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September 27, 2018

LogicalDOC 8.1 presses the accelerator on Barcode recognition

In the new version of the LogicalDOC document management system, the barcode recognition functions have been significantly expanded. Previously, the system was able to read many barcode formats. To be exact, it could read up to 16, from Code 39 to RSS Expanded up to 2D codes such as QR Code or Aztec.

The barcode recognition function was, and still is, able to read one or more barcodes on a document page, and dynamically populate the document fields and metadata. If the document is classified with a document template with custom fields, the recognition feature allows you to fill in the fields with barcode values ​​and more. For example, you can use barcodes to "move" a document from the initial upload folder to a folder encoded in the barcode, or you can edit the filename in the same way.

However, the previous version of the system had some inefficiencies, for example, on the same page a "global" recognition was launched for any type of barcode. Since the system supports 16 barcodes and the recognition process is performed on all pages of a document this could be slow. In the new version, 8.1, on the other hand, it is possible to put a "filter" at the OCR level that allows "recommending" the barcode processor on the type of code to search for. This significantly reduces the processing time required by the procedure.

LogicalDOC OCR settings
LogicalDOC OCR settings with barcode filter enabled on: "Code 39"

Another fundamental feature introduced at the barcode reading level is the possibility to apply filters to the recognition scheme. In fact, now you can use regular expressions to filter the codes in a document.
For example, take the following barcode: barcode code 39    FT412574
Suppose you want to retrieve all the codes that start with 2 initial letters and 6 digits. With the following regular expression we can get this effect: (FT|CO|RV).*
In practice with the expression above we are going to capture only the codes that start with “FT”, “CO” or with “RV”.

Barcode Pattern recognition
Barcode Pattern recognition with filters enabled


Other combinations to increase recognition accuracy are available:

[A-Z]{2}(.*) - 2 characters from A to Z and other successive characters in undefined number
[A-Z]{2}[0-9]{6} - 2 characters from A to Z and 6 characters from ‘0’ to ‘9’
[A-Z]{2}\d{6} - 2 characters from A to Z and exactly 6 successive digits
[A-Z]{2}\d+ - 2 characters from A to Z and an one or more successive digits ('+')

For more information about regular expressions in Java you can refer to the following articles:
Summary of regular-expression constructs
Regular expressions in Java - Tutorial
Java Regular Expression Tester

In addition to this interesting feature, at the level of the barcode recognition scheme, the ability to specify the type of barcode to be recognized in a timely manner has been implemented. This will make the result of the reading even more certain and reliable.

Lastly, with regard to the barcode sector, the possibility of interacting with the barcode processor within a workflow automation code has been added. These scripts allow the execution of custom functions that interact with documents and their metadata during the workflow or at other times. In the 8.1 version of LogicalDOC it is possible to pilot the reading of a barcode in order to obtain a value to use, to fill in a field, or to choose a course of action. See the example in the image below

Workflow Automation script on transaction
Workflow Automation script on transaction with BarcodeTool in action

In the image above, in transaction “to approval”, a barcode is read in the documents included in the workflow. The result value of the reading determines whether the document is moved to the folder: "/Default/stocks/Fortune Minerals".
For more information: https://docs.logicaldoc.com/en/automation

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