Importing scanned documents into 3rd party systems

I have PaperCut MF Integrated Scanning configured, now what else can I do with it?

Providing workflows to help the users deliver their scanned documents to folders or via email is of significant value, but that’s only the start.

Within almost all external document solutions there is a facility that will allow for the import of scanned documents. These import facilities can be named many different things; modules, connectors or agents. However they typically all act in the same way, generally monitoring a folder for any newly added files. Some solutions can even accept emails directly.

The document solutions then offer services to

• OCR
• Share
• Sort and file
• Charge
• Archive

And generally organise your scanned documents. This leaves the simple step of integrating documents with those systems to value add to the scanning workflow. To help you along the way, all PaperCut scans can be accompanied with an XML (metadata) file that provides key information for external systems to easily import the document/images. From your selected Scan Action, in the Document section we can add an additional XML document with each Scan Action:

All the important elements around your scanned document are collected and placed into the XML file, starting with the options chosen by the user at scan time, the document name, its type, which user/department scanned the file and a host of other values generated by the system.

How does this help you, the System Integrator?

Not all systems talk the same language, for example some may call a user an “operator”, and so the data elements collected by PaperCut need to be connected or “mapped” to values in the 3rd party system. As you will know the requirements of the system you’re importing the scanned document into, the next most important information you will need is the structure of the metadata file so you can create these mappings. For a structural overview of the XML document please see Chapter 16 of the PaperCut MF Manual or simply click the green “?” where you checked the box to enable the Metadata file. If you or your integrator needs any extra information, please contact us via https://www.papercut.com/contact/
If you landed here and need to see how easy Integrated Scanning can be, please see our tour: https://www.papercut.com/tour/integrated-scanning

Can this XML Metadata be used with the PaperCut Scan to Cloud Service?

The Scan to Cloud use case is a bit different from Scan to Folder. When it comes to Scan to Cloud, the expectation is that a scanned file will go directly into a user’s personal cloud storage where a Document Management System would not have access. At present, the XML file can only be bundled with Scan to Folder and Scan to Email actions.

Still have questions?

Please leave us a comment below so we can know if this article helped or if you are unsure about anything at all.