Using Barcode Break Sheets

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Using Barcode Break Sheets

Documents may be prepared for scanning using barcode break sheets. Break sheets are also sometimes called slip sheets, are sheets of paper inserted into the set of documents to be scanned. They are scanned along with source documents. Each sheet contains a barcode that identifies the page that follows is a new document, folder, or attachment. With additional configuration, the barcode values may be stored in an index field or used to number the documents and pages.
 

LAW comes with four pre-defined barcode break sheets. The pre-defined break sheets are available in the LAW installation folder. By default, this is the C:\Program Files (x86)\LAW50 directory.

Pre-defined break sheet files in the installation folder:
 

Attach1.tif (Attachment Break)

Break_Doc1.tif (Document Break #1)

Break_Doc2.tif (Document Break #2)

Break_Folder.tif (Folder Break)
 

Barcode break sheets may also be used to indicate document breaks when importing raw images, or to code multiple index fields. See the Raw Image Files section for additional information.

 
TabIcon To Configure Barcode Settings

1.On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Imaging tab.

Imaging tab in the Options dialog box

2.Configure the following imaging options as needed:

Option

Description

Folder

Determines the barcode value used to represent a folder break.

If a barcode that matches this value is encountered while scanning, a new document is started in a new folder. LAW will increment the current folder name by one for the newly created folder's name. If the next logical folder does not exist, it is automatically created.

Doc

Determines the barcode value used to represent a document break.

If a barcode that matches this value is encountered while scanning, a new document is started. To include multiple document break sheets, enter all possible values separated by semi-colons (;).

Also see Storing Barcode Break Sheet Values in a Field below.

Attach

Determines the barcode value used to represent an attachment break. If a barcode that matches this value is encountered while scanning, a new attachment is created and attached to the previous document.

Ignore

Use this option to ignore and drop barcodes matching the specified value during scan time. Multiple values to ignore may be specified by separating each value with a semi-colon (;).

Dilate Scan Region

Dilates or widens the area tested for barcodes. This setting can help recognize poor barcodes with lines missing that may prevent recognition; however, its use may actually prevent recognition of otherwise recognizable barcodes. As such, it should be used with caution and only as a last resort when all other options have failed.

Scan Entire Page

Causes the entire page to be scanned for barcodes at scan time. This may slow scanner throughput due to the increased time required for barcode detection and should only be used if barcodes are located in various positions on the page.

If this setting is disabled, only a portion of the page will be scanned for barcodes.

Use thorough scan

Increases the resolution of scanning for barcodes to improve recognition> Using this setting can help to recognize poor quality barcodes. This requires more time to scan but the extra time  required can be offset because of the relatively small scan region.

Storing Barcode Break Sheet Values in a Field

You can use LAW to automatically store barcode break sheet values in a custom field for each document.  To use this feature, barcode break sheets must be created for every document.  In the Barcode Breaks section of the Imaging Options (see above), enter a Doc field with this syntax:

/p/f <prefix> <field>

where <prefix> is the prefix used within the barcode itself, and <field> is the name of a custom field in LAW where the rest of the barcode value should be stored.  If spaces exist in the prefix or field, they must be enclosed in single quotes.

For example, if you specify "/p/f b BarcodeValue", then LAW will look for barcodes that start with "b" (the prefix you specified) and put the remainder of the barcode value in the LAW field named "BarcodeValue".  For an actual barcode value containing "b23456789", LAW would put "23456789" in the "BarcodeValue" field corresponding to the document whose Barcode Break Sheet contained that value.

 

To Extract Barcodes

CloudNine™ LAW can scan all pages of the current document for any barcode values.

On the Tools menu, click Barcodes, and then click Scan All Pages.

All pages of the current image will be scanned, and any recognized barcodes will be saved to a delimited text file in the following structure:

Value

Page

BarcodeNo

 

If no region is active, the entire page will be scanned. If a region has been created, only this area of every page will be scanned.

 

To View or Modify the Barcode Scanning Region

To view the barcode scanning region

1.Select an image.

2.On the Tools menu, click Barcodes and then click Display Scan Region.

The region used for barcode detection is highlighted on the current image.

 

To modify the barcode scanning region

When you set the scanning region, you can modify the existing scan region or create a new one.

1.Select an image.

2.Modify the scan region as follows:

Option

Steps

To modify the current scan region.

On the Tools menu, click Barcodes and then click Set Scan Region.

To create a new barcode scanning region.

Hold the CTRL key down and draw a rectangle by dragging the mouse from one corner of the rectangle to the opposite with the left mouse button depressed.

 

To Quality Control Barcode Breaks

When preparing to use barcode breaks, checking the following items will help to make the scanning process go more smoothly:

 

Check paper, scanner settings, and barcode values

Item

Description

Paper

CloudNine recommends using a light colored paper, e.g., light yellow or light blue paper. Dark paper decreases the contrast between the bars in the barcode and the paper's background causing detection of the barcode to become more difficult. A Laser Jet printer should be used to create a sharper barcode font. Photocopies of barcodes may result in "fuzzy" barcodes, which can be difficult to read. Also, if the barcode sheets are too badly wrinkled, they may become unreadable as well.

Scanner contrast  and brightness

Adjusting the contrast and/or brightness of the scanner may be required to produce a usable scan. If LAW appears to be detecting barcodes sporadically, this adjustment will likely resolve the problem.

1.On the Scan menu, click Scanner Settings.

2.Increase or decrease the contrast or brightness of the scanner.

3.Test the new settings.

4.Repeat as necessary to find the optimal setting for the scanner.

Scanner resolution (DPI)

The lower the DPI, the lower the quality of the scanned image. A scan resolution of less than 200 DPI can cause barcodes to be unreadable.

Expected barcode values

Verify that the value on the barcode matches the value registered in CloudNine™ LAW.

On the Tools menu, click Options and then click the Imaging tab.  

The value on the barcode must match the value in the Doc field to be considered an actual document break sheet.

If these values do not match, the barcode sheet will be imported as a normal page in a document.

 

Verify scan options

1.On the Scan menu, click Scan Options.

2.Verify the following options:

Detect Barcode Breaks should be checked.

Single Page should not be checked. If it is checked, each new page becomes its own document.

Auto-Deskew may need to be checked.

Noise Removal should not be checked. This feature may ruin the image of the barcode when enabled.

 

Verify scan region

1.Select an image.

2.On the Tools menu, click Barcodes, and then click Display Scan Region.

3.Compare the selected scan region to the actual position of barcodes on pages.

4.Modify the region as needed.

 

Check for conflicts in the scan region override settings

1.On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Imaging tab.

2.Check the following settings.

Consider using Dilate scan region if barcodes are not being recognized due to poor print quality.

Consider using Scan entire page if barcode location is inconsistent between pages.

Consider using Use thorough scan if barcodes are not being recognized due to poor print quality.

Using all three of these settings will override the Scan Region configured in the previous step and cause the entire page to be scanned. Use only the settings that you need.

 

Verify that actual barcode readings match expected values

Run this test if a barcode image is already present. This test may also reveal an unexpected value of the barcode which could cause problems.

On the Tools menu, click Barcodes, and then click Detect Barcode.

The current document is scanned.

The value of the barcode is displayed if it can be read and a value can be found.

 

Consider whether to split documents

If the scanner is able to scan all the barcodes but does not detect them then consider splitting the documents based on the barcode images.

Right-click the image, select Split Document and then click Barcode break sheets.