General configuration and how-to articles for SimpleIndex.
Acrobat PDF files will not display in SimpleIndex, and when I exit the program it crashes.
Please refer to the Wiki Documentation for the complete Viewer reference.
This is a known compatibility issue between the browser plug-ins for Acrobat 6 (Full) and Acrobat 7 (Reader). When both programs are installed on the same machine, and automatic updates are applied, registration for the browser plug-in is corrupted.
This problem affects any application using the Acrobat browser plug-in, including Internet Explorer and other web browsers.
The short-term solution is to uninstall and reinstall Acrobat 7. It is recommended you download the latest version from Adobe to prevent the problem from recurring when the next update is installed.
The long-term solution is to upgrade to Acrobat 7 Standard or Pro and uninstall Acrobat 6.
- Published in Indexing & UI
How do I burn a CD or DVD of images from SimpleIndex, and have my users be able to view them? Is that functionality available from a full SimpleIndex license or do I need to buy additional software?
Please refer to the Wiki Documentation for the complete Wizard Mode reference.
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 Licensing & Installation
How do I transfer an existing SimpleIndex license to another computer?
Please refer to the Wiki Documentation for the complete Licensing & Activation reference.
You can move the license for any Simple Software product from one computer to another using the Transfer License feature.
If this is something you do frequently, there are Concurrent License options available that avoid the need to transfer the license each time you run the software on a new machine.
Online License Transfer Instructions
- Click on Activate/Transfer License from the Help menu
- Select a Serial from the drop-down list
- Click the Transfer button
- Click Yes to confirm the License Transfer
- This will check in the license for each of these serial numbers, allowing them to be activated on another computer.
- Download the demo to install on the new computer.
- Enter the Serial Number in the License Window and click “Activate” to activate the new computer.
Offline License Transfer Instructions
- Click on Activate/Transfer License from the Help menu
- Select a Serial from the drop-down list
- Click the Transfer button
- Click Yes to confirm the License Transfer
- This will check in the license for each of these serial numbers, allowing them to be activated on another computer.
- Download the demo to install on the new computer.
- Enter the Serial Code and click Offline Activation
- Click No when asked if a License File has been received.
- Save the License Request File
- Send the License Request File to info@simpleindex.com
- The License Activation File will be emailed back to the email address that the License Request File was sent from, which needs to be saved to the computer that needs to be activated.
- Enter the Serial Code and click Offline Activation
- Click Yes when asked if a License File has been received.
- Select the License Request File and click Open
- Published in Licensing & Installation
I accidentally clicked something and now I can’t see my image in SimpleIndex. What did I do and how can I fix it?
Please refer to the Wiki Documentation for the complete Mouse Action reference.
In the main SimpleIndex window you will see a sidebar on the right side, and in the middle of that sidebar are buttons that control the Mouse Action. By default the Mouse Action is set to Zoom In on the image so when you need to magnify something on an image you can quickly and easily do that.
If you clicked and dragged your mouse accidentally over the image you zoomed in on it, so to return the image to full size click on the View menu at the top of the window, then click on Full Page. The keyboard shortcut to do this is also listed beside the menu command, in this case it is Ctrl + F.
- Published in Fixes for Common Problems, Indexing & UI
Do you have sample jobs that I can run?
Please refer to the Wiki Documentation for the complete Getting Started reference.
Yes! When you open SimpleIndex the Getting Started Guide pops up first. Near the bottom of that window you will find a link to several online video demonstrations. You can watch them in our SimpleIndex University section. The SimpleIndex software also includes configurations for sample jobs. When you open SimpleIndex, click on Full Demo and that will bring you to the ‘Configs’ folder with subfolders that contain several types of jobs. You can see the configurations for these jobs and actually run the batches.
- Published in Licensing & Installation
How do you select what types of files to process?
Please refer to the Wiki Documentation for the complete Batch Processing Stages reference.
You can tell SimpleIndex what types of files it should process and which file types to ignore.
This is done by clicking “Job Options” On the “Batch” tab you will find a field labeled “Input file types or mask”. These are the file types that SimpleIndex will input files from. The default types are:
TIF,PDF,JPG,GIF,BMP,DOC,XLS,PPT,DOCX,XLSX,PPTX,VSD,DWG,AVI,MP3
To process all files, enter *
SimpleIndex will ignore any file whose extension does not appear on the list.
In SimpleIndex 6 or above you can enter file masks to filter input files. Some examples are:
abc*.pdf (PDF files starting with “abc”)
ab??ef.* (All files starting with “ab”, 2 characters and “ef”)
It is possible to have some file types open automatically in their default application. This can be done by inserting a pipe “|” into the list. Any file types after the pipe will be opened in their default application. For example:
TIF,PDF,JPG|WAV,MP3,WMV,AVI
will cause SimpleIndex to display image files and open sound and video files in the default media player.
- Published in Import
My demo expired and I am not through evaluating. Can I extend the trial period?
Please refer to the Wiki Documentation for the complete Licensing & Activation reference.
To extend your demo for another 30 days, select “Extend Demo” from the “Version” drop-down list on the registration screen that is displayed when you launch the application. Follow the instructions on that screen to submit the Authorization Request Code for your demo extension. You can also refer to “How do I register/activate Simple Software Products?” in the Simple Software FAQ.
- Published in Licensing & Installation
Are installation and training options available for SimpleIndex?
Please refer to the Wiki Documentation for the complete Installation reference.
SimpleSoftware professional services will be happy to design and configure your first scanning and indexing process free with the purchase of Annual Maintenance. We will do this online using GotoMeeting web conferencing software so you can learn to setup and use the software as we work. We will even do the setup during the demo period, with no charge if you decide not to buy!
Basic setup and training takes about an hour for most jobs. More complicated workflows involving database lookups and exports, dynamic OCR data capture and other advanced features are not included with maintenance. Our professional services division will be happy to assist you with these at a competitive hourly rate.
On-site installation and training is available from our Value-Added Resellers. Click here to find an Authorized Dealer near you.
Contact us to get a professional services quote for your project.
- Published in Indexing & UI, Licensing & Installation
Can the original image filename be used as part of the output filename?
Please refer to the Wiki Documentation for the complete File Output Settings reference.
The input filename can be specified automatically by configuring a field of type “Filename”. The input file path may also be parsed by the SimpleIndex dictionary and template matching algorithms to extract data fields from the folder and file names.
- Published in Export, Import, Indexing & UI
Why are the Image File Name, Mouse Action and/or Save Index buttons are not visible on the main window?
Please refer to the Wiki Documentation for the complete Settings Wizard reference.
There are 2 possible causes for this.
First, if your screen is set to a low resolution (less than 1024×768) there is not enough room on the screen to display all the controls. A high resolution display is recommended for scanning because it lets you see more of the page at once. Use the Display Settings in your Control Panel to adjust your screen resolution.
The second cause for this problem is if the Display Fields setting on the Index tab is set too high. SimpleIndex will attempt to display the number of fields set here, even if they do not fit on the screen. Lower this number until all the controls you need are displayed.
- Published in Indexing & UI
Is it possible to restrict user access to certain documents in Retrieval Mode?
Please refer to the Wiki Documentation for the complete Database Mode reference.
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 OMR fields for check box recognition?
Please refer to the Wiki Documentation for the complete Zone settings reference.
SimpleIndex supports simple checkbox recognition function that will give a field the value “1” when the amount of black pixels exceeds the specified threshold for that zone and “0” if not.
To configure a field for Optical Mark Recognition, select “OMR” for the field type on the Index options tab. In the Zones & OCR settings, click “Set Field Coordinates” and follow the on-screen instructions to mark the check box region on the image as you would with an OCR field. Use unchecked checkboxes for your sample image.
After drawing the zone and selecting the OMR field from the list, you will be prompted to enter a pixel threshold for the field. The number shown is the current number of black pixels in the selected zone. If the box is unchecked, the threshold should be slightly higher (10-20%).
If you enter a negative number for the threshold, images that exceed the threshold will have the OMR zone saved to a separate file. This is useful for signature capture and similar applications.
- Published in Optical Mark Recognition
When I move to another page and move back, the information I typed is lost. What is happening?
Please refer to the Wiki Documentation for the complete Index Field Settings reference.
This behavior is by design. You must click the “Save Index” button in order to save the changes you make to index fields. This allows you to easily undo mistakes.
The “Save Index” button can be hit by simply pressing Enter on your keyboard while indexing. This will save your index data and advance to the next page automatically. This is the most efficient way to perform key indexing since the hands don’t have to leave the keyboard.
The “Save All” button can be used to save all the files in the batch with their current index values. This is the equivalent of clicking “Save Index” over and over until the last page is reached.
- Published in Indexing & UI
How do you train the OCR engine for better accuracy?
Training has been removed with version 7 due to the addition of the ABBYY FineReader OCR engine.
- Published in OCR
How do you configure full text searching in Retrieval mode?
Please refer to the Wiki Documentation for the complete Database Settings reference.
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
Can you skip to a specific page or file within a batch?
Please refer to the Wiki Documentation for the complete Batch Processing reference.
The Grid feature lets you browse the documents in the batch and jump to a specific file. Click the Grid check box in the upper-right corner of the application to display the grid. Double-click on a row to display the corresponding file.
- Published in Indexing & UI