How it Works

The oscFile Design Philosophy

The main difference between oscFile Index and other high-speed scanning applications is that oscFile 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 search fields)

• Quality Control (review, revise & rescan)

• Export (create file structure, 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.  oscFile Index is designed to quickly scan and index a single batch by performing each stage automatically in sequence.  This design makes oscFile Index much faster and easier to use than other scanning software, as well as lowering the cost.

Because oscFile Index 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  These have been replaced by a single "Run Job" button.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 oscFile Index functions are executed by configuring the desired settings for all stages and running the batch process.

oscFile Index Jobs

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

The settings for a job are saved to a oscFile Index Configuration File (*.sic).  These configuration files can be launched from Windows Explorer by double-clicking its icon just like any saved document.  Doing this will start oscFile Index and execute the job automatically.

Jobs can even be configured to perform all indexing automatically and hide the oscFile Index user interface altogether.  The user just loads the feeder, double-clicks an icon on the desktop, and all processing is done in the background.

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

Processing the Sample Jobs

The best way to get started with oscFile Index is to check out the sample configuration files that come with it.  These sample configurations demonstrate some of the key features of oscFile Index and provide a starting point for configuring various types of jobs.

Several online videos are available to walk you through this process.

The Getting Started Guide that appears when you first run oscFile Index will give you step-by-step instructions for running the sample jobs as well.  This can also be accessed from the Help menu.  The sample jobs use images that are bundled with oscFile Index, so don't worry if you don't have a scanner!

Print Barcode Cover Pages to Automate Scanning & Indexing

oscFile Coversheet is a barcode printing application used to create coversheets for automating the indexing process during scanning.  This allows the users who generate documents to provide the index information, taking it out of the hands of scanner operators who may not be familiar with the files.

Coversheets can be used for a variety of scanning applications.  The possibilities include:

• Fully automate the indexing for your scanned documents using barcode technology with accuracy of 99.9% or more

• Anyone in your office can fill out and print coversheets with a single, low-cost site license

• Incredibly easy user interface

• Use with digital copiers and MFPs to automatically file scanned documents from anywhere in the office

• Centralized scanning operations can receive documents with the index values pre-coded by the people that created them

• Print generic separator sheets that can be used to indicate breaks between multi-page documents

• Users can select from a list of values from a database or text file

• Perform database merges to automatically print many barcodes at once

• Use the command line interface to automatically print coversheets from a custom application

oscFile Coversheet offers an affordable site licensing scheme, allowing you to install it on any computer in your office with no extra cost.

oscFile Coversheet is a must for those using network attached scanners or digital copiers to scan their files.  This lets you to configure oscFile Index to run as a scheduled task and process documents in the background, providing a fully automated scanning solution the whole office can use.

oscFile Coversheet is also a must for service bureaus and backfile conversions.  Database integration lets you perform a "mail merge" and instantly pre-print barcodes for all the files in your job.  Handwritten fields provide an audit trail through the prepping and scanning process.

Fast Thumbnail Viewer for Document Images

oscFile QC is an image thumbnail viewer designed to quickly view and scroll through large numbers of images for quality control purposes.  Unlike most thumbnail viewers that are designed for photos, oscFile QC is designed specifically for multi-page TIFF document images.  Also, unlike most document imaging quality control applications, oscFile is affordable and works with any images stored on your network.

With oscFile QC you can view thumbnails of many individual files or pages within a multi-page TIFF file simultaneously.  Quickly switch between folders, select pages and perform rotation, deskew, despeckle or delete on all selected pages at once.  Users can also reorder pages within a file or between files, and rescan pages that are illegible.

oscFile QC is designed to work as a standalone application or seamlessly integrated with oscFile scanning and indexing software.

The main design goal of oscFile QC is speed and efficiency with multi-page files.  It loads thumbnail images very quickly, especially with multi-page, black & white document images.

oscFile QC’s efficiency comes from its keyboard shortcuts.  Virtually all functions can be executed with a single keystroke, allowing users to very quickly view and edit thumbnails without ever reaching for the mouse.  The productivity benefits of this design are significant.

oscFile QC comes with Imaging for Windows, providing additional enhanced image viewing, editing, annotation and full-page OCR capabilities.  Imaging for Windows is a robust imaging application that costs almost $200 when sold separately. 

Besides viewing thumbnails, oscFile QC can perform a variety of common quality-control related tasks on images.  These include:

• Rotate page

• Deskew (straighten page)

• Despeckle (remove “snow”)

• Rescan

• Reorder pages

• Move or copy pages between multi-page files

• Delete pages

• Open files in Imaging for Windows for advanced editing