Scanning and Text Recognition (OCR)

Add or Replace from Scanner

Scannable paper documents can be added to M-Files by using external connections (network scanning) or a local scanner. For more information on network scanning, refer to Scanner Sources.

When using local scanning, the scanner must be directly connected to the computer that will be used to add the scanned file to M-Files. The scanning functions are located under the Operations menu.

Note: Scanner integration in M-Files Desktop uses the TWAIN and WIA technologies. Only scanners that can be equipped with a TWAIN or WIA driver are supported.

Add File from Scanner

If you want to add files to a multi-file document, right-click on the multi-file document and select Add File > Add File from Scanner from the context menu. M-Files then adds a new file from the scanned file to the multi-file document.

Note: The multi-file document only has one set of metadata and separate files belonging to the multi-file do not have any separate metadata.

Replace with File from Scanner

You can replace an individual file with a file from the scanner. This function can be used to replace a single-file document or files that are part of a multi-file document.

Scanning and Text Recognition (OCR)

If the M-Files OCR module has been enabled, M-Files suggests that the file should be converted to a searchable PDF by text recognition when scanning has been completed. You can activate the text recognition or ignore it. You can also define advanced settings for the text recognition.

M-Files also suggests the text recognition if you drag an image file to M-Files with your mouse and you have access to the M-Files OCR module. For more information, refer to Searchable PDF.

Note: If the text recognition is performed on an image file which was not saved and returned to M-Files, the file will only be saved as a PDF. Otherwise, the original image file can be found in the document version history.

Convert to Searchable PDF

If you have access to the M-Files OCR module, you can convert an image file to a searchable PDF. In this case, text recognition is performed on the file in order to enable full-text searching. After conversion, you can find, for example, a contract document by performing a search using the names of the contracting parties or any other text included in the contract.

Text recognition can be performed on the following file formats: TIFF, JPEG, BMP, PNG, and PDF. TIFF files using an alpha channel or JPEG compression are not supported. For more information, see Searchable PDF.

Note: If the text recognition is performed on an image file which was not saved and returned to M-Files, the file will only be saved as a PDF. Otherwise, the original image file can be found in the document version history.

The M-Files OCR module is an M-Files add-on product available for an extra fee. It can be activated with a license code.