Uploading Large Files with ILINX Capture and IIS

From time to time I receive questions about large file uploads with ILINX Capture. ILINX Capture can upload files of any size. The limitation is within Internet Information Services(IIS) and or the amount of memory installed in the web server. This is not only true for ILINX Capture, but and ASP or ASP.Net application.

Depending on the architecture of the ASP or ASP.Net application files being uploaded to the web server are typically streamed into the web server’s memory during the upload process before being written to disk. Depending on the number of user concurrently uploading files and the size of the files being uploaded will determine how much physical memory should be installed in the server. By default IIS has a 200KB size limit for uploading a single file. This can be increased, but not any higher than necessary or you may risk overconsumption of the web server’s memory.

Configuring File Upload Size in IIS 6

1. Open Internet Information Services Manager by clicking the Windows Start Menu and Run. Type inetmgr and click OK.

2. Once IIS Manger opens navigate the tree and right click the server name and click properties.

3. From the server properties window check the Enable Direct Metabase Edit checkbox and click OK.

4. Browse to the C:\windows\system32\inetsrv directory and edit the Metabase.xml file with a text editor such as Notepad.

5. Search for the attribute AspMaxRequestEntityAllowed and edit the value to the size in bytes that you want to allow for a maximum upload size. Save and close the Metabase.xml file.

AspMaxRequestEntityAllowed=”204800″

6. Open the Registry editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSSOAP\30\SOAPISAP.

7. Modify the MaxPostSize key. Set the decimal value to the maximum upload size in bytes and click OK.

8. Reboot the web server to ensure the changes have taken effect.

Configuring File Upload Size in IIS 7

1. Open Internet Information Services Manager by clicking the Windows Start Menu and Run. Type inetmgr and click OK.

2. Navigate the tree to the Virtual Directory that you would like to enable large file uploads.

3. In the Features View pane double click ASP.

4. In the ASP setting pane edit the Maximum Requesting Entity and Response Buffering Limit columns. Set this to the maximum file upload size in bytes and click Apply.

 

5. Open the Windows Command Prompt and enter the following command. Change the maxAllowedContentLength to your maximum file upload size in bytes and hit enter to execute the command.

C:\Windows\System32\inetsrv\appcmd set config “Default Web Site” -section:requestFiltering -requestLimits.maxAllowedContentLength:104857600

9. Open the Registry editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSSOAP\30\SOAPISAP.

10. Modify the MaxPostSize key. Set the decimal value to the maximum upload size in bytes and click OK.

11. Reboot the web server to ensure the changes have taken effect.

Bryan Wilhelm
Senior Systems Engineer
ImageSource, Inc.

Vetting ABBYY ‘Keen Eye’ FlexiCapture at ImageSource

First off, ABBYY means “keen eye”, an apt name for a product that dynamically and automatically captures and processes widely disparate documents.  Powerful document recognition separates and classifies docs, and state-of-the art optical character recognition rips the data from the images.  I like the motto that pops up on screen – “take the data, leave the paper”.  I love doing just that, sending paper briskly off  to start its next recycled life.  It’s the greenest thing to do, especially when compared to  filling endless cabinets and long-term off-site storage facilities.

When you want to recommend, sell, support, and solve major customer problems with ECM software at ImageSource, due diligence mandates a thorough feature review and testing.  I’ll describe some of the steps I was involved with in this process for ABBYY FlexiCapture – but mine is but a single slice of the vet team pie.  Development teams and other engineering teams performed specific examinations to answer questions about integration, APIs, and more narrow capabilities to solve unique problems faced by eager customers.  Also, ImageSource staff with a variety of titles took a week-long training course with intensive labs.  Unfortunately I missed the class but was given the opportunity to spin up for a pre-sales demo last year, which was a lot of fun.

So here’s a peek at our process:

 Laptop Install

First things first!  I like to be able to run new software on my laptop whenever possible.  This frees me from all bandwidth and location constraints.  I can easily focus on the vet effort on a plane, down by the river, wherever and whenever.  ABBYY FlexiCapture has a convenient ‘Standalone Installation’ which gives you access to all the key components on one box.

 Obtain Sample Images from Client

In this case we gathered dozens of hardcopy invoices from a large international corporation.  The images were not pretty and included originals, copies, printed faxes, you name it.

 Ascertain Server Needs

After reviewing the ABBYY documentation we set the requirements for our labs – memory per server, disk space, software required, scan station requirements, scanner requirements, and required operating systems.

 Spin Up VMs

Thanks to Mike Peterson we had three servers up in no time.

Convening the Team , Locking Down the ‘War Room’

Gene Eckhart, Jeff Doyle and I  met in our Olympia office for a week.  Gene secured the war room where we periodically met with developers, project managers, engineers, and principals.  Most of the time it was the three of us banging away.

 Lab Software Install

Now we installed ILINX Capture on one server, ABBYY ‘s ‘Distributed Installation’ on another server, and SQL server on the last.   This architecture would mimic what we’d encounter in the field – and also the standalone install wouldn’t cut it as it doesn’t scale and it uses SQL Express as a support database. As installed,  we can easily add more servers for high-volume stress testing.  By running a WebEx all week we were able to record every moment of each day’s work, easily pass the focus from machine to machine, and allow others a view of what we were doing who were remote.  We involved ABBYY tech support when we had a question and felt we could speed up an installation process.  Turns out we could, and it was great to have the technician join our session without delay and see what was up. Also, as we installed we meticulously kept a running log of any issues – however minor – we encountered.  At the end of each day Gene led a review session where we discussed and polished the invaluable ‘Lessons’ doc.

 End-To-End Test

This was our ‘Hello World’ moment – we set up communication between ILINX Capture and ABBYY, and created an appropriate ILINX Capture workflow.  Then we created a simple FlexiLayout, exported it, imported it into FlexiCapture, and created a document definition and an export.  We configured the scanner and the scan station and established we had end-to-end connectivity.

 Building Generic Flexilayouts

One of the many goals of our week was to share baseline knowledge as well as advanced techniques for capturing documents.  We identified  two forms that were relatively easy to identify  and constituted a large amount of the total paper volume.  In short order we had FlexiLayouts and document definitions configured.  Then it was time to tweak and refine.  The ability to chain elements together worked outstandingly – find a keyword, then find the nearest zip code with the help of regular expressions.  Then using out-of-the-box settings we could  find the state, city, address, and addressee.   Wow, powerful.

Building an Uber FlexiLayout

Now it was time to roll the sleeves and build a smarter FlexiLayout that could capture invoices from a variety of sources.  We used advanced features such as FlexiLayout alternatives, element groups, object collection elements, and other settings to start recognizing semi-structured forms from a wide variety of sources.  Then we added a little bit of FlexiLayout language code to help us “crawl” around the identified forms to find dates and monetary amounts that could sometimes be below keywords, or to the right, etc.  We didn’t need to script any validation rules for our purposes, but I showed some script I had created prior  to our meeting .  A quick unit test showed great results – we now had stepped away from a model where each form had to have its own FlexiLayout.

 Running Recognition Tests

We changed our lab coat to testing hazmat suits and ran many batches of documents we had used in development as well as documents we had never looked at before.

 Recording Results

While never a thrill, here we benefitted from a spreadsheet created by Jeff Martin, Gene Eckhardt and  Brandon Konen that allowed easy entry of recognition results.  This is known as our “Advanced Capture Analysis and Comparison Tool”, highly regarded in our ranks.  The data was automatically crunched allowing us to very quickly establish baselines, compare our scan results with other products, share our results with coworker and principals, etc.

Lessons Learned Doc Revisited

It’s a privilege to be able to work with industry veterans such as Jeff Doyle and Gene Eckhardt on a project such as this.  They brought years of experience with them to improve every process we covered.  While evaluating  the Lessons Learned doc, they were able to extrapolate possible impacts in environments and scenarios they have seen in the field.  They also add fresh mitigation alternatives to work through problems encountered.  Our Lessons Learned docs are part of a valuable and large knowledge base that has been added to at ImageSource for year after year.

Findings and Conclusions Write-Up

After a demonstration to some coworkers needing to ramp-up on our configuration, we collaborated to create a summary document and here Gene took the lead.  We were able to draw on the Lessons Learned doc, the Advanced Capture Analysis and Comparison Tool, and meeting notes to piece together our findings and quantify our conclusions.  The summary outlined the scope of our efforts, including excluded activities, our environment and products tested, results, conclusions, general observations, and Best Practice recommendations.

It’s one thing to kick the tires on a car before purchase.  But a methodical, thorough and thoughtful approach is the norm for analogous software tasks at ImageSource.

Kofax 9.x – They’ve finally done it… Almost

I have been working with the Kofax Capture product for over ten years now. To prove that, let me tell you the configuration on one of my first installs. I remember setting up a Bell and Howell 3338 scanner (you know, the one that required a cherry picker to get out of the box and on to the desk) with the Kofax KF board and Kofax Capture version 2.x. Ah yes, I look back fondly on the old days of deploying a scanner with the Kofax card and software. I know it has been out for a while now, but I recently started working with version 9 of Kofax Capture and I am pleased to say that they have finally addressed some of the Kofax gotchas that have been plaguing us for years.

For starters, they made client deployment 100% easier by creating the MSI package. I can’t tell you how many conversation I have had with client admins that go like this:

Me: No we don’t have a SMS or other type deployment package you can use, but you can make your own.

Client Admin: (Furrows brow) Huh?

I will be much happier when those conversations are a little less embarrassing. Now the workstations can be deployed using Microsoft SMS, Group Policy, IBM Tivoli, Symantec Altiris, HP Openview, or whatever deployment suite you use. Kofax has only tested SMS, but with the MSI package it should work for any suite.

You are now allowed to have multiple instances of the Administration module in an environment at one time. They finally figured out how to manage their database and I am glad that they did. There are some caveats to this new functionality:

• In a KCNS install the Administration module can only be opened at the Central Site.
• Two users cannot be modifying the same object (Batch Class, Document Class, etc.) at the same time. This is a good thing, though.
• If you deplore change, you can disable this new feature in the ACConfig.xml

You can now retroactively update a Batch Class. THIS IS BIG! If you have ever had to export out 50 batches and re-import them in all because a checkbox was inadvertently checked in the Release Script setup, you know what I mean. Basically you can make your change, publish the Batch Class, and then update the existing batches in Batch Manager. There are some caveats to this new functionality as well, but they had to start somewhere. Here are some of the things you can’t add/remove/update:

• Queues
• Form types
• Folder classes
• Batch fields
• Document or folder index fields

Release Scripts are now known as Export Connectors. Sure it is still Release.exe, but I am much happier with the Export Connector name than I ever was saying ‘Release Script’.  This is especially true when we are selling productized versions. In addition to the out of the box Database and Text Export Connectors, we now have Email and Fax Export Connectors. The Email Connector works with Exchange and SMTP, while the Fax Connector works with Biscom, RightFax, and the Kofax Communication Server. Another nice thing that Kofax does is include the source code for all their Export Connectors. This way we can tweak and modify these things as needed.

One thing that Kofax has been sorely lacking is the Batch Workflow capabilities they have finally added. Nothing is out-of-the-box, but they give you the source code to a custom module called CMSplit that can split batches apart depending on the Form Type. Think of the possibilities. With Kofax Capture you can capture documents at one site, split the documents up into child batches depending on form type, and send the documents to different sites for processing. This workflow functionality has been lacking from Kofax Capture and I am glad they finally added it. It is just a framework and will require custom coding, but it is step in the right direction.

There are a number of other enhancements new to Kofax Capture with version 9, but I discussed above all the ones that actually made me say ‘Yes’ when I found out about them. Some of the other new or enhanced features are:

• Limited their OCR engine to ABBYY only, but you can request a patch for the old engine if functionality you used is no longer available.
• Enhanced .NET support for Validation scripting.
• Centralized scanner profiles have been improved.
• More options for PDF generation now.
• Custom Modules can now be deployed centrally with the Kofax Capture Deployment Service. This is a must considering any workflow with be done with a custom module.

If you are on an older version of Kofax Capture, I encourage you to look at what improvements you could make to your processes or management with an upgrade to version 9.

Oracle Content Management – IPM 11g Links

Looking for some useful links to information about installing Oracle IPM 11g?  We have been performing successful Oracle IPM 11g implementations and will be providing useful information, as well as, tips and tricks on this blog.

Here are the main links that have been leveraging for some valuable information related to this next generation ECM Suite:

Oracle Content Management Description	URL
Overview	http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/content-management/overview/index.html
Downloads	http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/content-management/downloads/index.html
Documentation	http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/content-management/documentation/index.html
UCM 11g Downloads	http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/content-management/downloads/index-085241.html
IPM 11g Downloads	http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/content-management/downloads/index-ipm-088963.html

Ryan Keller

ImageSource, Inc.

Nexus 2010

I recently attended the Technology conference put on by my company. Nexus®, as it is dubbed, is where we try to bring in all the local and national minds in our ECM space together. On the vendor side we had both hardware and software manufacturers represented. On the standards side we had credits offered for PMI, ARMA, AHIMA, and IAPP just by attending. There was pre-conference training on  Oracle I/PM 11g, a risk management course, and an AIIM ECMp course. For the user community we had attendees from Fortune 50 companies  down to small government agencies and everything in between. Sounds great right? It was.

As with any conference, you have to make it to the break out session that relate to you, and make connections with people that you can relate to. The latter was easy of course, we are all living and breathing the ECM world. Even if your content is different, the pain points are nearly always the same. It’s great to connect with others and find out their resolutions to similar issues, their approach to common problems, and to hear their success stories. Besides giving a presentation on our product ILINX® Integrate (something I have blogged about in the past), I also attended sessions on advanced document capture, ILINX Content Store, Oracle I/PM, and sessions on project management.

The breakout sessions had real value for me. The sharing of knowledge is essentially what Nexus is all about and the break outs are core to that. In years past, I have attended Nexus but allowed myself to do project work or provide technical support for the conference itself during the breakout sessions. This year I made it a point to attend as many sessions as possible and only missed two. I am confident I took the right approach.

I attended Shon Mueller’s presentation on advanced capture solutions and it was great. He was dynamic and brought a wealth of experience in his years at Kofax, ImagesSource, and other ECM technology companies. Jon Sutherland’s presentation on ILINX Content Store was informative for me as well. As a system’s engineer that’s busy in the field I haven’t had as much time as would like to work with our latest product offering. ILINX Content Store is a real solution for content management and I am quite confident we will see and hear more about it. Les Harris’ session on upgrading to Oracle I/PM 11g was an eye opener. I have worked extensively with the I/PM product line for many years and the new product accomplishes the same functions as all previous versions, but with an entirely new architecture. For those planning on sticking with the product it is time to start planning your upgrade path now. I also attended a session on project management in which Dennis Brooke discussed how to use Web 2.0 technologies to streamline project management and enhance project morale. The session sparked lots of questions form the audience and I could see the wheels turning as people thought how they could use these ideas in their own corporate structure. I worked with Dennis for many years and it was great to hear about some of the lessons learned and successes.

I have linked to all the presentations, please feel free to review them and all the other’s on the Nexus site.  All in all Nexus 2010 was a success and I can’t wait to see what ImageSource puts together for next year.

  

ILINX Content Store Rocks

ImageSource has created a new distributed Scan, Store, Retrieve imaging system called ILINX® Content Store. Content Store will be demonstrated at the upcoming Nexus® 2010 ECM Conference (Nov 4-5 in Bellevue, Washington http://www.nexusecm.com/index.htm).

ILINX Content Store provides the means to import images and universal documents that have been indexed and released into a folder from multiple scanning solutions. Documents can also be manually indexed into Content Store from its interface. The system is accessed via a web browser and uses Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation as the user interface. This allows a modern functional interface into the system. Content Store can be accessed from MS Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome.

ILINX Content Store is perfect for small to large document storage needs. Imported documents are stored within a database making backup, security, and scalability straightforward.

I’ll take you on a quick tour of the product. We’ve wired up ILINX Capture, an advanced distributed capture solution to scan a document into ILINX Content Store. Advanced versions of Content Store will also provide simple direct scanning mechanism.

First I log in to ILINX Capture using Internet Explorer in order to scan a document. ILINX Capture and ILINX Content Store are running off premises on a company web server so I can access them via the internet.

ILINX Capture Login

Next, I select a scan source and application, scan a document, then release it to the backend system.

ILINX Capture Scan

At this point, I could delegate indexing to another staff member but will do it myself. I select the Index tab in ILINX Capture and open the document, index it, and Complete it.

ILINX Capture Index

Now the document resides in ILINX Content Store with my index values. I can now go view the document from my web browser. After logging in to ILINX Content Store in Internet Explorer, I choose the application containing my document, enter a search criteria, and execute the search.

Content Store Search

My document is retrieved and displayed.

Content Store Display Image

Universal documents such as Microsoft WORD, Excel, etc. display right in the ILINX Content Store interface using the native application. Any document can be opened and viewed if the computer opening the document has the correlating application installed.

Content Store with WORD

ILINX Content Store is an easy to use, streamlined solution for quickly ingesting content using distributed techniques. Come check it out at NEXUS 2010!

Clint Lewis
Senior Systems Engineer
ImageSource, Inc.



  

ILINX Product Suite

I am not usually out to promote specific products on this blog, but I have been getting really excited about the latest advancements in the ILINX Product Suite.  It is an area that I, among other experienced ECM technologists, have utilized our expertise in creating and refining solutions that can provide real world value for businesses implementing or utilizing ECM solutions.  Take a minute to read this quick post and judge for yourself the value that ILINX Products can provide for your organization.

You may be hearing the word ILINX used in Enterprise Content Management circles more and more these days.  From the humble beginnings of a simple release script connecting a document capture system to an ECM repository the ILINX Product Suite has grown into a set of powerful, easy to use products that provide quick ROI.  There are multiple levels to the ILINX Product Suite ranging from a full blown web client based document capture system (ILINX Capture) or an ECM Repository (ILINX Content Store) to variety of middleware products that can provide time savings and productivity boosting results like ILINX Integrate.

If you are not familiar with all that the Product Suite has to offer, check out the ILINX website for the details and product demos.

-Ryan Keller

Oracle I/PM and TIFF Requirements

However far we move away from the imaging side of ECM, it is still the largest part of the industry. More often than not, the solutions I deploy revolve around some sort of mechanism to scan, store, and retrieve documents. Imaging is the gateway into Business Process Management (BPM), Records Management (RM), Electronic Reports Management (ERM), and a whole string of Line of Business applications (LOB). I often work with Oracle Image and Process Management (I/PM) as the ECM component and we integrate it with many different applications. There are a few caveats with I/PM and I ran into one issue recently that has come up many times in the past.

Oracle I/PM version 10G (and earlier) has a list of requirements for TIFF images. That’s not to say that the system can’t handle any object, because it can. You can file anything into an I/PM system, but you might not be able to view it within the software. For example: you could file a .zip file into the system, it just wouldn’t render in the viewer. The TIFF requirement list has to do with the image viewer built into the system. So if you want to be able to view what you file into an I/PM system with the I/PM viewer, you better be sure your TIFF images meet the requirements. The main reasons to limit access solely to the I/PM viewer are:

• Limit access to documents within the I/PM system only. This simply means you don’t want users to be able to view the object outside of I/PM.
• To take advantage of the I/PM annotation capabilities.

The TIFF requirements as listed in the I/PM documentation are as follows:

• Tagged Image File Format (TIFF)
• Group IV Compression
• Group VI Compression (Original Microsoft TIFF standards, not the Wang hybrid)
• 200, 300 or 400 dpi
• X resolution equal to Y resolution
• Non-tiled
• Non-stripped (i.e., Lines per strip equal to total lines. Stripped and LZW formats are not supported.)
• Image widths which are a multiple of 8
• Fill order of 1 or 2
• Tags at the top or bottom of the file
• Single-plane (monochrome) / Bi-tonal
• Single page or multi-page TIFFs.
• Intel Format (II) are supported. Other formats, such as Motorola format (MM) are not supported. Group 7 TIFF are not supported.

That might seem like a long list when you first glance at it. But it is pretty simple to modify an image and render it compatible with the I/PM viewer. There are plenty of tools out there to standardize TIFF images. ImageMagick or a couple of different tools by Informatick would do the trick. With ImageMagick there is a compress function that can standardize the image. Simply execute ImageMagick with the ‘-compress Group4 –density 200×200’ command and the image output will meet all the I/PM requirements.

From experience, most scanning applications meet the I/PM requirements so this isn’t an issue. Documents coming out of Kofax Capture, Oracle Document Capture, or ILINX Capture all meet the I/PM TIFF requirements. Where the I/PM TIFF requirements becomes an issue is when migrating documents from an old legacy ECM application that stored or captured images in a non-standard format. Just be aware that the requirements are there and that the images have to be modified before being archived into I/PM if they don’t meet the specifications.

John Linehan

Senior Systems Engineer

ImageSource Inc.

Mobile Capture: Remote Capture taken to another level

I am on the road quite a bit as part of my job.  While on the road I acquire quite a number of physical paper receipts that I must care for until I submit an expense report to the accounting department.

Over the years I have misplaced a few of these receipts causing headaches for myself and accounting. Lost receipts won’t verify expenditure, so I have to call and get copies.  Nobody loves making or getting this kind of call!

Since I always have my iPhone, I have tried different versions of mobile capture applications.  Some are free; most others aren’t.

I’ve just downloaded a free one. This one was created by the same company that brought us the Award Winning ILINX® Capture ‘Distributed Capture software’ — ImageSource, Inc.-.

For those of you on the road frequently as a way of life, this new iPhone application has extended the functionality of ILINX® Capture to allow Mobile Capture. It is an excellent tool to add to your belt.

ILINX® Capture Mobile:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ilinx-capture-mobile/id370256882?mt=8

What sets this mobile capture application apart from other mobile capture apps?

1. Ease of use
   1. Take a photo (Or use a photo you already have on your iPhone)
   2. Add Index values (Optional)
   3. Enter the email address you want the mobile capture item to be sent to
   4. Hit send
   5. Have recipient check their inbox for your industry-standard PDF file.  (If you entered Index values the recipient will see them in the body of the email)
2. Other mobile capture applications require you to install an application onto your pc or laptop to sync up with your iPhone to download your captured items.
3. Now I don’t need to wait until I get to my laptop to offload the receipts from my iPhone

I can now scan receipts on the plane, at my lunch table, at the hotel desk… It’s a great feeling to have this wrapped up before my trip is complete.

The expense scenario above is just one way to use ILINX® Capture Mobile, just think of how many ways your current business process could benefit from the use of Mobile Capture technology.

Robert Gartner

Sr. Systems Engineer

Oracle IPM 11g Released!

For those of you who have not heard Oracle has released the next generation of their Enterprise Content Management Software, Imaging and Process Management (IPM) 11g.  This version is the first major step that Oracle has taken to tightly integrate the product into Oracle’s overall software architecture…IPM 11g has been completely overhauled to be part of the Fusion Middleware (FMW) tech stack.  From the ECM perspective, Oracle now has a complete seamlessly integrated end to end offering that includes the storage repository, document management, business process management, library services, web publishing, records management, reporting/monitoring and application integration.  This creates many advantages for customers that use or plan to use other Oracle products in their workplace, as well as, integrating and leveraging existing investments in non-Oracle software.

I have been working as a Systems Engineer and Project Manager with the IPM software base for over 8 years, through the Stellent IBPM acquisition, all the way back to the Optika Acorde and eMedia days.  A couple major differences in implementing the latest Oracle 11g version are the requirements for Oracle Universal Content Management (UCM) for the storage repository and Oracle WebLogic Server for the application/web server.  I look at both of these requirements in a positive light.  UCM and WebLogic Server are powerful robust products that provide standard approaches to managing content storage and applications, respectively, from the FMW perspective.  With that said, if you do not have experience with either UCM or WebLogic, you will need to get up to speed with them to succeed in an IPM implementation.  Neither of these products can be installed through the “Next, Next, Next, Finished!” approach, so careful upfront planning and architecting is required to ensure a successful implementation. 

Let’s talk about the new user interface a little bit.  Oracle has followed suit with the rest of the major players in the ECM world by creating a complete web based interface for performing all administrative and end user functions.  This makes administration duties of the system much easier than in past versions that require administration to be done through the “thick” client.  Also, by moving to the WebLogic Server the full featured web interface is now much more browser agnostic than in the past.  The image viewer comes in two flavors that support over 400 file formats; a zero footprint view only version and the a re-written java applet that allows for full annotations, annotation security, and server based conversion/rendering for access speed.  The following are a couple of screen captures of the user interface from IPM 11g:

The Client Interface

The Zero Footprint Viewer

The Java Applet Viewer

Lastly, I would like to touch on a feature that is often overlooked when implementing ECM solutions, application integration. Oracle has done a great job in IPM 11g to provide some powerful capabilities for leveraging investments into Oracle and non-Oracle applications through integration.  For a process where users are assigning metadata to a record in their business application, through application integration this data can be pushed to and associated with the document stored in IPM 11g. Another example of integration would be the image enablement of a business application.  In this case a user could be accessing records in their ERP system a hotkey, menu item, or button in the application screen can retrieve and display the document from IPM without the user ever having to leave their business application.  These capabilities can create significant efficiencies in an organization through increased user productivity, the reduction of training and the simplification of support and administration. 

All in all I see the changes that Oracle made in IPM 11g as great additions to an already strong platform.  Oracle has a product that not only adheres to their architecture model, but also will provide many benefits to the customers that use it.  Stay tuned to this blog for more information related to our experiences with Oracle IPM 11g.

Ryan Keller

Project Manager

ImageSource, Inc.