It enables scanning a document with any common TWAIN-compatible scanner and having selected printed areas of the form read into fields using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology, with the text provided to the UNIX / Linux server for processing - eliminating having to hand-enter information from printed forms!

It also includes:

• The ability to open and process an existing multi-page PDF file, reading each page of text and filing individual or groups of pages to the server based on key information from the page (ex: invoice number).  This is a powerful option for use with a central copier / scanner that quickly batch scans multiple documents into a single PDF file.
  
  
• The ability to save the scanned document on the server with a filename based on key information read from the printed form (ex: repair-order number).
  
  
• The ability to scan and read multiple pages of a document from a scanner and create a single multi-page PDF saved on the server
  
  
• An unlimited-user image viewer for accessing and printing JPEG & PDF files created with ScanReader - providing a basic document management package for creating, storing and recalling electronic documents using your UNIX / Linux server!
  
  

How does it work?

1. Define a form type (ex: invoice) and the data fields it contains using the server configuration program, along with the format for the extracted data (ex: XML).
   
   
2. Execute a system command from your UNIX / Linux database program specifying the PC to contact, what form type the document is, the server text file you want the extracted data placed in and optionally, the name for saving the scanned document on the server.
   
   
3. For new documents, the PC user simply uses the mouse to create a "selection template" by specifying areas for:
   
   
   1. Recognizing the document
   2. Extracting information for each specified field
      
      
4. Once a document selection template is created, the PC user only needs to put the document in the scanner, click the SCAN button, check the data, and click the SAVE button!

What is the PC interface like?

• Requires only standard inexpensive TWAIN PC scanners
  
  
• Custom Automatic Document Recognition (ADR) feature enables selecting up to 3 unique areas of each document to identify it's source so the document is automatically recognized when scanned and the data extracted - so the user only needs to insert the document into the scanner and click 2 buttons - SCAN & SAVE!
  
  
• OCR feature supports reading common standard laser & dot matrix fonts (handwriting, decorative fonts, and many sans-serif dot matrix fonts cannot be read properly)
  
  
• Existing multi-page PDF files can be opened, read and broken-up into separate single or multiple page files on the server, based on key information read from the page (ex: PO number)
  
  
• Multiple-page documents can be scanned, read and saved as a single multi-page PDF file
  
  
• A "simple scan" option enables using the ScanReader PC interface to simply scan a document and save it to the server (no document recognition or OCR).
  
  
• An unlimited number of form types (ex: invoice, PO, work-order, manifest, etc.) can be created
  
  
• An unlimited number of sources for each form type can be specified (ex: an invoice from Trane vs from Carrier), with automatic document recognition of the source
  
  
• The selection areas can easily be nudged in varying amounts in cases where the scanned document is not in the exact same location on the scanner
  
  
• The extracted field data is displayed in editable fields on the PC so the user can check and modify the data before saving it to the server
  
  
• The data can be provided to the server database program in a number of text formats, including XML, a few pipe-delimited variations, one-field-to-a-line, or single-line fixed-width
  
  
• The scanned image can be saved on the server as a JPEG or PDF, with 9,999 document filename compatibility with our FineLine PC ImageLink electronic document management software
  
  
• The filename for saving the scanned image on the server can be dynamically created using text read from the scanned document (ex: invoice number)
  
  
• An optional description can be requested when saving images to the server for use with FineLine PC ImageLink, including the ability to assign default description text per form type and have the contents of an OCR field added to the end of the default text (ex: UPS invoice 5431)
  
  
• Includes an unlimited-user JPEG & PDF viewer for listing the related documents (up to 9,999 per key), and displaying and printing documents (screen image shown above)
  
  
• Image save parameters (ex: save at 100 dpi) are specified on the server separate from the OCR scan, with the image converted to the save settings without requiring a second scan
  
  
• All configuration data is stored centrally on the server so any PC user can scan and process any defined documents
  
  
• Numerous field data validation options help to auto-correct misread letters and numbers to further reduce the possibility of reading errors
  
  
• Field data conversion options are available for modifying the field information (ex: make uppercase, lowercase, remove certain characters, etc)
  
  
• Extensive centralized configuration is provided and controlled by the server and includes the ability to assign permissions based on UNIX login name to control which users are allowed to access the designer functions for adding / modifying selection areas
  
  

What does it require me to change in my software?

You will need to add a system command to run the ScanReader program, and programming to import the resultant text file into your database fields (sample code is available for filePro database users).

What is the hardware configuration requirement?

This software requires that all PCs to use the product be connected to the UNIX server over a local TCP/IP network or VPN, and have a TWAIN-compatible scanner (or process existing PDF documents created by batch scanning).  Note that the PCs must either have static IP addresses on the network or use the FineLine PC Tether or Samba software to determine the dynamic IP address.

What UNIX platforms are supported?

• SCO OpenServer 5 / 6
• SCO UnixWare 7
• Linux
• IBM AIX

How is this product licensed?

This product is licensed by a single UNIX server and the number of networked PCs that will scan and/or extract text from documents.  The number of users able to view and print the saved JPEG & PDF files is unlimited.

What is the pricing for this product?

NOTE: All pricing is subject to change without notice.