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Contents How to Use This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Related Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Kofax Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Contents First Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Every Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 QC Later (available to Kofax Capture users) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Disabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Hardware Warnings .
Contents Brightness and Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manual Image Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advanced Clarity (VRS Professional only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Noise Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Removing Noise from a Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Contents B Long Paper Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101 Activating Long Paper Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 C Enhanced Bar Code Engine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 Standard vs. Enhanced Bar Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
How to Use This Guide Introduction The VRS User’s Guide, which gives instructions for using VirtualReScan (VRS), is intended for all potential scan operators. Whether you are an expert at image processing or have no special knowledge of scanning, this guide provides the information you need to make the best use of VRS features and functionality. This guide is written with the assumption that your VRS product has been installed and tested according to the instructions in the VRS Installation Guide.
How to Use This Guide VRS Release Notes Late-breaking product information is available from the release notes. You should read the release notes carefully, as they contain information that may not be included in the other VRS documentation. The VRS Release Notes are available in PDF format from the Kofax Web site at www.kofax.com when you select Support| Online Documentation. Training Kofax offers both classroom and computer-based training that will help you make the most of your Kofax solution.
Chapter 1 Overview Introduction VirtualReScan (VRS) is an image enhancement tool intended to provide the best possible image quality across the widest range of document types. VRS is an extremely effective and versatile imaging tool that is easy to use for beginners and experts alike. VRS works hand-in-hand with your scanning application. By giving you access to the VRS interactive controls, VRS offers the ability to drive your image processing with true power. VRS keeps it simple, though.
Chapter 1 Figure 1-1. VRS Image Processing Workflow VRS Image Processing Workflow VRS works hand-in-hand with your scanning application and scanner. When you initiate a scan request from the scanning application, VRS evaluates and processes the request based on the image type (color, bitonal, or grayscale). Once the image is scanned, VRS applies adjustments as appropriate and then sends the processed image back to the scanning application (Figure 1-1).
Overview VRS provides a set of interactive adjustment controls to eliminate guesswork with easy, real-time image correction. The VRS “Basic” feature set does the following: Scans batches that consist of multiple document sizes or varying degrees of quality. This means you won't have to pre-sort mixed batches. VRS will deskew images and crop them to the size of the original documents. Detects and alerts you to paper jams and equipment conflicts automatically.
Chapter 1 VRS Professional Features In addition to the basic feature set, VRS supports a set of “Professional” features, which include the following: Automatic color detection Background smoothing Auto orientation Blank page detection and deletion Automatic checking for product updates Advanced Clarity setting QC Later mode for Kofax Capture (formerly Ascent Capture) users Unlimited access to VRS Professional features is available to all users with the following VRS license categories: Desk
Overview certified scanners. In addition to listing the scanner name and manufacturer, the VRS product pages include the following information: Driver used for VRS (TWAIN, ISIS, or Kofax SCSI) Black or white background support Additional memory required for optimal performance (if applicable) Interface certified by VRS (SCSI, USB, FireWire, or RJ45) VRS is capable of working with some non-certified or “compatible” scanners, if they have been configured with the Scanner Configuration Utility.
Chapter 1 14 VirtualReScan (VRS) User’s Guide
Chapter 2 Operating VRS Introduction This chapter explains how to operate VRS using the default settings, how to set up custom profiles, and how to use the VRS Adjustment Controls to configure and use the manual image enhancement features. This chapter also gives you information about advanced features and other options that are available from the VRS user interface.
Chapter 2 according to your scanning application and scanner specified during the VRS installation process: ImageControls-based applications with SVRS with SVRS with AIPE without SVRS without SVRS with AIPE ISIS-based applications Kofax VRS Scanner TWAIN-based applications Kofax Software VRS - TWAIN Refer to Figure 2-1 through Figure 2-3 for examples. Figure 2-1.
Operating VRS Figure 2-3. Select Scanner Dialog Box (TWAIN-based application) 4 Click the OK or Scan button, as applicable to your scanning application. 5 For ImageControls-based applications, the VRS icon (Figure 2-4) will display in the Windows taskbar as soon as you select the scan source. For ISIS and TWAIN applications, the VRS icon will display when the scanner interface dialog box is displayed, or when you start scanning. Refer to Kofax VRS Scanning Interfaces on page 18 for more information.
Chapter 2 Kofax VRS Scanning Interfaces The scanning interface consists of basic scanner property settings, along with an option for accessing VRS. The scanning interface serves as a connection between VRS and your scanning application. Depending on the type of scanning application (ImageControls-based, ISIS-based, TWAIN-based), the options that appear on the VRS scanning interface will vary.
Operating VRS You can use the Kofax VRS ImageControls interface to control scanner functions. Under General, you can select from the following options: Source: Lists the available input paper source as Flatbed, ADF, Manual, or Panel. Depending upon the capabilities of the selected scanner, some sources may not be available. Destination: Lists the output tray (usually Bin 1 or Bin 2) for the pages to be scanned.
Chapter 2 X To scan using the Kofax VRS ImageControls interface 1 Open your scanning application. 2 Select a VRS scan source and click OK. The scan source is typically named as “ with SVRS,” where “” corresponds to the make and model of your scanner. Figure 2-6. Kofax VRS ImageControls Interface – Select Source 3 Select Source | Properties to open the Scanner Properties dialog box associated with the selected scan source. Figure 2-7.
Operating VRS Kofax VRS ISIS Interface The Kofax VRS ISIS interface (Figure 2-8) serves as a connection between VRS and your ISIS scanning application. In most cases, the Kofax VRS ISIS interface is displayed automatically when you select the “Kofax VRS Scanner” source from your ISIS scanning application. The interface includes settings for configuring preferences related to basic scan settings, VRS profiles, bar codes, imprinters, patch codes, and more.
Chapter 2 Use the Scanner Presets group to create and manage scanner preset settings. You type in the name of a new preset which can then be saved, restored, or removed using the New, Save, Restore, or Delete buttons. Note The scanner presets that you create from the Kofax VRS ISIS interface differ from the profiles created in VRS. For details, refer to Working with Profiles on page 39.
Operating VRS Figure 2-10. Kofax VRS ISIS Interface - New Profile Dialog Box 5 Click OK to close the New Profile dialog box, or click Cancel to exit without making any changes. In the future, you can change a profile by selecting it, updating the settings under General, and then clicking Save. You may also load a profile by selecting it and clicking Restore from the Kofax VRS ISIS interface. Likewise, you remove a profile by selecting it and clicking Delete. 6 Start the scanning process.
Chapter 2 Use the Kofax VRS TWAIN interface to control scanner features made available via the TWAIN scanner driver. The Kofax VRS TWAIN interface consists of two groups: the Profiles group and the General group. Use the Profiles group to create and manage configuration settings (scanner presets). You can use the list box to type in the name of a new profile which can then be saved, restored, or removed using the Save, Restore, or Delete buttons.
Operating VRS Figure 2-12. Kofax VRS TWAIN Interface – Select Source 3 The Kofax VRS TWAIN interface will launch. From the General group, make your selections such as the Source, DPI, Color Mode, Paper Size, etc. 4 If desired, click Save to create a profile to save the updated settings. a At the Save Profile dialog box, type a name for the profile. b Click OK. In the future, you can load a profile by selecting it and clicking Restore from the Kofax VRS TWAIN interface.
Chapter 2 Configuring VRS Before You Scan The VRS default settings produce superior results for most document types, and in most cases, you can use VRS successfully without changing anything. VRS does give you the flexibility to configure operating preferences and adjust the default settings if necessary. This section explains some configuration options that are available to you: Using the VirtualReScan Administration Utility to customize the way that VRS responds to exception images.
Operating VRS Figure 2-13. VirtualReScan Administration Utility Dialog Box The default settings for VRS provide optimal scanning and accurate data capture for a wide range of documents. For most situations, it should not be necessary to adjust the default settings, which are listed in Table 2-1. Table 2-1.
Chapter 2 Table 2-1.
Operating VRS Figure 2-14. Warnings Tab Table 2-2 lists the types of warnings and their causes. Table 2-2. Warning Types Warning Cause Brightness Out of Range Brightness value for the image falls outside the acceptable range. Contrast Out of Range Contrast value for the image falls outside the acceptable range. Color Confidence Out of Range Color confidence value for the image is lower than the acceptable range.
Chapter 2 Brightness Out of Range Use the Brightness Out of Range threshold to define the valid range for brightness values. When a document is scanned, VRS evaluates the resulting image to determine its brightness. Then, VRS compares the actual brightness value to the user-defined acceptable range. The acceptable range is determined by starting with 50 and adding and subtracting the Brightness Out of Range threshold value listed on the Warnings tab.
Operating VRS VRS compares the percentage to the user-defined acceptable value, which is the Color Confidence Out of Range threshold setting on the Warnings tab. Based on this realtime evaluation, VRS either accepts the image and allows it to be passed on to the scanning application, or intercepts it and responds according to the Color Confidence Out of Range action in the Warnings tab.
Chapter 2 Table 2-4. Error Types (continued) Error Description Out of Paper No paper is available to scan. Cover Open Scanner cover is not closed securely. Scanner Offline1 The scanner is not ready to scan. Feeder Timeout1 The document feeder tries, but is unable to move the page for a period of time that exceeds the ADF timeout setting. Scanner Stop Key1 The user presses the “OI STOP” key on the scanner, causing an immediate transport stop, and pages are left somewhere in the transport.
Operating VRS Table 2-5. Action Types for Errors Action Type Description Interactive The VRS Interactive Viewer opens and displays the image in the VRS Interactive Viewer, so that you can apply new settings to the current image. Accelerated Scanning Tab When used with a scanning application that requests a bitonal image, VRS requests a grayscale image from the scanner. VRS analyzes the grayscale image and produces a clean, clear, bitonal image that is passed to the application.
Chapter 2 Figure 2-16. Accelerated Scanning Tab You can use the slider to select a scanning acceleration level from None to Maximum, while reducing the image quality from Best to Good. VRS performs the acceleration by scanning a grayscale image at a lower resolution then what was requested by the application. VRS performs its normal analysis on this image and produces a clean, clear, bitonal image.
Operating VRS Note When you select the first level of accelerated scanning, the image quality is virtually equivalent to non-accelerated scanning. However, higher levels of acceleration affect the image quality. Not all scanners increase in speed when you select accelerated scanning. If your scanner does not offer lower resolutions than the resolution selected in your scanning application, accelerated scanning will have no effect. Table 2-6.
Chapter 2 2 From the VRS taskbar menu, select Admin Utility. Figure 2-17. VirtualReScan Administration Utility 3 When the VirtualReScan Administration Utility displays, select and adjust the settings for the following tabs: 4 36 Warnings tab - Threshold. Type directly into the Threshold text box, or click the arrows to select a new threshold setting. For more information, refer to Warnings Tab on page 28. Warnings tab/Errors tab - Action.
Operating VRS Setting the VRS Operating Mode You can configure settings that control how often the VRS Interactive Viewer will be displayed during a scanning session. By selecting the QC Modes command from the VRS menu, you can set the VRS Interactive Viewer to open under different conditions. The default QC mode is “On Errors.” The default value for the Hardware Warnings setting is on (checked).
Chapter 2 available to Kofax Capture users, provided that the proper VRS Professional license is in place. For more information, refer to the Kofax Capture documentation. Disabled The VRS Interactive Viewer will not open, even if exception conditions occur. Hardware Warnings Use the Hardware Warnings option to specify how VRS should respond to hardware conditions such as Paper Jam, Out of Paper, and Cover Open.
Operating VRS Working with Profiles With VRS, you can scan documents and accurately capture data in the shortest time possible using the default settings, which have been carefully chosen to allow VRS to excel at a wide range of documents without adjustments. However, some document types may pose a challenge and they may require custom adjustments. If you expect to work with a high volume of problematic or challenging documents, the best solution may be to create a profile that contains custom settings.
Chapter 2 Creating a Profile You can create a profile by doing one of the following: Saving the current VRS Adjustment Controls settings under a new profile name Creating a profile from the Organize Profiles dialog box Creating a profile from the Kofax VRS ISIS interface Before creating a profile, note the characters that are not acceptable for profile names, as shown in Table 2-7. Table 2-7.
Operating VRS 4 In the New Profile text box, assign a name to the new profile. Be sure to assign a profile name with alphanumeric characters and avoid the characters listed in Table 2-7. 5 Click OK to save the profile and close the New Profile dialog box. The new profile name will be added to the list of profiles, and it will also become the active profile. X To create a new profile from the Organize Profiles dialog box 1 Scan a sample image.
Chapter 2 a profile up or down with the Up and Down controls that are available in the Organize Profiles dialog box. The function keys for profiles are available only when the VRS Interactive Viewer is active. If the list of profiles exceeds the available viewing area in the Organize Profiles dialog box, you can use scroll bars to bring additional profiles into view. X To create a new profile from the Kofax VRS ISIS interface 1 Open the Kofax VRS ISIS interface. 2 Select the VRS tab. 3 Click New.
Operating VRS X To change the active profile from the VRS Interactive Viewer toolbar 1 From the VRS Interactive Viewer toolbar, place your cursor in the profiles list to expand the list of saved profiles. Figure 2-22. VRS Profile Selection List 2 Do one of the following: From the list of profiles, select the profile that you want to use. Press the function key associated with the profile that you want to use. The profile selection stays in effect until you change it again.
Chapter 2 3 Select Profile | Save. - or - 4 From the VRS Adjustment Controls, update the settings associated with the currently selected profile. 5 From the VRS Interactive Viewer, select Profile | Organize Profiles. The Organize Profiles dialog box is displayed. 6 Make sure that the appropriate profile is selected from the profile list and then click Save. 7 Click Close to exit the Organize Profiles dialog box.
Operating VRS X To remove a profile 1 From the VRS Interactive Viewer, select the Profile | Organize. The Organize Profiles dialog box will display. 2 From the profiles list, select the profile you want to remove. If desired, you can select multiple profiles for removal. 3 Click Delete. The profile name is removed from the list. 4 If the deleted profile was the last profile in use, select another profile from the list and then click Load to make it active.
Chapter 2 scanning application; the image is intended only for preview purposes. You can invoke the preview process by selecting the following: Preview from the VRS taskbar menu First Page from the QC Modes menu Preview check box from the TWAIN scanning interface For information on the VRS Interactive Viewer window and using the Zoom options, refer to Using the VRS Interactive Viewer on page 48. For information on updating image properties, refer to Using the VRS Adjustment Controls on page 56.
Operating VRS The image analysis information appears in the VRS Interactive Viewer status bar and includes the following properties: Size: Lists the image dimensions in pixels. Skew: Lists the detected skew angle in degrees. Brightness: Lists the detected brightness value as a percentage. Contrast: Lists the detected contrast value as a percentage. Color: Lists the detected image type as “color” or “bitonal,” along with a confidence value expressed as a percentage.
Chapter 2 Using the VRS Interactive Viewer The VRS Interactive Viewer displays scanned images for your inspection and gives you access to the VRS Adjustment Controls, which can be used to apply changes to image properties (refer to Using the VRS Adjustment Controls on page 56). The purpose of the viewer is to show you what the image looks like when it scans, and to refresh the image as you apply changes.
Operating VRS Figure 2-25.
Chapter 2 Scroll Bars If you resize the VRS Interactive Viewer so that the individual controls do not fit within the available space, horizontal and/or vertical scroll bars are displayed so that you can navigate to the controls that are not in view. Persistence The size and state of the VRS Interactive Viewer are maintained from one scanning session to another.
Operating VRS Cancel Click Cancel in Preview to close the VRS Interactive Viewer without applying any changes. If an exception is detected when scanning, click Cancel to return an error (without the error image itself) to the scanning application. In addition, the batch scan will be stopped. Reset Click Reset to clear any changes and restore all VRS Adjustment Controls settings to their original values. After selecting Reset, you can continue by updating or saving the original values.
Chapter 2 Table 2-8. VRS Interactive Viewer Menu Commands Menu Command Description Keyboard Shortcut Help | VRS Help Open the VRS online Help system. Alt+H+H Help | User’s Guide Open the VRS User’s Guide in PDF format. Alt+H+U Help | About VRS Open the About dialog box, which includes VRS version and license information, along with contact information for Kofax, Inc.
Operating VRS Profile Menu You can use the Profile menu to create and manage VRS profiles. Each profile represents a saved combination of settings on the panels in the VRS Adjustment Controls. A profile works like a memorized strategy for image correction and enhancement. With the exception of the “Default settings” profile, which is predetermined and automatically included in your VRS installation, profiles are created by the user. VRS uses the “Default settings” profile unless you select another profile.
Chapter 2 Enable Professional Features Demo This menu command is available only if a VRS “Basic” license is in effect. You can use this command to enable a demonstration of the VRS Professional features. While this mode is enabled, you have full access to the VRS Professional features and a “Kofax Demo Mode” stamp is applied to any images that you scan. For details, refer to Enabling the Professional Features Demo on page 78.
Operating VRS Figure 2-28. Zoom Tool Options Scanner Driver Settings Tool Select this tool to view advanced settings (in the Advanced Settings dialog box or the Advanced Properties dialog box) associated with the selected scanner. The “Scanner Driver Settings” tool will be available only if your scanner supports advanced options. The availability of the advanced settings may vary, according to the scanner that you specified during the VRS installation process.
Chapter 2 Using the VRS Adjustment Controls The VRS Adjustment Controls consist of six panels that give you options for adjusting image properties. The default settings are saved to a VRS profile called “Default settings.” Once you identify a set of adjustments that work well for a particular document type, you can save them in a custom profile that can be used in place of the default profile. For more information, refer to Working with Profiles on page 39. Figure 2-31.
Operating VRS Using the Clarity Panel This section gives you details about the Clarity panel, which gives you options to adjust the contrast, brightness, and gamma values for an image. In general, a high Contrast value enhances faint text and lines in your documents. Since brightness increases or decreases the overall density of your images, increasing the brightness level can clear up dark shaded documents. Gamma Correct is used to adjust images created with incorrect gamma encoding. Figure 2-32.
Chapter 2 Brightness and Contrast When the Auto Brightness check box is selected, VRS automatically assigns optimal values for brightness and displays those values in the manual Brightness slider and numeric text box. The Auto Brightness setting is not applicable when you scan in color mode. Moving the Brightness slider, entering a value in the Brightness numeric text box, or clicking in the Brightness-Contrast custom control turns off Auto Brightness. Figure 2-33.
Operating VRS Current brightness setting Acceptable range of brightness and contrast Current contrast setting Figure 2-34. Brightness-Contrast Custom Control The Brightness-Contrast custom control indicates the current value of the Brightness setting by means of a horizontal solid black line. The Brightness-Contrast custom control indicates the current value of the Contrast setting by means of a vertical solid black line.
Chapter 2 setting in black and white mode does not affect the value of the manual brightness setting in grayscale or color mode, because VRS keeps these values separate. Contrast Text Box When the VRS Interactive Viewer is launched, the Contrast numeric text box indicates the current value of the Contrast setting. The Contrast value of an image may be set manually using the Contrast numeric text box. The Contrast value may be set from 0 (very low contrast) to 100 (very high contrast).
Operating VRS Clarity feature enabled, VRS can process the background successfully and produce optimal results. If you have documents that are particularly challenging, you may achieve better results by applying a profile with the Advanced Clarity feature turned on. When Advanced Clarity is enabled, you can use the Intensity slider to control the degree of special processing that is applied.
Chapter 2 4 In the Contrast text box, VRS displays the current contrast setting. To change the setting, do one of the following: 5 Click the arrows on the Contrast text box to increase or decrease the contrast level. Click in the Contrast text box and type in a value. Move the Contrast slider control left or right to select a value.
Operating VRS 8 As an option, you can use the text box instead of the slider to specify the intensity value. Do one of the following to specify a value from 1 to 5: Click in the text box and type in a value. Click the arrows in the text box to change the value. Note If you enable the Advanced Clarity feature and subsequently make manual adjustments to the brightness and contrast values, the Advanced Clarity function will be turned off.
Chapter 2 Using the Noise Panel You can use the filters on the Noise panel to enhance image quality and remove excessive speckling. Also, you can use the Fill Holes option to fill in hole marks with the background color of the surrounding area. As you adjust the Noise settings, the effects are applied to the image in the VRS Interactive Viewer window. You can fine-tune the settings until the image appearance meets your quality standards. Figure 2-36.
Operating VRS Removing Noise from a Document Follow these general rules for removing noise from a document: If you have batches of mixed documents with varying quality, never use the Speckle Removal filter. You could risk losing information on documents. If the noise was produced by bleed-through of text from the back side or background patterns (such as the patterns commonly found on boarding passes), decrease the contrast from the Clarity panel.
Chapter 2 Move the slider toward Large if removal of small, medium, and large dots will achieve the desired image quality. Moving the slider too far to the right may interfere with text recognition. 4 Select the Fill Holes check box to enable the feature that replaces hole marks (such as notebook paper hole marks) with the color of the area surrounding the holes. 5 Click OK.
Operating VRS Figure 2-37. Skew Panel Deskew Option Use the Deskew option to automatically straighten any images that are skewed. You can achieve excellent results with black background or white background scanners.
Chapter 2 Figure 2-38. Skew Panel - Deskew and Crop Options Auto Crop and Edge Cleanup Options Use the Auto Crop option to automatically crop every page to its original size. Auto Crop is important for a precise registration of each image in order to perform accurate optical character recognition (OCR). You can use Edge Cleanup to automatically remove black borders from an image. It is different from image cropping because it does not crop the image to its actual size.
Operating VRS 4 If automatic deskew is not selected, you can use the movable angle control arm to straighten an image by clicking anywhere on the grid. You can also adjust the skew as follows: a Position the mouse over the vertical arm, click, and hold. The cursor will change to a hand. b Drag the arm counter-clockwise to rotate the image to the left, or clockwise to rotate it to the right. You can rotate the image up to 360 degrees.
Chapter 2 Using the Color Panel Use the Color panel to specify your preferences for Automatic Color Detection and related processing options. VRS uses the Automatic Color Detection process to determine if an image has any color content. If no color content is detected, then the document is processed as a bitonal image. When using Automatic Color Detection, it is important to test your settings on a sample document that is similar to the documents you expect to scan.
Operating VRS Note The availability of the Color panel depends upon your VRS license and scanner, as well as the active scanning mode, which must be set to “Color.” X To configure the Color panel settings 1 From the VRS Adjustment Controls, select the Color panel. 2 Select the Enable Detection check box if you want to enable Automatic Color Detection.
Chapter 2 6 At Background Color Detection, select “Suppress color if applicable” to have VRS suppress the background color for images in which the foreground is bitonal. Note The availability of the Background Color Detection feature may vary, according to the scanner that you are using with VRS. 7 You can use the Output Format settings to override the results of Automatic Color Detection. These settings apply only to the current image in a batch.
Operating VRS Figure 2-40. Background Panel X To configure the Background panel settings 1 From the VRS Adjustment Controls, select the Background panel. 2 Select the Enable Smoothing check box to turn on the background smoothing feature, which you can use to modify the background of a color image. If this check box is not selected, the background region of a color image is not altered when it is processed.
Chapter 2 Black: All background color is changed to black. Automatic: All background pixels are smoothed to the same value, representing an average of the detected background colors. This selection is appropriate only when minor variations exist in the background color. Note If you select Automatic, the results may vary, according to the color detected in the background region of the scanned document.
Operating VRS removal if blank page deletion is enabled. You can also configure VRS to detect small amounts of content, in which case the same speckled page may not be considered blank and it would not be deleted. When VRS evaluates the page content, the background color is ignored. Depending on the content sensitivity setting, VRS may fail to identify a blank page if it contains marks caused by holes (such as notebook paper holes) near the edge of the paper.
Chapter 2 Figure 2-41. Blank Page Panel X To enable blank page detection 76 1 Scan a sample blank document that is similar to the documents that you plan to scan in a batch, and then select Preview from the VRS taskbar menu. 2 From the VRS Adjustment Controls, select the Blank Page panel. 3 Select the Enable Detection check box to turn on automatic blank page detection. Select the Delete Blank Pages check box to turn on automatic blank page deletion.
Operating VRS Note When Blank Page Detection is enabled without deletion, the ability to notify the scanning application is supported only for ImageControls-based applications, rather than ISIS- or TWAIN-based applications. 4 Adjust the Content Sensitivity setting to determine how sensitive VRS is to page content. The possible values range from 1 to 100. A high sensitivity value means that VRS is very sensitive to small amounts of content, even if it is scattered on a page.
Chapter 2 mode to First Page or Every Page, the scanning process stops to display the page that is appropriate for the active mode. If that page happens to be blank, it appears in the image viewing area with a message indicating that it has either been detected or marked for deletion (Figure 2-42). Blank pages may also display in the image viewing area when the QC mode is set to On Errors if an exception occurs in connection with the back side of the blank page.
Operating VRS Once the VRS Professional Features Demonstration is enabled, the VRS Interactive Viewer will be refreshed and options on three additional panels will be available from the VRS Adjustment Controls: Color, Background, and Blank Page. Note To access the Color or Background panels while the Professional Features Demonstration mode is in effect, you must have color scanning selected from your scanning application.
Chapter 2 any of these panels after exiting the Professional features demonstration, a message will display to remind you that full access requires a VRS Professional license. The message will include a link to the Upgrade VRS dialog box, which you can use to purchase a VRS Professional license. The options on the Clarity, Noise, and Skew panels will continue to be available. 3 When you resume scanning, the “Kofax Demo Mode” stamp will no longer be applied to your images.
Operating VRS Note If the Scanner Driver Settings menu command or toolbar option is not available, your scanner driver does not support advanced features. 4 One of the following dialog boxes will display, according to the scanner that you have configured to work with VRS: Advanced Settings dialog box Advanced Properties dialog box Note For details about the Advanced Properties dialog box, refer to Advanced Properties on page 113.
Chapter 2 VRS automatically will attempt to retry the scanning process, which will resume once you do something to resolve the exception condition. OK - Manual Mode: When the Auto Resolve Manager opens in manual mode (when the Action selection is Intervention), you need to resolve the equipment or paper transport issue. Then select OK to accept the image “as is,” send it to the scanning application, and proceed with the scanning process. Cancel: Stop the batch or cancel the scanning process.
Operating VRS the licensed product. The Buy Now command is available if you are currently running an evaluation or demonstration version of VRS. For more information, refer to the VRS Help. Check for Updates Use this command to check for and download a VRS product update. You can use this feature if you have a VRS Professional license that has been activated. For more information, refer to the VRS Help or the VRS Installation Guide.
Chapter 2 VRS Test Application Use this command to start VCDemo, a sample ImageControls-based scanning application that is installed automatically with VRS. For more information, refer to the VCDemo section of the VRS Installation Guide.
Appendix A Scanner Configuration Utility Introduction You can use the Kofax Scanner Configuration Utility to create and configure scan and image device sources, and set VRS default scanners. The Scanner Configuration Utility is available from the Kofax VRS program folder. From your scanning application, you select a scan source to ensure that the appropriate drivers are used during your scanning session.
Appendix A Configuring a Scan Source - Quick Start Method There are a number of ways to create and configure sources with the Scanner Configuration Utility. For most VRS users, the procedure in this section will provide the easiest approach to configuring a scan source. If you need to configure a custom source for a scanner that is not certified or compatible with VRS, refer to Configuring a Scan Source - Custom Method on page 87. If you need additional information, please click Help from the utility.
Scanner Configuration Utility Figure A-2. Scanner Manufacturer List Note The scanner manufacturer list consists of VRS-certified scanners, as well as any scanner for which a driver has been installed on your computer.
Appendix A X To configure a custom source for your scanner 1 Make sure that the necessary scanner driver is installed on your computer. 2 Start the Scanner Configuration Utility. 3 From the “Available Image Devices” list, expand the Scanners node and locate the name of the manufacturer associated with your scanner. Note The scanner manufacturer list consists of VRS-certified scanners, as well as any scanner for which a driver has been installed on your computer.
Scanner Configuration Utility Figure A-4. Create Source Dialog Box 6 Source name: Enter the name that will be used to reference the scanner or source device from your scanning application. You can assign any name, if it fits within the naming conventions of your application. Typically, the source name corresponds to the name of the scanner or source device, along with a description of the source type.
Appendix A Figure A-5. Scanner Configuration Utility - New Source Added 11 Click Close to exit the Configure Sources dialog box. Note For more information about other options on this dialog box, refer to Configure Sources Dialog Box Options on page 95. Scanner Configuration Utility Dialog Box Tour This section gives you an overview of the user interface elements in the Scanner Configuration Utility dialog box.
Scanner Configuration Utility Figure A-6. Scanner Configuration Utility Visual Cues The Scanner Configuration Utility includes visual cues that indicate important information about the items on the “Available image devices” list.
Appendix A The following table explains the significance of each icon that is used in the “Available image devices” list. Table A-1. Scanner Configuration Utility Icons Icon Description Scanner is VRS-certified. Scanner is VRS-certified, and it is currently selected as the default device. Scanner is VRS-certified, but the driver does not exist on the computer. Scanner is VRS-certified and currently selected as the default device, but the driver does not exist on the computer.
Scanner Configuration Utility As another option, you can specify one of the following to indicate your preferences for viewing the list of scanners: All: Select this option if you prefer an unrestricted list that includes every scanner manufacturer. Manufacturer name: Select this option if you prefer to restrict the list to include scanners from a specific manufacturer. You select the manufacturer name.
Appendix A Figure A-7. Scanner Configuration Utility Dialog Box Options 94 Set as Default: Use this option to set the currently selected item in the “Available image devices” list as the default device. If the device is a certified or compatible VRS scanner, the appropriate sources are automatically created and configured (if they don’t exist already). If the selected item is a file import device, the default source “My Kofax File Import with AIPE” is created.
Scanner Configuration Utility Configure Sources Dialog Box Options In previous sections, the procedures were described for creating standard VRS sources, as well as custom sources. Regardless of the source type, you can use the Configure Sources dialog box (Figure A-8) to view the list of sources that have been configured for the device that is currently selected in the “Available image devices” list in the Scanner Configuration Utility dialog box. Figure A-8.
Appendix A sources by selecting the “Set as Default” option from the Scanner Configuration Utility dialog box. Help: Use this option to access the online Help topic for the Configure Sources dialog box. Close: Use this option to exit the Configure Sources dialog box. Restoring VRS Default Settings The VRS default settings have been carefully chosen to ensure that VRS excels with a wide range of documents and scanners without requiring adjustments.
Scanner Configuration Utility Standard VRS Source Types This section lists the standard VRS source types and source naming conventions, which are based on the type of device (scanner or file import) that is used in your installation. The source types listed here are available for certified and compatible VRS scanners. The scanner source types depend on the drivers (ISIS, TWAIN, or Kofax) that are required to support a particular scanner.
Appendix A Table A-4. HVRS SCSI Source Types Source Type Source Naming Convention Hardware VRS - SCSI scanning with image processing (AIPE) with SVRS with AIPE Hardware VRS - SCSI scanning with SVRS Table A-5. HVRS TWAIN Source Types Source Type Source Naming Convention Hardware VRS - TWAIN scanning with image processing (AIPE) with SVRS with AIPE Hardware VRS - TWAIN scanning with SVRS Table A-6.
Scanner Configuration Utility 3 Click Restore VRS Defaults. Note The Restore VRS Defaults function is not available unless sources have been configured for the selected scanner. Notice that the “Current default scanner” and “Current default source” entries will be updated at the bottom of the dialog box. When you start VRS, you will notice also that the panels in the VRS Adjustment Controls will be updated with the original default settings. 4 Click Close to exit the Scanner Configuration Utility.
Appendix A 100 VirtualReScan (VRS) User’s Guide
Appendix B Long Paper Support Introduction VRS supports long paper scanning for some production-class scanners. You can use the instructions in this appendix to configure VRS for long paper support. Activating Long Paper Support Using VRS, you can scan duplex long documents in black and white mode at 300 DPI and below. With long paper support activated, images may not be rotated.
Appendix B 102 VirtualReScan (VRS) User’s Guide
Appendix C Enhanced Bar Code Engine Introduction Access to the Kofax Standard bar code recognition engine is provided through your scanning application. Access to the Enhanced Bar Code features is available if you have activated a VRS Professional Workgroup or VRS Professional Production license, or if you have installed an Adrenaline 650i adapter. Note The Enhanced Bar Code engine may also be licensed through the Kofax Capture licensing scheme.
Appendix C Figure C-1. Bar Code Properties Dialog Box With the Enhanced Bar Code engine, you will be able to scan all the standard bar code types with improved recognition, in addition to the 2D bar codes.
Enhanced Bar Code Engine Standard bar codes include the following: Codabar Code 128 Code 39 (3 of 9) Code 93 EAN Interleaved 2 of 5 Linear 2 of 5 Postnet UPC-A UPC-E How to Switch Between Bar Code Engines While the Kofax Enhanced Bar Code recognition engine offers many advantages over the standard bar code recognition engines, in some cases the processing speed may vary.
Appendix C Accessing the Bar Code Properties Dialog Box How you access the Bar Code Properties dialog box varies according to your scanning application. From the VCDemo demonstration application, you can select the Bar Code Properties dialog box from the Imaging menu to enable your scanning application to automatically recognize certain bar codes during scanning. Note VCDemo is available from the Kofax VRS program folder. From the Bar Code Properties dialog box, you can customize how bar codes are handled.
Enhanced Bar Code Engine direction(s) to detect bar codes on the current image, and updates the following values: Height Width Ratio Quality For best results, bar codes should be “learned” using the same scanner and scanner settings that will be used to process images. In addition, you must know the type of bar codes you are using for the Learn feature to work properly. Note The Learn feature does not work with Postnet bar codes. In addition, the Learn mode operates on one bar code at a time.
Appendix C Any Width When the bar width is unknown, select this check box to allow the application to automatically determine the bar width as it searches for potential bar codes. 2 to 1 Ratio Some bar code types support an optional ratio between the narrowest element and the larger elements in the code. In a 2 to 1 ratio, the width of the largest elements is two times larger than the narrowest element. For example, if the width of the narrowest element is .
Enhanced Bar Code Engine the application’s ability to accurately read the bar code, you can specify the quality of the bar codes being read. Good—Well delineated, have smooth edges, and are noise-free. Normal—Generally well delineated, but may have some noise and rough edges. Poor—Have jagged edges or other characteristics that might make them hard to read. Note For optimal results, the default setting of “Good” should be selected.
Appendix C 110 VirtualReScan (VRS) User’s Guide
Appendix D Patch Code Recognition Introduction Patch codes can be used to separate documents, stop the scanner, or change the scanner mode. The patch code itself is a pattern of horizontal black bars resembling a bar code the size of a full page. VRS supports patch code recognition in ImageControls applications with a VRS Workgroup license or a VRS Production license.
Appendix D Using the Patch Code Properties Dialog Box Use the following options to enable patch code detection. Enable Select the Enable check box to take advantage of the patch code detection feature. Left Offset to Center of Patch Code The Left Offset to Center of Patch Code is a value you select from the left edge of the page to define a point near the center of the patch code. The offset value allows the patch code detection feature to quickly locate the patch code on the page.
Appendix E Advanced Properties Introduction This appendix gives you information about the Advanced Properties dialog box, which can be accessed by selecting the Scanner Driver Settings option from the Tools menu while the VRS Interactive Viewer is in Preview mode. Note The availability and appearance of the Advanced Properties dialog box are dependent on the scanner that you configure to use with VRS. Figure E-1.
Appendix E 2 Auto Crop settings from the Skew panel (if enabled) 3 Settings from the Advanced Properties Picking Rectangle panel 4 Settings from the Advanced Properties Rotation panel Endorser Panel VRS supports basic endorsing and annotation. For VRS production-class scanners that are equipped with endorsers, you can set up endorsing properties using the Endorser panel on the Advanced Properties dialog box.
Advanced Properties Text Definition Dialog Box When the options for either Enable Mechanical Endorser Only or Enable Mechanical Endorser and Electronic Annotation are enabled, selecting the Text Definition button from the Advanced Properties dialog box launches the Text Definition dialog box. Use this dialog box to customize the endorser and/or annotation string.
Appendix E You can manually enter the text string or date to be used during annotation, or you can select from the Prefix drop-down list to insert pre-formatted date information into the prefix string. The date format choices are shown in Table E-2. Table E-2. Date Formats Date Format Example Date Format Example YYYY-MM-DD 2010-07-07 MM.DD.YYYY 07.07.2010 DD-MMM-YY 07-JUL-10 MMM. DD, YY JUL.
Advanced Properties printed less than 20 mm from the top of the page. The maximum is dependent on paper size. Whole numbers are required when entering pixels and millimeters. When values are in inches, however, they can be entered in .01-inch increments. The Left edit box is disabled (grayed out) unless annotation is selected. Note Not all scanners allow you to select a top and/or left position for your endorser string. Refer to your scanner documentation for more information.
Appendix E the documents being scanned, how the batches are organized, and specific user needs. The following Step Values are available from the drop-down list. Increment by one (default) Increment by two Decrement by one Decrement by two Note Decrementing is not available with all scanners. Other Elements on This Dialog Box The text displayed under Sample String shows how the current imprinting text will look with any optional date stamp or counter expanded. The current date is used.
Advanced Properties In some cases, you may want to remove all instances of one color, such as the background color, on a document in order to make the necessary data more accessible to OCR engines, etc. One method to effectively “erase” this unwanted color during scanning is to use color dropout. If you select a color to “drop out,” your scanner will ignore that color, but capture everything else.
Appendix E Picking Rectangle Panel You can use the Picking Rectangle panel to select a portion of an image to be scanned or processed, effectively cropping out unwanted data. This feature is only available for certain scanners. The Picking Rectangle panel consists of two groups of settings: Front Side and Back Side. If a scanner supports duplex scanning, you may select picking rectangle settings for the front or the back side, or both.
Advanced Properties Rotation Panel The Rotation panel consists of options for front side and back side rotation. When a scanner supports duplex scanning, the front side and/or the back side of a scanned image can be rotated by 90, 180, or 270 degrees. Selecting 0 means no rotation. On simplex scanners, only front side rotation is enabled. Figure E-5.
Appendix E About Panel The Advanced Properties About panel provides information that is useful for technical support purposes. In addition to listing the scanner firmware version and the Enhanced Grayscale Adapter (EGSA) firmware version, the About panel also indicates if a scanner endorser is installed and if the endorser is a 16-bit or 24-bit endorser (if applicable). Figure E-6.
Index A B About VRS dialog box, 54 Accelerated Scanning tab, 26, 33 Action types, 29, 32 Auto Resolve, 32 Ignore Error, 29, 32 Interactive, 29, 33 Return Error, 29, 32 Activate VRS, 82 Activating VRS Professional license, 82 Admin Utility, 26 Advanced Clarity, 60 Advanced features, 53, 55, 80 Advanced Properties dialog box, 113 About panel, 122 Color panel, 118 Endorser panel, 114 Picking Rectangle panel, 120 Rotation panel, 121 Analysis information, 47 Analyze Color, 62 Annotation, 114 Annotation string
Index Ignore Holes, 74 Brightness, 58 Brightness Out of Range warning, 29 Brightness-Contrast custom control, 59 Buy Now, 83 C Certified scanners, 12 Check for Updates, 83 Checksum, 109 Clarity panel Advanced Clarity, 57 Auto Brightness, 58 brightness, 57 contrast, 57 edge detection, 58 gamma, 57 Clarity, advanced, 60 Codabar, 105 Code 128, 105 Code 39 (3 of 9), 105 Code 93, 105 Color area sensitivity, 71 Color Confidence Out of Range warning, 29 Color detection, automatic, 70 Color dropout, 119 Color pan
Index Ignore Holes, 77 Ignore Pictures, 62 Image analysis information, 47 Image status information, 46 Installation guide, 7 Interactive action, 29, 33 Interfaces ISIS, 21 scan, 18 TWAIN, 23 Interleaved 2 of 5, 105 Interpret Bar Code option, 107 ISIS, 23 interface, 21 K Kofax Capture (formerly Ascent Capture), 12, 37 Kofax contact information, 54 Kofax Demo stamp, 78 Kofax Scanner Configuration Utility, 85 Kofax VRS program folder, 82 Kofax VRS scan interfaces, 18 L Learn option, 106 License activation,
Index S V Scan interfaces, 18 Scanner Configuration Utility, 83, 85 Scanner Driver Settings tool, 55 Scanner Offline error, 32 Scanner Page Sensor error, 32 Scanner Properties dialog box, 101 Scanner Stop Key error, 32 Scanners certified, 12 compatible, 12 driver version, 122 non-certified, 12 Skew panel auto crop, 66 auto orientation, 66 deskew, 66 edge cleanup, 66 fine angle adjustments, 66 Small color area detection, 71 Snap to White setting, 74 Source type list, 97 Speckle removal filters, 65 Standar
