it possible to search for and retrieve documents with Windows desktop search?
- 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?