ILINX Capture: Scanning in a Production Environment

ILINX Capture utilizes a web based platform that combines functionality as well as ease of use while scanning in a production environment.  This platform allows production workers to remotely tap into the system to perform any task in the production workflow.  Capture makes use of many different image enhancement techniques.  In ILINX Capture’s production environment, batches move through the processes in an efficient and organized workflow. 

ILINX Capture’s web based platform makes it possible for a technician to scan and process batches from remote locations.  This feature allows technicians convenient access to the production environment while not at the same locations.  Each process in the workflow (ie Capture, Classify and Indexing) can be performed by an operator whether or not they are on site.  Knowledge workers can answer questions without having to look over the shoulder of the production worker. 

ILINX Capture has many functional image enhancement tools for scanning less than good quality paper.  Images can be replaced, inserted or appended at any stage in the workflow process.  Images can be copied into various places throughout the batch.  Images can also be printed at anytime during the workflow.  If images are scanned out of order and need to be corrected, with ILINX Capture you can move images around after they scanned into the system. 

The most important aspect of Production Scanning is efficient workflow.  ILINX Capture workflow allows batches to move seamlessly from one process to the next.  Batches can also be moved backwards in the workflow if they need to be reworked.  With ILINX Capture you can use any scanner as long as the PC you are using has the twain drivers installed on it.  In the user window, a batch can be easily found at any stage in the workflow without confusion or the necessity of using the Server Manager.

Jeff Martin                               Ali Adam

ImageSource, Inc.                ImageSource, Inc.

Barcode Document Separation with ILINX Capture

While exploring different document separation techniques I discovered that bar code separation may cause the document to be split multiple times.   I scanned in a single document that had 334 pages and for some reason it split the document multiple times.  There were no other barcodes except one Patch Type T separator at the beginning of the document.  

After looking over the settings on the Barcode QSX module inside the ILINX Capture Server Manager I noticed that the Patch Type T document separator and the 3 of 9 barcode separator were enabled.  Please see picture below…  

ILINX Capture Barcode OSX Module

One of the challenges with setting up barcode separation with both Patch Type T document separator and the 3 of 9 barcode separator is that every time the recognition engine comes across a 3 of 9 barcode it will separate the document automatically regardless if you want it to or not . Unfortunately the software can get tripped up on its own logic and every time the recognition engine comes across a 3 of 9 barcode it will separate the document automatically.  ILINX Capture’s recognition engine still separates by the Patch Type T Patch Code as well as every 3 of 9 barcode. This can give unexpected results with the number of documents that are automatically generated.  To fix the above example I removed the bar code separation because it was not needed. As you can see in the following example…  

ILINX Capture Barcode Settings

However, in some cases this may not meet a client’s needs and different approach to document separation is needed. The best practice for multiple document separation is when using Patch Type T Patch separator pages and 3 of 9 barcode separation you need to add a prefix for each type of document you want to separate.  

Here is a good example:  

A client may want to separate documents by what’s in the barcode itself, such as capturing the word “ILINX” in the barcode for a document type of “Application” and the word “Invoice” in the barcode for a document type of “Invoice”.  To do this you need to add a prefix value with a document type see.

As you can see ILINX Capture has the ability to be customized to fit your needs no matter how basic and/or how complicated the requirements are. The main concept here is ILINX Capture is a very powerful tool and needs to be configure properly to get want you need out of it. The above example is only a small scratch on the surface on what this tool can actually do.  

However, in some cases this may not meet a client’s needs and different approach to document separation is needed. The best practice for multiple document separation is when using Patch Type T Patch separator pages and 3 of 9 barcode separation you need to add a prefix for each type of document you want to separate. 

A client may want to separate documents by what’s in the barcode itself, such as capturing the word “ILINX” in the barcode for a document type of “Application” and the word “Invoice” in the barcode for a document type of “Invoice”. To do this you need to add a prefix value with a document type see.

ILINX Capture Prefix Settings

As you can see ILINX Capture has the ability to be customized to fit your needs no matter how basic and/or how complicated the requirements are. The main concept here is ILINX Capture is a very powerful tool and needs to be configure properly to get want you need out of it. The above example is only a small scratch on the surface on what this tool can actually do. 

John Hart
ImageSource Inc.

  

eForms Technology that Works Like Magic!

Often we are up against tight deadlines and we need to use all our tricks and tools to help increase efficiency and provide a better client experience.  When we have clients with large form libraries that need converting to eForms; one of my favorite tools to use is FormBridge for Liquid Office.  FormBridge does direct conversions of PDF, word, excel and other common form files to Liquid Office xfm files like magic!  The converted forms are fully editable and are amazingly accurate copies with minor tweaks for formatting once translated.  FormBridge automatically creates fillable fields, just as a forms designer would and this is a huge time saver.

Forms kick-off workflows and drive business.  Moving paper based and un-editable eforms to an intelligent digital format has many benefits such as cost savings based on efficiencies and increased accessibility.  Even a small business may have hundreds of forms.  As a system integrator of ECM technologies we know what tools and tips to help your eForms initiative become a huge success.

Leigh Woody

Program Manager

ImageSource, Inc.

Advanced eForms Strategies for LiquidOffice

Information technology can improve operational efficiency and businesses are turning to forms processing for automating complex processes where information is often very dynamic and acted upon in parallel.  Many of our clients request very complicated multi-form rule based combinations that can be extremely complex and have data dictionaries exceeding 1,500 form fields.  There are two different ways to approach advanced multi-form development and design.  One is to use a method called form chaining or you can use tools such as Liquid Office Case Management.

Form Chaining is a method of displaying subsequent forms based on the submission of the original form.  This is done when field data from the first form is mapped to the 2^nd form – chained forms open sequentially upon submission of a primary form.  Simple chaining can be achieved using out-of-the box features of the LiquidOffice Process studio.  Outside of a formal workflow, the same results can be achieved.  The following is code example for ad-hoc form chaining.  In this example, the ‘chained’ form that opens on submission is called ‘FormB2’.

function CSForm_OnSubmit()

{

var auth = CSForm.getField(“Entry1″).getValue();  //get value from 1st form = then on submit, pass this field value to the next chained form

CSForm.setResponseURL(“http://servername/lfserver/FormB2?Entry1=” + auth );  //this loads the 2nd, chained form and populates one of the fields with a value from the 1st form

return true;

}

Alternatively, Autonomy Case Management (ACM) can be used for more complex multidimensional and nested forms.  ACM addresses the same need but manages forms and documents as packets or a case.   Items within a packet are able to dynamically exist as either standalone entities or as part of a collection depending upon real-time conditions which are automatically detected. Users are guided through the process using a Table of Contents to ensure completion at each step as shown below.

The ACM design studio is a GUI-based point and click tool which is integrated directly into the Autonomy Enterprise Information Processing platform.  This means that with a click all information that may contribute to the design of a case is available in real-time directly from within the design environment.  Complex rule sets can be developed and applied at any level of the case such as packet, form and field which allows for an extremely tuned process.

Leigh Woody                  Peter Lang

Program Manager        System Engineer

ImageSource, Inc.

A Different Perspective on How ECM Can Impact Workplaces

I recently was part of a team tasked with working on site to observe a client’s work process to determine what improvements could be made on this clients Process /Imaging system reduce end user pain points, help eliminate unnecessary redundant actions, and ways to streamline the workflow. 

I don’t want to name the client directly, but I can say that the client that we are working with is a government agency that provides direct services to its citizens, and at this time they are flooded with citizen requests for services.  Some of these requests are complex and require several different workers to evaluate the requests.  Also they are on strict time lines in which to process these requests.

In working with both end users and supervisors, we were able to gather enough information and devise several modifications that can be implemented on their system for an immediate and positive effect.  One of the most intriguing parts of working on this project was that growing up both of my parents worked for this agency.  My mother was even doing the same type of work that we were looking to help streamline, but back in the early 1980’s.  I recall the difficulty that this type of work entails and the amount of time it requires to do properly.  Growing up and seeing how this agency use to have to perform their normal business duties gave me what I feel is a unique perspective on how huge of an impact implementing an imaging and business workflow system had on this agency.

While I was growing up, I recall the office that my parents worked in as being filled with filing cabinets, some of these cabinets always seemed to have people filing and finding documents required for request processing.  If a request made to the agency spanned several regions or required several different departments in the agency to evaluate, there was a ton of lost time in sending documents back and forth.  Plus there was also the risk of misplacing or misfiling documents.

A central image repository, with a well structured indexing scheme, for documents drastically reduces the time in accessing documents and also provides a secure location for document storage.  With the addition of email, requests and the accompanying documents and almost instantly be transferred between the workers required for request processing.  I could go on and on about how this type of system can positively impact a business and reduce costs, but there are already volumes of documentation out there to look through.

I’ve been working with content management and business process systems for a while now, but this was the one moment that the overall impact that this type of system can have really hit home.  There was also a fair bit of gratification in the overall effect that helping implement this type of system with a client that directly touches so many lives.

Random McParks
Support Engineer
ImageSource Inc.

  

Blogging from Office 2007

Lately I’ve been working on adding some Web 2.0 content (like Twitter feeds and blog entries) as content to some of our web pages (ImageSourceInc.com, NexusECM.com, and ILINXCapture.com). In this process I stumbled on how to directly submitting blog entries from Office 2007 Word.

There is really not much to setting up the export, as it’s one of Office 2007’s publish options. So by simply going to the dropdown menu that houses your save, print, open, and new options and select publish. Select blog, choose your blog provider, enter any info that you would need for logging in to our blog, and publish.

If you are having issues with getting your blog account to register correctly and you know that your log in information is correct, check your URL for your blog site.  On WordPress the format for the URL should be http://myblog.wordpress.com/xmlrpc.php.

Random McParks
Support Engineer at ImageSource Inc.

  

Exchange 2010 Upgrade

As part of our Enterprise Content Management system we are upgrading our Exchange servers to 2010 to better handle our enterprise demands for e-mail content and integrate with SharePoint 2010.  Upgrading from Exchange Server 2003 to 2010 most users won’t notice a huge difference in E-mail performance but where they will notice changes is the new look and feel of OWA (Outlook Web Access) 2010.  OWA 2010 has some great new features such as Conversation view, which allows a user to view the whole chain of responses in one threaded view.   Another great feature that I think everyone will be happy about is that in OWA 2010 all  messages show up on one page, with OWA 2003 the maximum limit was 100 per page, now with OWA 2010 there is no limit no matter how big your inbox is all your messages are on one page.   Also a great feature which we just tested is the function to allow a user to remotely wipe their phone via OWA, so if your phone is lost or stolen you can completely wipe your phone clean of sensitive information.  

 At ImageSource we represent a variety of software options, our consulting services provide an independent and objective approach. Many consultants use a one size fits all philosophy. Our flexible and proven methodologies allow us to help you define truly suitable solutions for ECM and integration with corporatet office tools. 

Will Hart
Support Engineer
ImageSource, Inc.

Things to Consider When Looking to Move to a Paperless Workplace

The rise of instant communication technologies that is made possible through use of the internet (email, texting, IM) and new media (YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter) have brought new ways of handling everyday operations in the world of business. With every new generation, there comes an increased aptitude for technology and evolving work approach using new inventive ways to use that technology. The Net Generation is the first group of “digital natives” that seem to be changing the office workplace like no other age bracket in the past.

It is a known fact that people of the “Net Generation” are more familiar with devices such as cell phones, laptops, and hand held gaming devices. People from this generation think that using paper in the work place is a thing of the past. Most of them usually get their messages through emails, IM’s, and/or Tweets, so it’s no wonder why this generation thinks paper as out dated and archaic.  Sending IM’s and emails are much faster, more convenient, and more eco-friendly than using the standard postal system.

Enterprise Content Management systems are getting more and more common in the workplace. Forms, letters, emails, notes, and paperwork need a place to live for quick and easy access. Companies are looking for ways to store their documents electronically rather than using a hard copy filing system in a file cabinet.  I can’t think of a better generation to embrace this technology than the Net Generation.

With all of this said, the Net Generation has an advantage over the rest of us because they entered this world with the digital age already in place and we should take advantage of that fact and allow these great minds to thrive and expand their knowledge in the workforce. They will be a great asset in the long run, and will be able to get the older generations up to speed with the new technology.

Here are some good ideas on how to get your company up to speed and maximize your company’s productivity.

1. Start moving away from paper based systems, and more towards email, digital forms, and electronic documents.
2. Build a good scanning system that can import your documents into a storage system such as a database.
3. When scanning the images find software that can do optical character recognition (OCR) to create easily searchable text.
4. Build a good storage system that has software that you can add annotations, signatures, highlights, blackouts and whiteouts to scanned documents.
5. Try to find software that allows you to build a workflow process of how you do work at your place of business.
6. And the most important, hire technology oriented people such as people from the Net Generation and let them be technology mentors in the workplace. This is a great opportunity where the students can become the teachers and  let them experiment in ways to drive paper out of the workflows of business – and lead and teach the rest of the organization.

John Hart

Oracle IPM Load Balancing – Information Broker

I was recently working with a client troubleshooting several problematic areas in their Oracle IPM system.  This client is part of a large origination with hundreds of users that could be logged into the system at any given time.  With this much usage, the client was set up with several Info & Process Brokers.

One of the symptoms that this client was seeing, primarily under heavy usage, was an uneven load balancing.  One of the Info Brokers, IB1, would be processing most if not all of the search requests.  This would continue until IB1 would overload and crash.  Restarting the IPM service on IB1 would restore usage, but when IB1 went down it would pass off a great deal of its unprocessed workload stressing the second Info Broker, IB2.

So the fail over was partially working in this environment, but even after the first Info Broker was back up and running a majority of the workload was being carried now by the second Info Broker. 

The load balancing for Oracle IPM is basically on a Round Robin but uses an Client Side Address caching for holding onto a server (in this case an Info Broker for making SQL Queries) for a predetermined time.  The theory behind this is that a user making several queries won’t have to make an Info Broker request from the Request Broker with each search.  When a user makes a search, get assigned an Info Broker and the Address Timeout will keep you connected to the Info Broker for X amount of time for however many searches you are going to run.  In this clients case once a user was assigned to an InfoBroker a client stayed with that InfoBroker until they logged out. 

The setting that handles this behavior is the Address Cache Timeout, and it can be located under the Advanced tab for the Oracle I/PM settings in Services Configuration utility, and the factory default setting is 300,000ms (5 minutes).   This seems a reasonable value on lower volume systems or systems that don’t have multiple Info and Process Brokers set up as the Request Broker won’t have to direct every search request to an Info/Process Broker.  The software manufacturer even states that “Settings larger than 30 seconds cause unusual behavior between computers.” 

In systems with a single Info and Process Broker, this setting will never be an issue.  We have also seen systems with load balanced Info brokers that don’t suffer from the issues that this client was experiencing with users seeming to be locked onto a single Info Broker.  With this client we ended up reducing the Address Cache. 

We moved in a series of steps reducing the time by about half, and were able to see improvements with the load balancing after each change.  Currently they are at around 20 seconds and the failover is functioning as we would want to predict it to function as well as users not getting locked onto a single broker until that broker begins to show signs of stress and goes down.

Random Mcparks
SE with ImageSource Inc.

  

Nexus 2009 Shows Promise for a Stronger Economy

I’ve heard many comments from individuals summing up their ‘NEXUS ECM Experience’ over the past week following the show’s November 2nd close.  From my perspective, the tweets and blogs captured the momentum and attendance at the show was greater than last year.  I think this is because the quality and value of the show in general was up.  Attendees this year definitely had an agenda, and most were actively seeking solutions, as compared to years passed.  The companies that will be on top when the economy turns will be those who have a strong ECM foundation for business processes.  It was encouraging to see the excitement and drive to get back to work and start retooling for a more efficient future.   If you missed out this year, make sure to register for Nexus 2010 and lock in the reduced rate of $195! Use code NEXUS10SPL

Leigh Woody

Program Manager

ImageSource, Inc.