The main difference between SimpleIndex and other high-speed scanning applications is that SimpleIndex is designed around a single batch processing model.  More expensive programs are designed to process many batches in stages that run on separate computers like an assembly line.  These stages are:

• Import (scan or read existing files)
• Process (cleanup, OCR, barcode recognition)
• Index (assign keyword values for filenames or database fields)
• Quality Control (review, revise & rescan)
• Export (create file structure, convert to PDF, export index values to log or database)

What if your assembly line only has one worker?  Other packages require the user to enter a separate set of commands to launch each stage.  SimpleIndex is designed to quickly scan and index a single batch by allowing you to perform each stage automatically in sequence.  This design makes SimpleIndex much faster and easier to use than other scanning software.  It also simplifies the underlying programming, dramatically lowering the cost.

Because SimpleIndex implements all 5 processing stages in a single workflow, it lacks the individual commands for each stage that one might expect to see.  These have been replaced by a single "Run Job" button.  All SimpleIndex functions are executed by configuring the desired settings for each stage and running the batch process.

Each type of scanned document has different parameters for each processing stage that are used to capture and file the images.  In SimpleIndex, a particular set of these parameters is called a Job.  When configuring a job, you must specify how you want SimpleIndex to perform each of the processing stages from Import to Export.  When a job is executed, SimpleIndex automatically launches all the processing stages in sequence according to the settings you specify.

The settings for a job can be saved to a SimpleIndex Configuration File (*.sic) for execution later.  These configuration files can also be launched from Windows Explorer by double-clicking its icon just like any saved document.  Doing this will start SimpleIndex and execute the job automatically.  The job can even be configured to perform all indexing automatically and hide the SimpleIndex user interface altogether.  The user just loads the feeder, double-clicks an icon on the desktop, and all processing is done for you in the background.

The ability to execute scanning and indexing configurations from a saved file is a unique feature of SimpleIndex that opens many new possibilities for automating user tasks.

 

The best way to get started with SimpleIndex is to check out the sample configuration files that come with it.  These sample configurations demonstrate some of the key features of SimpleIndex and provide a starting point for configuring various types of jobs.  By default, the sample configurations are installed in C:\Program Files\SimpleIndex\Configs.

When you run SimpleIndex for the first time, it will first ask you to choose a configuration file to open.  Select the Invoice Processing subfolder and select one of the job files beginning with "Read Invoices".

The sample configurations use sample images that download with SimpleIndex, so don't worry if you don't have a scanner.  Click the Run Job button on the SimpleIndex toolbar and processing will begin.  SimpleIndex copies images from the Input folder, reads the OCR zones on each one, then displays the first image with the index values that were recognized.  To complete the batch you must save each of the index values using the Save Index button, then finalize the batch when prompted to at the end.

Congratulations!  You have just processed your first batch with SimpleIndex!