All database-related articles including autofill, match and attach, database exports and searching functions.
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.
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Using alternate database schemas
In SQL Server, Oracle and MySQL (among others) user logons are associated with a default “schema” that determines which tables and views they can see.
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.
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>
Access Database Connection String
If you would like to create a database string for an Access database that includes a password use this format:
Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=path\database.mdb;Jet OLEDB:Database Password=db_password;
How do I delete an image and it’s database entry?
If your Job Settings Wizard configuration’s of Database mode setting is set to “Update Existing Records”, the database record and the image will be deleted when you delete an image from a batch. The Table Name must be an updateable query or table and you must have sufficient permissions for both the database record and the file.
You cannot delete files with SimpleSearch. To enable retrieval users to change indexes, rename or delete files, use a SimpleIndex Standard license.
- Published in Database & Retrieval
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:
- Foxit PDF IFilter (commercial)
- TET PDF IFilter (free/commercial)
- Adobe PDF IFilter (32-bit / 64-bit) (free)
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/
- Published in Database & Retrieval, Export, Office PDF Text Processing
Will your SimpleQB allow me to scan in old invoices or bank statements directly into QuickBooks?
SimpleQB enables you to scan and link documents to QuickBooks transactions through a custom menu. When you have an invoice, purchase order, work order, bank reconciliation or other transaction open, simply click the Scan menu to scan a document and save it with that transaction.
To view the documents for a transaction, just click the View menu.
You can also use SimpleSearch to find and view documents scanned with SimpleQB without the QuickBooks interface.
- Published in Database & Retrieval, SimpleQB
How do I use the Media Wizard to create searchable DVDs or thumb drives?
To enable the Media Wizard, you must first create a job configuration that exports index information to an Access database. Once you have scanned all the documents for the CD or DVD and attached them to the database, create a second job that uses “Retrieve and View Records” to search and view these files.
The media wizard will be enabled in the Send menu whenever you have this configuration file open. The sample configurations included with SimpleIndex demonstrate scanning and searching with an Access database. Microsoft Access is not required to create the database.
The media wizard will copy the Access database and all of the files in your Output folder to a temporary folder, along with the SimpleSearch configuration and Autorun files needed to search the files from a CD or DVD. Simply burn all the files in this folder to create the searchable disc.
- Published in Database & Retrieval, Export
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
When I click Media Wizard, an error comes up saying “Installer Not detected in C:\Program Files\SimpleIndex\CDFiles\setup.exe” How do I fix this?
You must include the latest SimpleIndex Standalone or Imaging Suite installer with your CDs to enable the search function. Download this file to “C:\ProgramFiles\SimpleIndex\CDFiles\setup.exe” to enable the Media Wizard or update it to the latest version.
- Published in Database & Retrieval
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.
- Published in Database & Retrieval, Licensing & Installation
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
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.
- Published in Database & Retrieval, Import
When exporting to a database, I get the error “Multi-step operation generated errors”
This error is usually caused when the data you are trying to insert does not match the data type of the database field. This could be a text value being inserted into a number or date field, or a text value that is longer than the maximum length of the field.
To avoid this error, be sure to use the correct Field Type and/or Template on the Index tab to force the user to enter data in the correct format. You may also need to adjust the data types or lengths for your database fields.
- Published in Database & Retrieval
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.
- Published in Database & Retrieval
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
How do you create searchable CDs or DVDs that you can distribute royalty-free?
This feature is included in SimpleIndex at no additional cost and is called the Media Wizard.
The Media Wizard is located in the “Scan” 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.
- Published in Database & Retrieval
What is “Match & Attach” mode?
Match & Attach mode lets you batch update multiple records in a database using the index data from your SimpleIndex job. For example, if you have a large backfile of documents that you want to scan and link to records in an existing database, you can use Match & Attach to find the corresponding record and set the Image Path field to the newly scanned file.
For details on how to configure Match & Attach mode, please refer to the manual.
- Published in Database & Retrieval, Export
How do you configure the Autofill feature?
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 application.
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.
To configure the Autofill feature first go to the Index tab and define the field that will be used to perform the lookup. Each value in this field should correspond to a single record in the database, usually defined as the “Primary Key”. This field can be any type, including Barcode and OCR for full automation.
Next click “Configure Index Autofill” button. Here is where you will setup the database lookup. The “Match Data Source” is configured the same way as the “Data Source” on the Database tab. It can be the path to an MDB file, an ODBC data source or OleDB connection string. Click “Set” to browse to an Access MDB file or type the connection string.
Once the data source is set, the drop-downs for the Table and Field names will be populated. Select the table or query that contains the data, then select the field in the database that will be used for lookup. Under “SimpleIndex Key Field 1” select the field you defined in the first step.
“Key Field 2” gives you the option to use 2 field values to perform the lookup if a single unique matching value doesn’t exist.
Click OK and go back to the Index tab.
Finally set the field type to “Autofill” on every field you want to populate from the database. In the “Template” for all the Autofill fields put the name of the corresponding database field that will be used to populate it.
Now when a value is entered for the key field, the Autofill fields will be filled in automatically from the database!
Cascading List Mode
Cascading List Mode is a powerful new feature introduced in 8.2 that lets you filter each list field by the values you select. For example, you could have lists for Vendor Name and Invoice Number, and when you select a Vendor from the list, the Invoice Number list will only show invoices from the selected vendor.
- Published in Database & Retrieval, Indexing & UI
How do I connect to an existing Access database?
To connect to an existing Access database go to Options then the Database tab. There is a drop-down list next to the “Start” button. Click the arrow and select “MS Access” then click “Start”.
An Open Database dialog will be displayed. Select the Access MDB you want to use then click “Open”.
Select the table or query you want to use from the “Table Name” list and click “Reload”.
The field selectors will now be populated with the list of fields from the table/query you selected. The Image Path stores the path to the image file for each record. Each entry in Database Fields list maps the corresponding Field # from the Index tab to the selected field in the database.
Click apply and your Access Database will be configured.
The Log Field, Log Table, Revision Field/Level and the Full Text and PageCount fields on the Advanced tab are option. See the manual for a description of what these items do.
- Published in Database & Retrieval
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