I have a client that uses a high speed scanner (RICOH???) to convert documents. You feed the document much like you would to a copier and it will process app. 20 pages per minute and generate one (or many) PDF file(s). It works great as PDF is pretty much a universal standard and you can download a reader for free. I use to distribute Specifications (hundreds of pages) for Engineering construction projects on a CD. You can easily scan your paper files and store in the database just the file name and location; and then open them (with the LAUNCH Command) from within the application. I use this approach to store app. 400 MB of photos (stored using JPG format) for a Road and Asset Management System that I have developed.
Javier Valencia, PE President Valencia Technology Group, L.L.C. 14315 S. Twilight Ln., Suite #14 Olathe, KS 66062-4571 (913)829-0888 (913)649-2904 FAX -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:owner-rbase-l@;sonetmail.com]On Behalf Of Ramsour Mike Sent: Wednesday, November 06, 2002 1:32 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Document scanning and database Salutations: Our department is considering creating an electronic database of thousands of documents. These are currently paper documents that we would need to scan into files. I would like some suggestions on how to proceed. For instance, what is the recommended file format to use for a scanned document: JPEG, TIFF, BMP? I am guessing JPEG because of size considerations. What's the best equipment and software for a large job like this? The basics: An individual creates a pack of paper documents of customer specification records (CSR). This pack consists of faxed and printed documents such as e-mails, printed reports from our business system and purchase orders from customers. A pack can consist of anywhere from 4 to 20 pages or more. OCR is not a requirement or necessity. We envision being able to search for images of documents based on a CSR number and date range. Would it be better to have each scanned page as an individual file with a key for easy location and retrieveal or can we create one large document with all the pages for a given CSR/date included? We are currently using R:Base for Windows 6.5++. From what I understand, it is better to create a record in a database with a field that points to a file on disk. When a record is read from the database R:Base can go out and display the file on the screen. R:Base 7.0 would probably be the best tool for the job but we're not quite there yet. Is there any equipment that would make the process of scanning thousands of documents faster or easier? What's the best scanning software for accomplishing this task? All recommendations and comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks Mike Ramsour Voice: 740-829-4340 ================================================ TO SEE MESSAGE POSTING GUIDELINES: Send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message body, put just two words: INTRO rbase-l ================================================ TO UNSUBSCRIBE: send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message body, put just two words: UNSUBSCRIBE rbase-l ================================================ TO SEARCH ARCHIVES: http://www.mail-archive.com/rbase-l%40sonetmail.com/ ================================================ TO SEE MESSAGE POSTING GUIDELINES: Send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message body, put just two words: INTRO rbase-l ================================================ TO UNSUBSCRIBE: send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message body, put just two words: UNSUBSCRIBE rbase-l ================================================ TO SEARCH ARCHIVES: http://www.mail-archive.com/rbase-l%40sonetmail.com/
