Document Input

With a document input, documents that are already available as files can be fed into a workflow to perform image enhancement options, OCR, barcode recognition, etc., see also Document processing.

To be able to use the document input, all devices with Embedded Client must have an OCR license and the license option OCR From E-Mail / Directory must be active, see Licensing.

A document input can be a folder or an e-mail box. The documents are fed from this input into a document workflow, see also Modules for document workflows.

During document processing, the following image file types can be fed into a workflow:

  • TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)
  • PNG (Portable Network Graphic)
  • JPG (image format of the Joint Photographic Experts Group)

With the input type Folder, other file types can be passed in addition to the image file to be processed:

  • XML file (for passing variables to the workflow)
  • Semaphore file (to trigger the processing)

See also Monitor Folder.

To create a document input, proceed as follows:

To open the web administration, enter http://<hostname>/webadmin in the web browser (where hostname corresponds to the server on which IQ4docs WebAdmin was installed). In a client environment, enter the URL that you received from the client administrator (for example, http://server/webadmin/#/cf992178-4bd6-431c-b815-b9d734d0ded3). If you are not already logged in, log in with a user that has administrator rights (login and password) or as the IQ4docs system administrator (administrator with password admin by default).

In web administration, click Documents > Document Input in the menu.

To create a document input with e-mail mailbox, click Create Input, and then click E-mail Mailbox. To edit a document input, select the desired data record and click the Edit icon. To delete an input, select the Delete button.

The user with whom the workflow is to be executed (e.g. for Scan destination My E-Mail module), this is determined automatically from the sending e-mail as with E-MailPrint, see also E-MailPrint.

Define the mail inbox type

  • POP3 Mailbox
  • IMAP Mailbox
  • Exchange Server

Configure the desired input as described in the corresponding section:

Field Description
Mailbox Name Descriptive, arbitrary name of the e-mail print mailbox.
Hostname Hostname or IP address of the e-mail server.
Port Enter the port of the incoming mail server here (default is 110 for unencrypted and 995 for encrypted), see also Encryption
Encryption Specify the type of encryption.
ProtocolDescription
NoneNo encryption, all data are transmitted unencrypted.
STARTTLSMethod for encrypted transmission using the TLS protocol (Transport Layer Security), where encryption is negotiated automatically (start of connection unencrypted).
SSL/TLSMethod for encrypted transmission using the TLS protocol (Transport Layer Security) with full encryption.

The protocol type is negotiated automatically. If there are problems with this, the protocol type can be fixed in the LocalService.config of the NotificationService. The entry below sets the protocol type to TLS 1.2:

<add key="TlsVersion" value="Tls12" />

Protocol typeDescription
SystemDefaultAllows the operating system to select the most appropriate protocol and block insecure protocols. Unless there is a specific reason in your application not to do so, you should use this value. This is the default setting, just as if the <add key="TlsVersion"... entry did not exist at all.
Ssl3Specifies the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) 3.0 security protocol. SSL 3.0 has been replaced by the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol and is provided for backward compatibility only.
TlsSpecifies the TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.0 security protocol. The TLS 1.0 protocol is defined in IETF RFC 2246.
Tls11Specifies the TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.1 security protocol. The TLS 1.1 protocol is defined in IETF RFC 4346. On Windows systems, this value is supported from Windows 7 onwards.
Tls12Specifies the TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.2 security protocol. The TLS 1.2 protocol is defined in IETF RFC 5246. On Windows systems, this value is supported from Windows 7 onwards.
Authentication Specify the type of authentication. Username and password are required for all authentication methods.
MethodDescription
AutomaticThe authentication method is negotiated automatically between the PostboxService and the e-mail server.
PlainUsername and password are transmitted unencrypted.
LoginUsername and password are transmitted unencrypted in two steps.
NTLMUsername is transmitted unencrypted.
CRAM_MD5Username and password are transmitted encrypted based on the MD5 algorithm.
Username Account or username of the e-mail account to be read.
Password The password of the user specified under Username to log in to the e-mail server.
Query interval (min) Time interval in minutes at which the mailbox is checked for incoming e-mails.
Field Description
Mailbox Name Descriptive, arbitrary name of the mailbox.
Hostname Hostname or IP address of the e-mail server.
Port Enter the port of the incoming mail server here (default is 143 for unencrypted and 993 for encrypted), see also Encryption
Folder IMAP directory on the mail server.
Encryption Specify the type of encryption.
ProtocolDescription
NoneNo encryption, all data are transmitted unencrypted.
STARTTLSMethod for encrypted transmission using the TLS protocol (Transport Layer Security), where encryption is negotiated automatically (start of connection unencrypted).
SSL/TLSMethod for encrypted transmission using the TLS protocol (Transport Layer Security) with full encryption.

The protocol type is negotiated automatically. If there are problems with this, the protocol type can be fixed in the LocalService.config of the NotificationService. The entry below sets the protocol type to TLS 1.2:

<add key="TlsVersion" value="Tls12" />

Protocol typeDescription
SystemDefaultAllows the operating system to select the most appropriate protocol and block insecure protocols. Unless there is a specific reason in your application not to do so, you should use this value. This is the default setting, just as if the <add key="TlsVersion"... entry did not exist at all.
Ssl3Specifies the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) 3.0 security protocol. SSL 3.0 has been replaced by the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol and is provided for backward compatibility only.
TlsSpecifies the TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.0 security protocol. The TLS 1.0 protocol is defined in IETF RFC 2246.
Tls11Specifies the TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.1 security protocol. The TLS 1.1 protocol is defined in IETF RFC 4346. On Windows systems, this value is supported from Windows 7 onwards.
Tls12Specifies the TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.2 security protocol. The TLS 1.2 protocol is defined in IETF RFC 5246. On Windows systems, this value is supported from Windows 7 onwards.
Authentication Specify the type of authentication. Username and password are required for all authentication methods.
MethodDescription
AutomaticThe authentication method is negotiated automatically between the PostboxService and the e-mail server.
PlainUsername and password are transmitted unencrypted.
LoginUsername and password are transmitted unencrypted in two steps.
NTLMUsername is transmitted unencrypted.
CRAM_MD5Username and password are transmitted encrypted based on the MD5 algorithm.
Username Account or username of the e-mail account to be read.
Password The password of the user specified under Username to log in to the e-mail server.
Query interval (min) Time interval in minutes at which the mailbox is checked for incoming e-mails.
Field Description
Mailbox Name Descriptive, arbitrary name of the mailbox.
Hostname Hostname or IP address of the exchange server.
URL URL of the Exchange server (e.g. https://exchange.company.com/EWS/Exchange.asmx).
User E-mail Mailbox whose e-mails are to be read (e-mail address of the user specified under Username).
Folder Exchange directory on the exchange server. If the field remains empty, the inbox is automatically used and is therefore the same as that specified under Inbox.
Username Account or username of the e-mail account to be read.
Password The password of the user specified under Username to log in to the e-mail server.
Query interval (min) Time interval in minutes at which the mailbox is checked for incoming e-mails.

You must also define the workflow settings for each inbox type.

Field Description
Keyword If this field is empty, all e-mails found in the mailbox will be used for processing. If a keyword is specified, only e-mails where the keyword is found in the e-mail subject will be processed. The position of the keyword as well as upper and lower case are not important.
Delete e-mails after processing If this function is enabled, processed e-mails are deleted from the server after processing. This applies to all e-mails, including those that cannot be processed successfully (e.g. because the e-mail attachment was missing). E-mails that are excluded due to the keyword will not be processed and will therefore never be deleted.
Workflow Select the workflow to which the files from the e-mails are to be sent.

In the Test Settings area, you can query the specified mailbox. If this is successful, the number of e-mails contained in it and the number of e-mails being processed are also displayed (restriction by keyword is taken into account). The number of e-mails already processed is also displayed (e-mails are only processed once even if they are not to be deleted after processing).

To create a document input using folder monitoring, click Create Input and then click Monitor Folder. To edit a document input, select the desired data record and click the Edit icon. To delete an input, select the Delete button.

The input via a folder can consist of a maximum of three files (all with the same name except for the file extension):

  • Image file
  • XML file for variable usage and workflow users
  • Semaphore file (for the targeted start of the workflow)

The monitoring of the folder is not done by polling at regular intervals, but by operating system events. This allows editing to begin immediately after the files are placed in the folder (as soon as the file can be opened for exclusive writing).

If you only want to process one image file (without another XML file), specify the permitted file type in the File Trigger field (e.g. *.tif). If no entry is made in the File Trigger field, all files will cause the workflow to be executed (if, for example, *.tif, *.tiff as well as *.jpg and *.jpeg are to be allowed). If the file type is not supported, IQ4docs discards the file. The field should only be left empty if no variables are passed via XML file.

If you want to pass data to the workflow for processing the image file, you also need an XML file with the same name (e.g. File.tif and File.xml) in addition to the image file. Since a file can also be processed without an XML file, it is important to tell IQ4docs which file should be the trigger, i.e. the file that triggers the processing. This is always the file that is stored in the folder last.

If the XML file was the last file stored in the folder, enter *.xml in the File Trigger field. Now only *.xml files can start the workflow. If the XML file exists, the system searches for an image file with the same name. If it is not found, the XML file is discarded.

A semaphore is a kind of signal generator for a related process (which signals that a process has been completed). A semaphore file can be written as a signal. This is an empty file that has the same name as the file for which processing is to be continued (e.g. File.tif , File.xml and File.ok). In this concrete case, this means that the semaphore file gives the signal that the image file (and if necessary the XML file) has been written completely and the workflow processing can start. This may be necessary, for example, if the XML file is not created in one go but is opened and closed several times.

For example, if you want to use the semaphore file File.ok as a file trigger, enter *.OK in the File Trigger field. Only once this file can be opened exclusively by IQ4docs to write will a search for the image and XML file of the same name be conducted.

If you want to pass data to the workflow for processing the image file, you also need an XML file with the same name (e.g. File.tif and File.xml) in addition to the image file.

When creating the folder document input, a user must be specified for the workflow. For this user, all data in the workflow that is relevant is loaded (e.g. e-mail address).

You can also specify this user (more precisely, one of their logins) in the XML file (this overwrites the user specified for the document input).

<DocumentOptions>

<UserLogin>administrator</UserLogin>

<Variables>

<variable name="Name1" value="value1" type="string"/>

<variable name="Name2" value="222" type="int"/>

</Variables>

</DocumentOptions>

  • The main area <DocumentOptions> must be present.
  • <UserLogin>administrator</UserLogin> specifies the login Administrator.

When using the document input Folder, you can pass an XML file to a document workflow in addition to an image file, which can be used to pass variables to the workflow. The variables can then be used in the workflow like the variables of a user interview (see also Document processing).

The name of the variable must not contain special characters. Allowed are small and capital letters (no umlauts or similar), numbers and the dot ".".
If the variable name is used in several places, all places can influence the variable value.

The XML file must have the same name as the associated image file (test.tif > test.xml).

<DocumentOptions>

<UserLogin>administrator</UserLogin>

<Variables>

<variable name="Name1" value="value1" type="string"/>

<variable name="Name2" value="222" type="int"/>

</Variables>

</DocumentOptions>

  • The main area <DocumentOptions> must be present.
  • The <Variables> area contains variable definitions.
  • <variable name="Name1" value="value1" type="string"/> defines a variable by the name of Name1 with the content value1 of the type string. A numerical value can also be defined as an int (integer).
    The type is of importance for formatting the variable (if it is missing, string is assumed), see also Variables.
Field Description
User Here, specify the user under which the workflow is executed. This is mandatory. If user-relevant data are used in the workflow (e-mail address or similar), the data of this user are used.
Folder Specify a folder or a share where the files to be added to a workflow should be stored. The ImageService needs access to this folder.
File Trigger Specify a filter if you only want to allow certain file types for processing (e.g. *.tif).
Select document workflow From the drop-down list, select the workflow to which the files are to be fed, see also Workflows.

If you want to enable uploading of files that are to be used as scan jobs in the WebClient, create a document input called WebClient Upload.

Click on Create input and then on WebClient upload. Then select the document workflow to which the uploaded files are to be fed. The upload takes place in the WebClient in the area My Scan Jobs.