Scanning with iNAME Scan-Time Image Archiving

ScanTools Plus includes a utility called iNAME that has scan-time image archiving. During scanning, iNAME image archiving is performed automatically using the parameters stored in the .ini file you created through the iNAME configuration process.

During scanning, iNAME image archiving is performed automatically using the parameters stored in the .ini file you created through the iNAME configuration process.

NOTE: You cannot perform Online edit correction using iNAME scan-time archiving. You can only implement archiving during post-scan editing. The image clips taken during scanning are used for post-scan editing. To ensure you have the image clips you need for post-scan editing, select the edit profile during scanning and use the same edit profile later during post-scan editing. If you use a different edit profile than the one used during scanning, you may not have the image clips to view in the post-scan editor. During post-scan editing, iNAME applies any edit changes to the directory, file names, and indexes which use field data to reference the image clips.

iNAME functions

Scan-Time Archiving - Image files are created during scanning. There is no need to archive as a separate action after scanning.
Full Sheet Image Archiving - A single sheet with no form ID marks and/or no timing marks can be archived. To do this, your application must be defined as a single document with a single sheet. Each side of the sheet can be archived as a separate file. For details, see Archiving Single Sheets without Form ID Marks or Timing Marks.
Integrated iNAME Configuration - iNAME image archiving can be an integral part of your ScanTools application. Image format parameters can be defined and iNAME Configuration used to define images to archive, archive directories and file names, and archive indexing. All of this is accomplished during application definition. For details, see Application Definition for Scan-Time Archiving with iNAME.
Archive Directory Path - An image file destination location, using a Base path name and a Variable path name, can be user-defined. For details, see iNAME Configuration - Paths and Indexes Screen.
Archive Filenames - Image filenames, using a Base filename and an optional Variable filename, can be user-defined. For details, see iNAME Configuration - Paths and Indexes Screen.
Index Entries - Several index file formats are available and iIndex entries can be user-defined. For details, see iNAME Configuration - Paths and Indexes Screen.
Images to Archive - You may select which grids or whole sheet images to archive, based on all available in the ScanTools application. For details, see iNAME Configuration - Images To Archive Definition Screen.
iNAME Merge - This post-scan process can be set up during iNAME configuration to run automatically, after scanning is completed. It lets you merge a background form image into the individual image clip files that were generated during scanning. It can perform any image rotation that may be needed. The image clip files generated during scanning do not contain the background form image, and are not rotated at scan time. It also supports image scaling to 200, 240, 300, 400, or 600 DPI. iNAME Merge can also be run manually, after scanning is completed. For details, see Using iNAME Merge.
Application Migration - If you are using an application that was created in an earlier version of ScanTools software (DOS or Windows), it MUST be saved in the newer ScanTools format before you can use it with iNAME. For details on how this is done, see Migrating Applications From Earlier Versions of ScanTools Software.

What do I need to set in my application to use iNAME archiving?

Before you can perform scan-time image archiving, you must create and save a ScanTools application with all appropriate output field and grid, graybox, and bar code definitions, plus the additional application settings, image clipping definitions, and archiving configuration settings required for iNAME image archiving. The following items are used to manage iNAME image archiving:

Application Settings dialog box

In the Application Settings dialog box, for all documents in the application:

Select Enable iNAME for Before User Exits or After User Exits if your application includes a user exit. Either selection is acceptable if your application does not include a user exit.
Optionally, select Archive Image Scaling and/or OMR/Merge Horizontal Adjustment.
Check the Release for Scanning check box when the application is completely defined and is ready to be used for scanning.

Document and Sheet Properties

In the Document and Sheet Properties Dialog - Clips Tab, for each sheet of each document:

Select Whole Sheet Capture Options.
Select a Save As option (specifies bitone and compression)

This sets the image format parameters for all whole sheet clips generated by iNAME to the same values. If your archiving requirement calls for individual clips of grids, bar codes, or grayboxes, iNAME Configuration allows you to specify the use of Document Image Format Parameters (i.e. use the same image format parameters specified for whole sheet clips) or Grid Image Format Parameters when selecting an image to archive. If you are using Grid Image Format Parameters for your individual clips, change the Clipping Mode to Sparse on the Image Clips dialog box and then, on the Clip Attributes dialog box associated with each grid for which iNAME will generate an image clip, select the desired image format parameters.

The background form image files that are used by iNAME Merge are identified in the Background Top/Bottom Form Image group boxes. You can specify these files in the Add/Replace Background Form Images for Sheet # dialog box.

CAUTION: Sparse clipping of software bar codes and, with iNAME, of grayboxes, is not compatible with use of absolute (.001 in or .01 mm) or Hybrid units of measurement. See Grid Measurement dialog box - Unit of Measurement.

In the Document and Sheet Properties dialog box - Background Tab, enter the names and paths to the background form images that will be used to merge with the scanned data.

Clip Attributes

In the Clip Attributes dialog box - Archive group box, for each field you want an image clip file produced:

To prevent excessive disk space and processing time from being used by scan-time archiving during scanning, do NOT select Archive this Clip. It is only used with post-scan archiving.
It is not necessary to select Combine with Form when using the post-scan iNAME Merge function to merge a background form image with an image clip, if the background form image is specified in the Add/Replace Background Form Images for Sheet # dialog box.
Enter a unique File NameSuffix. The name you enter is then available as an Image to Archive when you use iNAME configuration.

If you cleared (or did not check) Whole sheet in the Document and Sheet Properties Dialog - Background Tab, you can also change Grayscale, Compression, and other related image format parameters in the separate Clip Attributes dialog boxes of each grid you image clip.

NOTE: When archiving linked grids, only the last grid in the link is included in the image clip unless you expand the clip region (CTRL + drag the edge of the clip region) to include all grids that are linked before you click Append.

iNAME Configuration

In the iNAME Configurationdialog box, for all documents in the application:

Select images to archive, at scan-time, from the list of available images in your application. This includes image clips for whole sheets and for individual grids.
Define the order in which images are archived.
In the Image To Archive Information dialog box (click the image, then click Edit), specify whether to use the document image format parameters from the Document and Sheet Properties dialog box, Clips tab (Whole Sheet setting) or the grid image format parameters from the Clip Attributes dialog box(individual clip settings).

In the iNAME Configuration - Paths and Indexes dialog box, for all documents in the application:

Define a Base Directory where your archived images are stored. This is required.
Define Variable Directory paths where your archived images are stored. This can be a subdirectory of the Base Directory or you can append to the Base Directory name. This is required.
Define a Base Filename for your image files. This is optional.
Define Variable Filenames for your image files. This is required.
Select the Index file format you want to use.
Select the Image file type you want to create, either a Single Image or Multi-image file.
Define how iNAME image archiving works with user exits, if any.
Select whether or not to run iNAME Merge automatically, after scanning. If you select it, background form images are merged as soon as scanning is complete. If you do not select it, you can merge background form images later, manually.
If needed, define a Power User proxy to enable iNAME image archiving and iNAME Merge to perform tasks that your application user has insufficient privileges to perform.
Create any number of archive indexes to enable your archiving system to most effectively access the image files.

Other iNAME Considerations

Editing and iNAME

If you are using iNAME image archiving and edit correction is required, use post-scan edit correction. If you want to view the image clip of a failing field during post-scan editing, you must select the same edit profile during scanning that you will use for post-scan edit correction. Image clips of edit failures are created during scanning, using the edit profile selected at scan time. A different edit profile can be selected for post-scan editing; however, there may not be image clips displayed in the post-scan editor, depending on how the edit profiles differ. A field could have passed editing during scanning but failed using a different edit profile in post-scan editing, therefore the image clip was not captured during scanning.

CAUTION: Sparse clipping of software bar codes and (with iNAME) of grayboxes is not compatible with use of absolute (.001 in or .01 mm) or Hybrid units of measurement.

Archive Directories and Files

During scanning, all image clips are stored in a temporary folder. This folder is automatically deleted when scanning is completed. From the temporary folder, the image clips are moved into the specified folder you defined in the iNAME configuration.

CAUTION: Do not open either the temporary folder or final destination folders (using Windows Explorer) until scanning is complete.

If a path or filename was defined to use the contents of a field (Field Data), and during scanning a multiple character was encountered in that field, the corresponding name generated by iNAME image archiving will contain an alphabetic character in the same position as the multiple that was found in the field. A multiple usually generates an asterisk (*), however, asterisks cannot be used in filenames. For example:

The filename is defined to use the contents of the Name field.

The name scanned is Smi*h, with a multiple in the 4th position.

iNAME produces a file of SmiXh, where X is any alphabetic character.

If a path or filename was defined for a specific number of characters and the path or filename generated from the field selected was not as long, the name generated will have underscores (__) added to the end to fill in the length defined. In the same manner, if the field defined to generate a path or filename had no data (was blank), underscores are generated for all characters in the field. During post-scan editing you can change the underscores to meaningful characters.