SimpleIndex reads whether each box on a scanned form is marked, and saves the answer as an index value next to the OCR and barcode fields in the same job. It works on ordinary paper forms from any TWAIN or ISIS scanner, with no special OMR scanner or pre-printed sheets. It's in SimpleIndex Professional: a one-time license of $1,800, with no per-page fee.
Every mark becomes an index value, read in the same pass as the rest of the page.
Draw a box around each checkbox on a sample form. SimpleIndex shows how many black pixels are in it, and you set the count above which it counts as checked. Each field returns 1 or 0, read locally with no per-page cost. Boxes must sit in the same place on every page; a registration field corrects small shifts.
For multiple-choice questions, a vision model returns the label of the chosen option, such as "C", not just yes or no, and it copes with layouts that move. New in SimpleIndex 12. A cloud model is billed by its provider; a model you host yourself has no per-page cost.
A felt-pen tick in the corner of each document's first page makes the Autonumber field count up, so one scan of a stack splits into documents with no separator sheets. How it works, step by step.
It gives the baseline pixel count for each empty box.
SimpleIndex shows the black-pixel count for the area you drew.
Pick a count comfortably above the blank one, such as 500 pixels.
Each box comes back as 1 or 0 in its own index field, ready for filing, routing or export.
Anything where the answer is a tick in a box.
Each answer becomes a field you can export to a database or spreadsheet. Campaigns read candidate-support boxes and hand-printed contact details in one pass: how canvassing teams use it.
File each document into the folder its ticked box names, so the form sorts itself.
Check that a signature box is not empty before the batch is filed.
A pen mark on each first page replaces barcode separator sheets: nothing to print, nothing to insert.
SimpleIndex captures the marks on each document. For grading large bubble-sheet tests, dedicated forms processing from SimpleOCR is the better fit.
Use large boxes with white space around them, and keep each box in the same place on every page. Test the threshold on a few filled forms before running the whole batch.
Scans that shift a little are lined up before the boxes are read: see automatic form alignment.
Optical mark recognition (OMR) detects whether a mark is present in a set place on a page, such as a ticked checkbox or a filled bubble. It does not read what the mark is, only that it is there.
OMR finds marks, OCR reads printed text, and ICR reads hand-printed characters. SimpleIndex can do all three in the same job. See handwriting recognition.
Professional. Mark recognition is part of SimpleIndex Professional, along with FineReader, the cloud engines and the AI models that read multiple choice. If you already own SimpleIndex OCR, it reads marks too, because it includes the FineReader engine.
$600 for Standard and $1,800 for Professional, each a one-time license with the first year of support and updates. You can evaluate the full software on your own forms before you buy.
It reads the marks on each form, so a simple answer sheet works. For grading large bubble-sheet tests, SimpleOCR forms processing is the better fit.
For pixel-count OMR, yes, though small shifts are corrected by form alignment. An AI model reads marks wherever they are on the page.
Pixel-count OMR returns 1 for checked and 0 for empty. An AI model returns the label of the chosen option, such as "C".
No. SimpleIndex reads marks on ordinary paper forms scanned on any TWAIN or ISIS scanner.
The evaluation runs the full software on your documents, and our team in Knoxville can help you set up the first job.
