Dart KnowledgeWorker™ Scanning Solution User Guide
1. Introduction
1.1 The scanning application provides the user with a number of options for pulling in scanned
documents to KnowledgeWorker. The method used depends on the user’s IT hardware
infrastructure and the connection requirements. Once the scanned images are stored within the
KnowledgeWorker vaults, they can be used to trigger specific workflows, such as invoice
authorisation and document approval.
The contents of the supplied compressed file package should be installed onto each PC that will
be used for acquiring scanned images. The user installing the package should follow the
installation and configuration details within this document before trying to use any of the
functionality.
1.2 The scanning module is responsible for filing scanned images from the scanner into the
KnowledgeWorker vaults. The location of where the images are stored is configurable, allowing
images of different document types to be co-located in separate folders within KnowledgeWorker
for ease of future processing and access by users. Examples of related documents could be
Invoices, Purchase Orders, Incoming mail, Authorised documents with a physical signature that
needs to be captured. In particular, it is possible to initiate a different workflow with each type of
document image stored.
1.3 The following set of diagrams show the various scanning configurations that are possible using the
scanning solutions package:
1.3.1 Direct connection to a scanner using USB port:
Benefits of this approach – low cost, small number of users, low quantity of documents to be
scanned. Scanning solution user guide 1v3.doc Page 5 of 25.
1.3.2 Two stage upload: First scan to mapped network, then use the scanning application to pick up
the files from the mapped drive and upload into KnowledgeWorker:
Benefits of this configuration - use within a larger organisation, high volume of documents can be
scanned, scanning process can be initiated from the scanner and documents collected later from a
workstation.
1.3.3 Direct scanning control from a networked device into the PC and upload into KnowledgeWorker:
Benefits of this approach - direct control of the scanner remotely, single stage scanning, use where
only networked devices are available, low quantities of documents are to be scanned and the files
are not inadvertently left on the networked drive in cases where sensitive documents are being
handled.
2. Installing the scanning interface
2.1 Ensure you have the TWAIN driver for your scanner installed on the same workstation that this
scanning software will be installed on. You may need to contact your scanner manufacturer /
supplier to obtain this software if it was not provided with the scanner.
2.2 The Twain scanning control used by the scanning application will also need to be installed. Start by
copying the TwainControlX1.exe file and associated files from the zip installation package into the
Addins\SCAN_ITMES folder. Double click the TwainControlX1.exe file to start its installation.
Further details of this process can be found in section headed Licensing the TWAIN control later
in this chapter.
2.3 Extract the contents of the supplied .zip file into a directory on your KnowledgeWorker server.
2.4 Copy the contents of the directory Addins\SCAN_ITMES to the existing Addins\SCAN_ITMES
directory on the scanning client machine. The files in this folder that should be copied across are:
CONFIG
SCAN_LOG
ScanningDocument.exe
The rest of the software must now be loaded onto the KnowledgeWorker server system.
2.5 Open the CONFIG.XML file in the Addins\SCAN_ITMES directory into a text editor you should
see:
Modify the contents of this file so the following parameters are correct for your system:
Where:
SERVER - is the connection server name for your local KnowledgeWorker
WEB_SERVICE is the directory name of KWSCAN on your server/virtual server and is
the link to the scanning host
DEBUG_MODE – ON creates a debug file (SCAN_DEBUG.log) for tracing errors. OFF
does not produce the log file
USER_ID – Do not change this setting
NODE_PARENT – Do not change this setting. Retained for backward compatibility.
FILE_DELETE – If set to YES then each file is deleted from the network folder after it has
been uploaded to KnowledgeWorker. If set to NO, then the file is retained in the folder.
UNCHECKED_AUTO – If set to YES, the Use Auto Scanner Settings check box on the
main scanning application is unchecked by default when the application is started. If
set to NO, then the check box is set by default.
2.6 It is suggested that links to the scanning application are added to the workstation, e.g. the start
menu and / or the desktop, to allow quick access to the scanning application.
2.7 If you are using a networked scanning device, ensure that the scanner has access permission for
the scanner. Also, if the scan to network drive mode is to be used, ensure both the scanner and
any users who need access to the scanned images have full access permissions to the networked
folder where the scanned images will be deposited.
2.8 Copy the contents of the Web directory to your ..\web directory.
2.9 Copy the contents of WEBSERVICES\KWSCAN to the ..\KWSCAN directory
Start-up KnowledgeWorker, logging on as the admin user, and perform the following
actions:
- Select Admin from the left-hand navigation pane. Navigate to Administration->List
categories option. - Select Import Categories from the green cross icon at the top of the page.
- When prompted, browse to the Kworker_Scanning_Autho_Categories.xml file in the
Category directory - Click on Load.
2.10 This file holds the category for the scanning interface, ScannedImageType. Configure with the
nodes of the scanning folders (see chapter 3).
Licensing the TWAIN control
2.11 If the scanned images have a watermark at the top of the screen that says something like “Image
acquired by TwainControlX Trial – www.ciansoft.com“, then this indicates that the Ciansoft
Twain control used is a trial version then the fully licensed version has not been loaded – this may
be due to having upgraded from an early/trial version of the scanning package. Note that this
TWAIN control is not the same as the TWAIN driver you required for your scanner, but is the link
that allows the scanning application to ‘talk’ to the scanner TWAIN driver. If you do not see this
watermark, then your control is the fully licensed version, and you are ready to move on to the next
chapter.
2.12 Check with support whether you have the fully licensed control in your distribution package or
whether it can be supplied separately. Depending on whether the files has been provided
separately or as part of another zip file package, you need to perform the following steps:
2.12.1 Copy the new (licensed) control from the zip package folder.
\Software\TwainControl\TwainControlX1.exe to KW_Scan\SOFTWARE on the scanning PC
2.12.2 Double click on TwainControlX1.exe and install in the default folders (click Next throughout the
installation process).
(Check it has been installed by looking to see if the C:\Program Files\ciansoft\TwainControlX
directory has been created)
2.12.3 Now register it by following these steps (Note you need to be able to see the C:\Progam
Files\Ciansoft\TwainControlX directory in your windows explorer screen first to allow the following drag
and drop process): Start->Run and enter regsvr32 and drag and drop the TwainControlX.ocx file from
the C:\Progam Files\Ciansoft\TwainControlX directory (or wherever the software was loaded) into this
command box and click OK.
2.12.4 A confirmation screen should now be displayed showing that installation worked. If not, contact Ideagen Support (support.dart@ideagen.com)
2.12.5 Start the scanning application by either double clicking the application directly
(C:\KWORKER\CD\Addins\KW_Scan\BIN\SCAN_ITMES\ScanDocuments.exe) or clicking one of the
shortcut links setup on your desktop or Start menu. Before the scanning application can be used, the categories within KnowledgeWorker need to be configured first. To do this, step through the instructions in Chapter 3.
3. Configuring the new scanning categories
3.1 Before the new scanning interface can be used, the folders in KnowledgeWorker need to be defined by the System Administrator by using the following process. For now, we’ll assume only one folder will be created called Invoices. However, the process will be the same for any other folders required.
3.2 From the Homepage of KnowledgeWorker, select the Library view.
3.3 Add a folder and call it (for example) Invoices:
3.4 When this has been created, hover the mouse over the Invoices link:
Look at the message in the status bar at the bottom of the screen. You should see something
similar to the following:
Make a note of the number, in this case 5020.
3.5 Then from the navigation pane on the left of the screen select the following chain of links:
Administration->System Administration->List Categories->ScannedImageType
You will see a screen similar to:
3.6 Click on Data and at the select Data Category - ScannedImageType admin screen, select New
Entry from the green cross icon at the head of the screen:
You should see the following screen. Enter a relevant name into the ImageTypeName box,
the folder node ID previously noted into Image Location and ensure Location Active is selected.
If a folder needs to be removed from the selection list, simply uncheck the Location Active box and
save the changes:
Note - the ImageTypeName and Image Location will be used to populate the drop down box on
the scanning client programme (See 5.3).
3.7 Click on Update to store the data. Press Cancel to go back to the Data Category - ScannedImageType admin. It is possible to check which folders have been defined and their status by searching the data category:
3.8 The defined folder structure will now be visible within the scanning utility dropdown box (see
section 5.2). The scanned image folders can also be seen from KnowledgeWorker’s Homepage:
Note that the Scanned items to be processed section has a fixed view of up to 10 items and cannot
be customised via the normal Customise Homepage settings within the Admin section of
KnowledgeWorker.
4 Configuring category and workflow associations
4.1 The power of processing images within KnowledgeWorker comes from the association of the
images with Business Process based workflows. This section explains how to configure different
workflows with different categories and scanned image types. The following diagram illustrates the
concept of how images and workflows are configured and linked in the system:
4.2 Each folder within the ‘Scanned images to be processed’ folder can be associated with a category
for processing the document image. For example invoices could have brief financial data in a
category for associating with invoices and the financial system. Other document image types will
need other data category contents.
4.3 When an image in the folder is selected, the split screen view is opened and the associated default
category is opened on the left half of the screen and the image on the right side. The user can then
complete any remaining data fields and complete the process by sending the image on. If
necessary, the user can select a different category for associating with the image from a drop
down list.
4.4 At this stage, the split screen interrogates the Category and workflow mapping category to
identify the workflow that is associated with the data category selected. It also pulls out the other
associated information such as who the workflow should be fired to and how the fields just
completed should be mapped to the fields of the category associated with the workflow. Once this
information is obtained, the appropriate workflow is triggered and normal workflow processing
continues.
4.5 The mapping between the categories, attributes and the workflows is performed by the Category
and workflow mapping category. The System Administrator must set up the contents of this
category before the split screen processing can be used: This category holds the following fields:
-
Category id – This is the node number of the category associated with the images and
/or the image folder they reside in initially. Note, this category can be the same or a
different category to the one assigned to the workflow. The category can be of type
data, file or workflow. -
Mapped Workflow id –This is the node id for the workflow that will be triggered by the
split screen utility. If this field is left empty, then the category information will be
associated with the image only and no workflow will be triggered. Once associated in
this way, the image will be hidden from view on the Homepage since it has been
considered to have been through processing and therefore is not shown in the
Scanned items to be processed folder. However, if the user goes into this folder, they
will be able to see the processed and unprocessed images. The processed images can
then be moved to other folders if required. -
Condition – A condition can be defined that allows the workflow to be triggered if a certain
condition is satisfied. To define a condition, the Category field must refer to an actual
field name (not the display name) in the selected Category and follow this by one or
more conditional statements. For example:
field1|=|aa|and|field2|=|bb
Note - the fields and operators are separated by the vertical bar ‘|’ symbol. Evaluation
of the operators (=, <, >, <>, <=, >=, and, or, not) occurs from left to right. When the statement evaluation is TRUE, the workflow is triggered; if FALSE then the
workflow is not triggered. If any of the field names referenced in the conditional statement
do not exist in the workflow, then again the workflow is not fired. This mechanism allows more than one workflow to potentially be triggered with the same category data. The selection for which workflow will be triggered can be controlled by conditional statements set up in multiple entries in the Category and workflow mapping category. For example, if it is required for workflow1 and workflow2 to be triggered based on the following logic. If attribute1 field in split screen <= 250 then
trigger workflow1
else
trigger workflow2
This can be achieved by creating the following two entries being in the Category and
workflow mapping category.
-
Attribute Mapping – When the workflow is triggered, this field allows a number of fields
from the category associated with the image to be transferred to the category for the
workflow. This allows fields in the workflow category to be populated if it is different
from the category associated with the split screen view of the image. Examples of the
mapping field values are:
field1:field1
field2:field2
The format of the mapping statement is:
Split screen category.Atrribute1:workflow catgory.Attribute1
Split screen category.Atrribute2:workflow catgory.Attribute2
Split screen category.Atrribute3:workflow catgory.Attribute3
If no fields are specified and the split screen category is different to the workflow category,
then the workflow IS NOT triggered. If the two categories are the same and no field
mapping is provided, then the workflow IS triggered and a 1 to 1 mapping of the data
fields takes place.
-
Workflow Performer Field Name –This is the field in the image category that should
hold the name of the person or group that the workflow should be triggered to. It is the
responsibility of the user who designed the workflow on the system to ensure this field
is a mandatory field. If it is not mandatory and the user triggers the workflow without
selecting a user or group, then the workflow is triggered but can’t be sent anywhere.
This leaves an invalid workflow sitting in the system. -
status – Active or Inactive. If Active, this entry in the Category and workflow mapping
category is considered by the split screen process, otherwise it is ignored when set
Inactive.
5 Using the scanning interface
5.1 To start using the scanning application, execute the application ScanningDocument.exe found in
the folder Addins\SCAN_ITMES, or use either of the shortcut links on your desktop or start menu,
if they have been set up:
5.2 When triggered, the scanning module asks the user to select the device driver to use, i.e. the
device to be used for image acquisition. A user dialogue window similar to the following will be
seen. The user should select the appropriate scanning device by clicking on the device name to
highlight it and click on Select.
Note - the user will always see this dialogue even if they intend to only use the file upload facility.
5.3 The user is then presented with the scanning interface dialog box, see figure 16. The user can now
choose which mode of operation for uploading the images into KnowledgeWorker should be used.
5.3.1 Capture direct from the scanner (for USB or network connected devices) – useful for capturing
pages / documents without storing them on the network drive first.
5.3.2 Upload pre-scanned images from a designated mapped drive on the network – recommend using
this option when several documents / pages need to be scanned and uploaded. This will be
faster than scanning directly from the scanner.
Before any images can be uploaded to KnowledgeWorker, the appropriate upload location in
KnowledgeWorker should be selected.
5.4 Initially the Image Location in KW field may be empty. From the Image Location in KW drop
down, select one of the folders shown, e.g. INVOICE.
Note - if no folder is selected and the user persists in trying to scan, the user sees the dialogue box
in figure 17 and the scanning operation will not continue.
5.5 Starting the scan process:
5.5.1 Upload from scanner.
Before moving on to capturing an image directly from the scanner, unselect the Use Auto Scanner
Settings check box since this is not required for MFD devices. Note, this option may already be
deselected by default via the configuration file – see installation notes on the CONFIG.XML file. It
is used with scanners directly connected to the controlling PC via the USB or network ports.
Assuming an Image Location in KW has been selected, click on Capture and the image
acquisition process will begin. The system either initialises the scanner and starts a scan or
another user dialogue for controlling the scanner is displayed. If another user dialogue is seen,
then this is part of the software provided with your MFD / scanner device. However this application
and associated scanner driver software are provided by the MFD manufacturer. Two examples of
such dialogue screens can be seen below. The precise features provided depend on the MFD
device and the manufacturer:
The user should set up the specific settings for the scans they wish to capture and click on the
Scan button. Note - the MFD must be set to provide images in TIFF format for the system to work.
In the previous example, the scanner will scan from the glass platen. This can be used for
individual pages, but if several documents / pages are to be scanned, then it would be more
appropriate to use the automatic sheet feeder, so ensure this option is selected before scanning,
otherwise an error will be displayed:
Another example of a scanner control panel, this time directly connected to the controlling PC via
the USB port is shown below:
Once the file has been uploaded, a message is displayed to show the success status of the scan:
5.5.2 Upload from a networked drive.
To upload images to KnowledgeWorker from a networked drive, select the From File option:
The user should then select the drive and folder that contain the images to be uploaded (Note the
networked drive should have sufficient permissions for the scanner to access when saving images
and for the user to access through this scanning application):
Select the appropriate file filter option to view either TIFF or PDF files. Note - the split screen
view used to access scanned images in KnowledgeWorker for triggering workflows will only handle
TIFF format files. Alternatively, if you just want to upload a set of PDF files to KnowledgeWorker for
storage, then select the PDF option.
Files are selected by clicking in the file name and deselected by clicking on the highlighted
filename again. Multiple files can be selected in one go by clicking the first file, holding down the
SHIFT key, scrolling down and clicking on the last file to be selected.
Once the Upload button is clicked, all the selected files will be uploaded into the selected ‘Image
location within KnowledgeWorker’. The status of all files uploaded or not, is reported in the results
screen text box at the bottom of the application window.
5.6 To exit the scanning application, the user should click on the Cancel button, displaying the
following screen. The user can either go back to the scanning application (No clicked) or continue
to exit (Yes clicked).
Clicking on Yes will start a closedown timer of 5 seconds, giving any scanner currently in the
process of scanning, enough time to finish its current scan:
5.7 Once scanning is complete, the user can log into KnowledgeWorker. Their Home page will be
similar to the following illustration, permissions allowing:
5.8 Clicking on the Scanned Items to be processed header will take the user to a view listing all the
scanned image folders (with a count of the number of images alongside):
If the user clicks on one of the scanned folder names on the Home page instead, then the contents
of that folder will be shown.
Note - the folder view only shows the images that have not been processed yet. Once
processed, they are hidden from this view. The user can see all the images by navigating directly
to the image folders through the library.
5.9 Clicking on an image will open it for processing in the split screen view:
5.10 By default, the example above selects the Invoice Processing category since it was the first in the
list, but the user can select any other category to process the images against by selecting the
appropriate category from the list in the Category drop down. By default, the Transaction type
defaults to PLINV for invoices, however other processing types can also be selected. The
Transaction Types each link to a related workflow or task.
5.11 The user now has three options:
5.11.1 Enter all the details into the category fields (attributes), and click on Submit which fires the
workflow and attaches the scanned image, in the case of the Invoice Authorisation workflow. The
next image from the same folder will then be loaded into view, if another one exists.
5.11.2 Click on Move Next instead, the currently displayed image is not sent and the next image loaded,
if another one exists. If another image does not exist, the screen returns to the folder view.
5.11.3 Click on Cancel and the split screen view is closed.
5.12 Once the workflow is triggered, normal workflow processing and rules will be followed by the
KnowledgeWorker system.