Chapter 2. Scan Client concepts

Now that the Scan Client is installed, we will introduce you to the concepts involved in using the Scan Client.

2.1. Definitions

In describing the Scan Client we will use some of the following terms:

Pages

A page is a single piece of paper scanned into the scan client. A page refers to a single scanned image. One or more pages can be added to a document. Pages are not indexed or uploaded on their own - the documents they belong to are indexed and uploaded.

Documents

The Scan Client can combine one or more pages into each logical document. Documents can be indexed and uploaded onto the Virtual Postman server. Each document is archived on the server as a single PDF file, containing one or more pages.

Batches

A batch contains all the pages scanned at the same time, and are managed together. If 30 pages are placed in the scanner's feeder, then scanned into the scan client, then all those pages, and the documents created from those pages, will be managed in a single batch. Batches are uploaded and shared as a whole.

Document categories, or nodes

On each Virtual Postman system, there are multiple nodes (otherwise known as document categories). Each different type of document should be archived into a separate node. Having separate nodes allows us to segregate the documents by document type, and record information relative to each document type.

If you are scanning contracts between your company and your customers, information you may want to record about each document might include the customer's name, the customer's account number and the contract start and end dates. These fields would not be applicable if you were scanning delivery notes, where delivery note number, invoice number, delivery date etc. would be more relevant.

Scanning documents into different nodes based on the document type allows you to configure different index fields per document type.

All documents in a batch should be of the same document type.

Indexing

Indexing is done when values are populated into the index fields configured for the document type you are scanning.

Uploading

Once a batch has been scanned, processed and indexed, it is uploaded to the server. This makes the documents in the batch available other users logged into the server.