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What is PDF Filer
The concept of PDF Filer is based upon the fact that most structured files can be organized based upon a few pieces of data. And that an easy consistent method is necessary to enter the data. One piece of data has to be something that is completely unique. This could be a record number, employee number, patient number, loan number, invoice number etc., it just has to be unique. This value is what could be on a tab on a folder in the filing cabinet.
Some structured files maybe very large and contain similarities. Such as a loan file or personnel file, it could be hundreds of pages long, but each file contains the same types of documents. For instance a personnel file will always have an application, tax with holding information, reviews etc. This relates directly to what would be in a folder in the file cabinet. The documents inside the folder would be grouped together and perhaps also organized by date. For instance in a personnel file the all of the tax withholding documents would be together and organized by date.
In setting up PDF Filer what is needed is to determine how the files should be organized. The easiest way is to look at how the paper files are currently organized and match the logic. With the unique identifier becoming the folder name and the contents becoming document sections.
PDF Filer will automatically create a file folder hierarchy based upon information related to a database or a document type. The PDF files can already exist or PDF Filer can activate a scanner with preset settings for the particular file type. When an existing file already exists, rules built into the program will automatically be followed. The rules can replace the existing file, append new pages first or new pages last. When appending pages the new pages will be date stamped.
Understanding PDF Filer
PDF Filer uses what it refers to as "Jobs" to relate a set of rules to a particular document. The rules relate
a piece of unique data to a document with the unique data coming from the Window Title, the Clipboard or just a list of document types.
The software can handle numerous Jobs for different document types. The user just selects the Job and the rules are applied.
Shown here is a Window Title that contains a unique value "AUTO6060" every time this record is open in the database this title is displayed. PDF Filer will automatically capture the title of the Window and remove all characters that are not part of the unique value, in this case it would be "Point - [" and ".BRW]". This captured value can then be used it identify files related to this record. A second piece of data can also be added to identify a document type related to the file. In the example above is the Window Title of a Loan Origination Software Program, documents such as the application, title, and appraisal can be related in a secondary value making it easier to retrieve specific data.
In this example a purchase order number is highlighted and the user presses "CTRL" + "C" to capture the value to the clipboard and then activates the program. This purchase order number will be unique to the transaction and all documents related to the transaction can be filed.
The other option of PDF Filer is for simple documents types that need to be named and dated. For instance personal utility bills, a type of each bill can be entered such as Water, Electric, Phone, Cable etc and when a file is added it is automatically appended to the existing file with the same name, but now the pages are bookmarked with a time stamp. The net result is that the user can retrieve the Water Bill (a single file) and go directly to the date of the bill desired. The retrieval option also allows for the user to select multiple files and have them bookmarked by type and date. In this instance the user could retrieve the Water Bill, Electric Bill and Cable Bill and go to the type of bill and then the date.