SimpleIndex lets you run any SimpleIndex job as a Windows service for fully unattended processing. This is particularly useful for high-volume, high-demand applications where scanned images are coming from many remote workstations, as well as small and large implementations utilizing network scanners or digital copiers. In server mode, images are saved to a “hot folder” on the server where they are processed automatically. SimpleIndex performs barcode recognition, OCR and other indexing tasks and exports formatted files to storage and database servers.

Server processing licenses may be added to any version of SimpleIndex. Unattended processing is possible without a server license, but a user must be logged on to the workstation for it to execute. Windows services run automatically when the computer is booted up, even if nobody is logged on. You must have a Server license to run SimpleIndex on Windows Server operating systems.

SimpleIndex Servers can run multiple jobs on different schedules on the same server, or run multiple instances of the same job simultaneously to take advantage of multiple CPUs.

Set Job Timeout on Server Processing Job Configurations

Certain Job Configurations when running as a service will stop in the middle of processing the batch. There won’t be an error in the Windows Event Viewer or in the SimpleIndex Processing Log that indicate what the issue. This can be fixed in many cases by setting the Job Timeout to stop the Batch after a certain number of seconds, which causes bad batches to get skipped and not to run indefinitely.

Instructions to set the Job Timeout:

  1. Open the Configure SimpleIndex Service.
  2. Select the Job Configuration that you would like to set the Job Timeout for from the list.
  3. Set the number of seconds that you would like to have a Batch Job end if no progress is made. We usually recommend that this be set to 60.
  4. Click the Save Changes button
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Command Line Sample

When using the Simple Software products it can be beneficial to run the software from a command line script. With this you can run other Simple Software Job configurations or Windows Batch Files (.bat) or Task Manager or other command line methods automatically.

You can find sample formats of the command lines for Simple Software products below.

​SimpleIndex:
“C:\Program Files (x86)\SimpleIndex\SimpleIndex.exe” /c:”Path to job file”

SimpleSend:
“C:\Program Files (x86)\SimpleIndex\SimpleSend.exe” “Path to job file” /hide /run

SimpleQB:
“C:\Program Files (x86)\SimpleIndex\qb\SimpleQB.exe” “Path to job file” /hide /run

/hide and /run in the SimpleSend and SimpleQB examples above hide any windows from being displayed and automatically runs the process respectively.

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Fixes for Service not Correctly Running

If the ​Service stops and isn’t running properly there can be a variety of different causes for this.  You can follow the procedures below to fix this in most cases.

Check Event Log, which is here:

Administrative Tools>Event Viewer>Windows Logs>Application 

Then select “Filter Current Log…” on the right

and in the “Event sources:” field drop down pick these:  SimpleIndex, SimpleIndex Service & SimpleIndexService (and anything else that says SimpleIndex) 

Look at the errors, which will tell you why it’s not working.  

Find the Temp folder for SimpleIndex and delete any batches that are there after stopping the Service in the SimpleIndex Service Control and Options Panel  

Clear Registry of the Temp Files

HKEY_USERS\(User ID for the User Running the Service)\Software\SimpleIndex\ 

Then delete the folders for the names of the Configurations that are not starting in the Service Control Panel

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Service Configuration Paths

The paths to the configuration files that are stored in the list in the Service Control and Options panel is located in the registry here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SimpleIndexService\Jobs

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Network Scanners & Copiers

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

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Automated Processing & 1-Click Interface


SimpleIndex® 1-click scanning and indexing is enabled with its command line interface. SimpleIndex job files can be saved and opened just like a Word document. When you open a job file, SimpleIndex begins processing a new batch automatically. Scanning, processing (OCR, barcodes, database autofill, etc) and export happen in sequence with no further input from the user.

For unattended processing, the command line interface lets you use Windows services and scheduled tasks to automate OCR, barcode recognition and database export tasks.

The Command Line Interface also allows SimpleIndex to be integrated with custom software applications with minimal to no programming required.

  • Field values, processing folders and other settings can be passed as command line parameters
  • Any SimpleIndex option can be set using XML job files
  • Database export links processed files to your app automatically
  • Control application behavior (display window, exit after processing, etc.)
  • Pre-Process and Post-Process features can execute other command line applications at start and end of batch

Unattended Server-Based Processing

SimpleIndex lets you run any SimpleIndex job as a Windows service for fully unattended processing. This is particularly useful for high-volume, high-demand applications where scanned images are coming from many remote workstations, as well as small and large implementations utilizing network scanners or digital copiers. In server mode, images are saved to a “hot folder” on the server where they are processed automatically. SimpleIndex performs barcode recognition, OCR and other indexing tasks and exports formatted files to storage and database servers.

Server processing licenses may be added to any version of SimpleIndex. Unattended processing is possible without a server license, but a user must be logged on to the workstation for it to execute. Windows services run automatically when the computer is booted up, even if nobody is logged on. You must have a Server license to run SimpleIndex on Windows Server operating systems.

SimpleIndex Servers can run multiple jobs on different schedules on the same server, or run multiple instances of the same job simultaneously to take advantage of multiple CPUs.

Integrate SimpleIndex in your Custom Application

Are you a developer looking for an easy scanning interface to use with your custom database application? Then SimpleIndex is the perfect solution for you!

With SimpleIndex, you can easily package pre-configured scanning and indexing settings for distribution with your application. SimpleIndex‘s command-line interface allows you to pre-set some or all of the index values for each batch, or even to hide the SimpleIndex GUI altogether. SimpleIndex can also interface directly with your database, inserting or updating index values and associating them with the images you scan. With SimpleIndex, you won’t have to write a separate import routine to get the new information into your database.

SimpleIndex is a far better option to developing your own scanning interface from scratch. If your application needs to use advanced features like barcode recognition or dynamic OCR, SimpleIndex saves you hundreds of hours of development time. If you need to let users preview each image, rotate, clean-up, rescan or index as necessary, why reinvent the wheel?

SimpleIndex means it is no longer too costly or complicated to bundle a full scanning application with your custom software. Being a SimpleIndex reseller means big discounts on every copy you sell. Sign up now!

KB Articles for Automation, Command-Line and Server Processing

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Streamlined Interface

The Fastest, Most Accurate Scanning Solution

As with any repetitive task, a few seconds saved scanning and filing a single document quickly adds up to dozens or hundreds of hours over the course of a long project or daily routine. The most import part of planning your imaging project is to find the most efficient way to capture documents and file them correctly. Creating an efficient scanning and indexing process will save you countless hours of labor over the life of your project.

SimpleIndex is faster and easier because it is designed to perform all of the steps necessary to scan, process, verify and export images in one continuous workflow rather than requiring the user to click extra buttons each time to initiate the next step. When taken to the extreme, SimpleIndex is capable of performing all of these tasks automatically just by clicking an icon on your desktop or a link in a browser.

SimpleIndex does this by saving all of the settings for a scanning workflow to a file that can be opened just like an Office document. This file is configured by the administrator so the user doesn’t have to see any of the technical details. Very rarely does the scanning operator need to be able to change, for instance, the export file format and file naming scheme. So why do some applications show you a complicated export settings screen every time you try to save a batch? It is this attention to detail that allows SimpleIndex to process the same batch 35-75% faster than its competitors.

SimpleIndex also has the ability to pre-set index values and run jobs using the Command Line Interface. More on this design feature can be found on our Getting Started page.

Index Automation Features

The two main methods for automating indexing are Barcode Recognition and Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Barcode recognition is faster and more accurate, but your documents must contain a barcode on the document or a cover page for this to work. OCR is able to read printed data directly from the page, which means most documents can be processed as-is.

If your index data already exists in another database, SimpleIndex has features that can make use of this data to automate processing. The Index Autofill feature matches data read from barcodes or OCR to data in your database, verifying the correct value is read and populating additional search fields automatically.

Using Pre-Indexed Batches

The Pre-Index Batch feature of SimpleIndex is what enables 1-click scanning and indexing, as well as command line processing. Pre-indexing lets you set fixed values for index fields and apply them to a whole batch. These can be combined with automatic values from barcode recognition, OCR and Autofill to create fully automated batch processes that can be launched from your custom application, a desktop shortcut, scheduled server task or even linked to the scan button on your scanner.

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Full-Page OCR Indexing Demo

This sample job demonstrates the ability for SimpleIndex to convert scanned documents to searchable PDF files and extract index data from the OCR text. It also demonstrates the multi-user workflow capabilities.

Step 1 uses a full-page OCR process on each image.

Field data is extracted from the full-page text using template and dictionary matching algorithms.

This is done in Pre-Index mode to allow unattended processing.

Data is saved to a database so it can be reviewed and corrected in Step 2.

Step 2 uses Database Update mode to find images with missing index values and allow the user to manually enter the correct data.

Step 3 uses a SimpleSearch configuration to search and view the indexed images, including full text searches.

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FAQ Related to Full-Page OCR

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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 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

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FAQ Related to Barcode Recognition

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