Data Services Overview

Data Services provides access to OMR and image data created by ScanTools® Plus software. OMR data is accessed through a set of objects and interfaces that connect to data contained in a ScanTools Plus output (*.dat) file, application (.sds.StxAppDef) file, or live data stream.

Data Services enables you to programmatically:

• Access document output data contained in a data (*.dat) file.
• Access document output data contained in a live data stream.
• View record and field definitions within an application definition (*.sds.StxAppDef) file.
• View document editing parameters within an edit profile (*.$ep.StxEdtPrf).
• Access document image clips contained in an image (*.tif) file.
• Export data to Microsoft Excel 2007 and newer and SQL Server 2005 and newer.

You can also access individual fields within a document stored in the *.dat file without having to hardcode the record structure.

NOTE: All legacy application and data files must be updated to ScanTools Plus version 6.0 (or later) format before they can be used with Data Services.

Scantron OLE DB Provider for ScanTools Plus

The Scantron OLE DB Provider for ScanTools Plus (Scantron.Oledb) is the heart of Data Services. the Scantron OLE DB Provider enables you to access scanned data from data files or a live data stream from Scantron scanning products such as ScanTools Plus. The object linking and embedding database (OLE DB) is a standard set of interfaces that provide access to information located in file systems, e-mail folders, web servers, and databases. The Scantron OLE DB Provider combines the universal data access of OLE DB with the advantages of managing scanned data on servers and workstations.

The Scantron OLE DB Provider is a technology that extends and works in conjunction with Microsoft® Data Access Components (MDAC). The Scantron OLE DB Provider is an OLE DB data provider that has been created for Scantron scanning systems. It exposes interfaces to consumers and enables them to access data generated by Scantron scanning products such as ScanTools Plus.

When developing an OLE DB consumer, use the Scantron OLE DB Provider as your provider to develop an OLE DB consumer for Scantron scanning systems. The Scantron OLE DB Provider abstracts scanned data and its underlying application definition as a database. Use Data Links to create a universal connection to the database.

EXAMPLE: The Scantron OLE DB Provider is to ScanTools Plus as SQLOLEDB is to Microsoft® SQL Server.

The Scantron OLE DB Provider can be used with web applications such as Active Server Pages (ASP) on a web server, or as an Internet Explorer client.

Developers can access scanned data using familiar programming languages such as Visual J#, Visual Basic.NET, and Visual C++ .NET, Visual C++ 6.0, Visual J++ 6.0, and Visual Basic 6.0. Programs written in a .NET language can use ADO.NET or ADO to access scanned data. Visual C++® programmers can use OLE DB for increased performance. The Visual Basic 6.0 and Visual J++® environment has excellent support for ADO.

The Scantron OLE DB Provider is an OLE DB compliant provider. It allows ADO and ADO.NET to access data scanned by Scantron scanning products.

NOTES:

• When specified as a provider in a connection string, the Scantron OLE DB Provider is referred to as Scantron.Oledb.
• In Help, references to the Scantron OLE DB Provider equate to Scantron.Oledb unless otherwise specified.

See also

Data Services Technical Overview