christianclavet
commented
1 year ago There is Kodak "Capture Pro" that could do this. Since it use metadata, from different sources to use in outputting the files. But it's licensing pricing is prohibitive for a single person.
If we could have fields in Naps that could store the informations from a user input, barcode, or even OCR, you could then have better naming of the output files. @cyanfish added this as a feature request.
Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Scanning files is only half the battle.
File name templates can be created based on static data, but good records-keeping and file management typically require additional file renaming based on standard formats related to contextual data. These formats are going to be dependent on the internal context of the document data.
This is important for document storage, but also for transferring documents between parties. Titles like
{date}-scan-{nnnn}.pdfare unprofessional and unhelpful when trying to find documents in an archive and transferring them between parties.In addition to being named based on their context, document metadata is often important for storage and destination routing. A typical bookkeeping scenario would involve having folders per vendor, with additional folders based on purchase orders, document type, etc.
Once a file is generated, renaming the file generally requires it to be open, which creates a lock, which interferes with renaming. Recognizing the relationship between document context, file naming, and destination routing, would remove the file-lock issue between different apps by allowing it to be addressed during the file creation process.
Describe the solution you'd like Ideally, you would be able to extend file naming templates to include data that can be divided into a series of prompts, some of which will be general text, and some of which would be based on lookup data. It is important that this is done with a window that does not apply a modal lock to the document preview, as you will need to read the scanned document to find the required information.
User Story:
For a filename format:
{yyyy-mm-dd}.scan.{vendor}.invoice.{invoice_num}.pdf, you would receive a prompt with{vendor}as a drop down based on a text file, or other data source, and{invoice_num}as a text field entry.The user would use the scanned preview to locate the information. An output path of
scans\{vendor}\{invoice_num}would then route the file to the target folder.Ideally, folder scans could be used to generate list items, i.e. you would be able to then scan a packing list with a packing list profile, and it would offer you a selection of existing invoice / order folders to file it in and tag the filename.
Describe alternatives you've considered I have not found another product that addresses these issues. Every desktop scanning app I have tried ends file name templating at the static context, or requires users to type full filenames per file as an alternative. None offer document preview during the file naming process that is not locked due the modal file-name dialog.
Some web based products have document routing, based on web forms, but are not well tied in to the scanning process. There are an assortment of specialized scanning software offerings that are sold under prohibitively expensive enterprise licensing models and still require integration development from the client. It is hard to say which of these would represent viable alternatives, because they require intense investment to evaluate.
I currently use Paperport (free with many Brother devices, but abandoned by nuance). It is a hybrid file manager / scanner / pdf editor, to scan into the open folder, but the process is awkward, and it still locks the document when viewing to establish file names. I strongly prefer NAPS2 for scanning, but the document organization end is a larger time sync.