docalpha 5.0 Recognition Station User Guide

docalpha 5.0 Recognition Station User Guide

Contents 1. docalpha Architecture Overview 3 1.1. Recognition Station Overview 3 2. What s New in docalpha Recognition Station 5.0 4 3. Working with Recognition Station 4 3.1. Recognition Station Processing Steps and Parameters 5 3.2. Recognition Configuration Utility and Recognition Service 5 3.3. Recognition Utility Menu and Toolbar 7 3.4. Starting & Stopping Recognition Station Windows Service 7 3.5. Recognition Configuration Utility Options 8 3.6. Controlling the Number of CPUs / Cores Used by Recognition 8 3.7. Recognition Configuration Utility Help Menu 9 2

1. docalpha Architecture Overview Artsyl docalpha is a client-server distributed capture application capable of running on local and global networks. It contains server components and processing stations. Some processing stations can run as unattended Windows Services and so are also often deployed in the server room. The other stations are running in User Interface mode as Windows.NET Applications. Picture 1. docalpha Components Diagram 1.1. Recognition Station Overview The production environment stations include Auto-Registration, Scanning, Recognition, Universal Concurrent Station (SimpleCapture Verification Station), and Export Station. The Monitoring Station is not a part of production workflow cycle but it can be used to monitor and impact the processing done on the production environment stations. The docalpha Recognition Station provides access to viewing the current status of the Recognition Windows Service, as well as detailed real-time information on the recognized batches, including their unique batch ID, the processing start time, the total number of documents and pages in the currently processed batch as well as the currently processed page number and any messages that the Artsyl IDR Kernel provides. Those messages are logged into the Service Journal, System and User Logs but they are also conveniently available in real-time in the Recognition Station user interface. Refer to the section Working with Recognition Station for more details. Auto-Registration, Recognition and Export stations architecture are Windows Services. They can and should be deployed as fully automatic services running on the server room side and auto-restarting with the server restart. To be able to configure and visually watch the ser- 3

vices, docalpha offers three configuration utilities for those stations - Auto-Registration, Recognition and Export Configuration Utilities. The automatic stations can be run on all supported server OS and all supported workstation OS (MS Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Server 2003, Server 2008, each operation system listed supports 32-bit and 64-bit platforms). Refer to the Installation Guide for details on operation system versions and service packs required. All docalpha stations use the Concurrent License model. If you stop a Windows Service for the Recognition Station on one machine, you can use the same license to start it on another machine. 2. What s New in docalpha Recognition Station 5.0 Improved stability for very large production jobs processing Recognition speed improvement Support for multi-process recognition process Control of the exact number of CPUs and cores used for recognition Automatic workload balancing among the CPUs and cores allocated to recognition processing Ability to apply all workflow settings, allowing for the exclusion of the Verification Station from batch processing all together if required Ability to apply Auto-Find on Recognition station even if Verification station is not included into the workflow Over 150 additional recognition languages Support for simplified and traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean recognition languages New barcode types supported, including DataMatrix and QR Code Support for multiple OCR engines used within the same recognition field Ability to combine OCR and ICR within the same field Upside-down text orientation recognition support Flexible service configuration ability Ability to start the Recognition Configuration Utility from the Single Sign-On Utility (docalpha Startup Panel) Ability to control the docalpha Recognition Service from the centralized Status Monitoring Utility along with all other docalpha Windows Service-type stations, from a single convenient interface 3. Working with Recognition Station docalpha Recognition Station s main purpose is to fully automatically process batches acquired by the Scan Stations and Auto-Registration Stations based on the Workflow settings and document types allowed in the Workflow. 4

3.1. Recognition Station Processing Steps and Parameters The typical processing steps performed by the Recognition Station include: Full-page recognition: OCR (Optical Character Recognition) of the entire documents provided for processing. The workflow settings dictate which recognition languages are allowed in the processed documents. Classification: direct, layered and/or cascading classification of the pages and multi-page documents based on the Workflow parameters and allowed document classes. Refer to the Admin Guide and Designer Guide for full details on setting up and using the Auto-Classification. Batch Splitting and Assembly: the documents can be split and/or merged together based on the criteria set in the Workflow (barcodes, patch codes, key text values, blank pages, etc.) automatically on the Recognition Station. Refer to the Admin Guide for full details on setting up and using the Batch Splitting and Assembling. Structuring and Batch Assembly: If simple batch splitting and assembly criteria are not enough for the documents, defining the flexible and powerful Batch Structure can be used. The Batch Structure can be used not only for splitting and assembling the multi-page documents with flexible structure, but for checking the existing batch structure on the documents that come fully assembled as well. Refer to the Admin Guide for setting up and using Batch Structure. Data extraction: based on known document class, the set of indexes belonging to the document are retrieved, using the Basic Capture with Auto-Find, Zonal OCR, Fixed Forms, or Semi-Structured Documents technology. The index fields can be flat text fields (processed by OCR for machine-printed documents and by ICR, Intelligent Character Recognition, for hand-printed documents), checkmarks (processed by OMR, Optical Mark Recognition), barcodes and patch-codes (processed by OBR, Optical Barcode Recognition), Manual Zones (marked for key from image by the operator) or image snippet zones. Refer to the Admin Guide and Designer Guide for full details on setting up and using the index fields. Applying Business Rules: the extracted results can be automatically validated on the Recognition Station using the Rules in the document profiles. If done on the Recognition Station, this can be used for further routing of the batch (for example, when all validations are passed successfully, the batch travels directly to the Export Station, but if some validations fail, it first stops at the SimpleCapture Verification Station to be validated by an operator). Refer to the Admin Guide for further details on setting and up using Profile Rules. Batch-level settings are dictated by the workflow parameters and are defined by the Administrator when the workflow is created. However the incoming images can be accompanied by the XML tickets that can override the default settings and provide customized parameters for the document being registered. Refer to the Auto-Registration Station Manual for the details of working with Inbound XML tickets. 3.2. Recognition Configuration Utility and Recognition Service Since the Recognition Station is a Windows Service, its entire configuration is done via the use of the Recognition Configuration Utility. To start the Utility, select Start All Programs Artsyl docalpha Artsyl docalpha Stations docalpha Recognition Station from the Start menu or use the desktop product accelerator icon. As with any other station, the user will be required to enter the user name and password for authentication: 5

The alternative way is to start the Recognition Configuration Utility from the Single Sign-On Utility that allows signing up just once and then launching any station that the operator has credentials to start without having to re-enter the user name and password: Below is the detailed explanation of each login step, listing the step name, explanation of what is done in that step, and what to do (troubleshooting steps) in case the login process fails at that step: Login Step Name Details of the Step Troubleshooting by clicking on the Recognition Station button. Note: The Single Sign-On Utility window (the docalpha Startup Panel) lists only the stations to which the operator has the credentials to log in. If the station that the operator needs to start does not show up on the panel, the operator is lacking the credentials to start it and needs to contact the Administrator of docalpha to get the proper credentials. The starting process includes a detailed step-by-step audit process that provides detailed information for any possible connectivity, licensing and other issues that may prevent the operator from logging in successfully and starting up the station. If the login is unsuccessful move the mouse cursor to the short warning message (that will appear in an orange rectangle) to see the detailed message: Get Network Data Server Connection Server License Check SQL Server Check User Credentials Check Station Versions Check Get Stations Identity This step is responsible for getting the network identity and detecting the gateway to connect to the server. This step checks if the main docalpha application server runs on the specified address and replies to the client requests This step checks that docalpha server itself has a valid license This step checks that docalpha s Application Server is connected properly to the SQL Server This step checks user credentials. This step checks that the station has the appropriate file version This step checks station ID in the database, or creates a new ID on the first station start 1. Computer is disconnected from the network check the network connections. 2. There are two or more gateways on the computer (for example in case of a VPN) choose the correct gateway option in the login screen. Check if docalpha Server Service is started and that firewall settings allow connection via the specified ports (the ports are 8008 and 5000). Check license options on the docalpha server. If licensing was installed locally, check whether the license server service is in the online state. Check that the SQL Server services are running and that docalpha SQL connectivity options are correct. Check the user name and password. Check that the user has enough rights to start the station. Install the appropriate station s update or turn on the Auto-Updater option. Errors on this step mean a critical inconsistency in the internal database. Please contact Artsyl support to troubleshoot if this happens. 6

Acquire License Set Station Online This step checks for an available concurrent seat license Set station status to online. Check online stations of Recognition type. The total number of simultaneously running stations cannot exceed the number of the Recognition Stations in the license. If you need to increase the number of stations, please contact your Artsyl authorized reseller. Only critical connectivity errors can cause this step to fail. Please contact Artsyl support to troubleshoot your installation network configuration. During processing of the batch, the full information on the job is provided, including the batch status and any associated messages, Batch ID, total multi-page documents contained in the batch and total pages contained in the batch, the number of pages already recognized (to see the process speed real-time), the batch recognition processing start time-stamp and any additional messages that the docalpha IDR Kernel provides during the batch recognition process. The progress is visualized with the progress bar indicator and detailed Task History reporting window showing all steps completed so far for the current batch. After the authentication is passed successfully, the Recognition Configuration Utility UI window is loaded. At this point the user can see real-time processing and status information in the lower panel of the station. The Main UI window of docalpha Recognition Configuration Utility: The Recognition Station functions fully automatically and does not need constant monitoring or operator s actions to successfully process the batches. The Utility may only come in handy for real-time visual tracking of the processing jobs during initial roll-out or system testing, or the occasional Q&A session. 3.3. Recognition Utility Menu and Toolbar The Recognition Configuration Utility Menu and Toolbar provide access to starting and stopping the Recognition Station Windows Service (Toolbar > Start Service / Stop Service) and the station options (Toolbar > Options), to the Recognition Service Configuration (Toolbar->Service Configuration) and to help and support functionality (Menu > Help) available for the operator. 3.4. Starting & Stopping Recognition Station Windows Service The Recognition Configuration Utility Toolbar provides access to starting and stopping the Recognition Station Windows Service. Click on the Start Service button to start the service. The button functions as a toggle button; it changes its face value depending on the current status of the Recognition Service. When the service is already running, the button will read Stop Service. Click on the Stop Service button to stop the Recognition Station Windows Service. 7

To change the options for the station, stop the service by clicking on Stop Service, make the necessary changes in the Options dialogue box, and then restart the service again by clicking on Start Service toggle button. 3.5. Recognition Configuration Utility Options Use the Recognition Configuration Utility toolbar (Toolbar > Options) to access the Options dialogue that controls the settings of the Recognition Station processing: 3.5.1. General Options Tab The General tab provides access to the following: Temporary Folder: Temporary folder: Reviewing and changing folder used by station to hold temporary files.. Interface Language and selecting the desired UI language from the drop- down list: Log Depth: Changing the log verbosity for the station. Note: the Server-side-enforced settings for log verbosity can override the local settings. Interface Language: Shows the default UI language selected for all stations of docalpha by the administrator. However, it is possible to override the default UI language for this particular station by checking the checkmark Default Gateway: Allows selecting which gateway to use when the system has several of them defined (for example, in a VPN use case). 3.6. Controlling the Number of CPUs / Cores Used by Recognition The control of the number of simultaneously used CPUs (or cores) in a multi-cpu (or multi-core) installation is done via the Service Configuration File. It is accessible via Help Configurations Open Service Configuration menu. The parameter that controls the maximum number of the simultaneously used CPUs is called Thread- Limit. The default value of 0 means no limit, and is geared towards letting the Recognition Station utilize 8

the maximum power possible on the host machine. If the Recognition Station needs to be limited to not utilizing all of the available CPUS or cores, specify the number of CPUs that should be allocated to recognition here. For example, 3 means that up to 3 CPUs (or cores) will be used for any recognition job on this machine. Note: If the number listed in the ThreadLimit parameter exceeds the total number of CPUs or cores physically available, the total number of CPUs / cores available on the machine is automatically used instead. 3.7. Recognition Configuration Utility Help Menu The Recognition Utility Help Menu provides access to the station s help and support capabilities: 1. Contents (F1): provides access to this help file. 2. Logs > Open Log Folder: opens the directory that contains detailed log files for the Recognition Configuration Utility. Note that the detailed log files are compressed encrypted files; they would only become necessary if requested by the vendor support team. 3. Logs > Open Service Log Folder: opens the directory that contains detailed log files for the Recognition Station Windows Service. Note that the detailed log files are compressed encrypted files; they would only become necessary if requested by the vendor support team. 4. Logs > Open User Log: provides access to User Log Viewer utility that shows the most important events and issues in a user-friendly text format arranged by the date and time of the event, for the Recognition Configuration Utility. configuration XML file. Among other important parameters, this is the way to access the configuration of the number of CPUs / cores used by the Recognition Service on a multi-cpu / multi-core machines. 8. Help > Support > Send Support Request: generates an e-mail addressed to the proper vendor support team and auto-inserts as attachments the necessary configuration information, logs, etc. The operator can add additional comments and/or attachments to the e-mail and send it to the support. This provides a single-click issue reporting capability to the operator. 9. About: provides detailed information about the station and all components and interfaces used. The About window contains the Copy to Clipboard button that allows copying of all the details to the clipboard in case they are needed for reporting, to be able to simply copy-paste all details: 5. Logs > Open Service User Log: provides access to User Log Viewer utility that shows the most important events and issues in a user-friendly text format arranged by the date and time of the event, for the Recognition Station Windows Service. 6. Help > Configurations > Open ConfigUtil Configuration: allows viewing and editing of the local Recognition Configuration Utility configuration XML file. 7. Help > Configurations > Open Service Configuration: allows viewing and editing of the local Recognition Station Windows Service 9