DocView Capture
Short answers to the questions we are asked most often. Follow the links for full details.
General
What is DocView Capture?
DocView Capture is web-based document capture software from Dev Soft UK Ltd. It scans or imports documents, cleans up the images, reads them with OCR, separates and classifies them, extracts and validates data, and exports searchable PDFs plus XML, CSV or JSON data to your systems. See What is DocView Capture?.
What kinds of documents can it process?
Any documents you can scan or import as PDF, TIFF, JPEG or PNG: invoices, credit notes, forms, letters, delivery notes and more. You define your own document classes and fields in a Batch Setup. A ready-made Supplier invoices template is included.
Is it suitable for invoice capture?
Yes. The Supplier invoices template has invoice and credit note classes with invoice number, date, total and VAT fields. You can add line items, match suppliers against your own master data with a fuzzy database lookup, and check totals, VAT numbers and duplicate invoice numbers with validation rules. See Fields and extraction and Validation rules.
I use Kofax, Datacap, Ephesoft or ABBYY. Will DocView Capture feel familiar?
Yes. Batches, document classes, index fields, separation, validation and export all work in a similar way, although some names differ. For example, a Kofax "batch class" is a Batch Setup in DocView Capture. See Coming from other capture products.
Can I import my Kofax Capture batch classes?
Yes. Upload the Kofax Capture export (.cab, including the Kofax Transformation project) under Batch Setups › Import from Kofax / other products. DocView shows everything it found and what needs attention before it creates draft Batch Setups. See Import a setup from Kofax Capture and other products.
Installation and hosting
Can I run DocView Capture on premises?
Yes. You can install it on a single Windows workstation, or on your own Windows Servers with IIS and SQL Server. Your documents and data stay on your network. See Install on a single workstation and Install on IIS.
Can I run it in the cloud?
Yes. A template deploys DocView Capture to Azure App Service with Azure SQL and Azure Blob Storage in your own subscription, in the region you choose. See Install on Azure.
Which database does it need?
Microsoft SQL Server. SQL Server Express is free and fine to start with. Page images are kept in a folder or in Azure Blob Storage, not in the database, so the database stays small. See System requirements.
Can several people use a workstation installation?
No. A workstation installation serves only the local PC. For several users, install on a server with IIS so everyone can connect from their browser.
Does it need an internet connection?
Not for day-to-day work with the built-in Tesseract OCR. The workstation installer needs internet access only if it has to install SQL Server Express. Cloud OCR engines, SFTP and REST exports need access to those services.
Scanning and import
Which scanners are supported?
Scanners with a TWAIN or WIA driver on Windows. The DocView Scan Agent connects the scanner to the Scan screen in the browser. The Scan Agent's setup program installs the 32-bit or 64-bit agent to match your scanner's driver. See Scan Agent.
Do operators need administrator rights to install the Scan Agent?
No. The Scan Agent installs for the operator's own Windows account, starts with Windows and connects to DocView Capture by itself. Operators download it from the Scan screen the first time they scan.
Can operators sort documents by type while they scan?
Yes, with one-touch scanning. The Scan screen shows a button (and a key such as F1) for each document type. The operator presses the type, keys any fields from the paper in their hand, and feeds the document; it starts as a new document of that type. See Scan documents.
Why does scanning start straight away?
While the Scan screen is open, the Scan Agent keeps your scanner open and ready, like a desktop capture program, so the feeder starts as soon as you press Scan. The scanner is released a few minutes after you close the Scan screen. See Scan Agent.
Can I scan from a Mac or a tablet?
The Scan Agent is Windows-only, so scanning needs a Windows PC. Operators on other devices can still import files, index and verify in the browser.
Can documents arrive automatically?
Yes. Set up watched folders, email mailboxes (IMAP or POP3) or send files to the REST API. See Import sources and REST API.
Recognition and data
Which OCR engines can I use?
Tesseract is built in and runs on your own hardware. You can also use Azure AI Document Intelligence or Google Cloud Vision with your own key. You choose the engine and languages per Batch Setup, and can override the engine per document class. See OCR engines and languages.
Does cloud OCR send my documents outside my network?
Only if you choose a cloud engine. Page images are then sent to that provider for recognition. Tesseract, the default, runs entirely on your own servers.
How does DocView Capture separate a stack of pages into documents?
By rules you choose: each file as one document, a fixed number of pages, blank pages, barcodes, patch codes, keywords, or by classification. Operators can also split and merge documents by hand, or sort them while scanning with one-touch document type buttons. See Image cleanup and separation.
What is straight-through processing?
When every field is found, confident and valid, a batch can skip the manual steps and go straight to export. Manual steps are used only for the documents that need them. See Workflow.
Can operators check the data twice?
Yes. The Verify step asks a second operator to key selected fields again without seeing the first entry, and flags mismatches. A four-eyes rule can make sure it is someone other than the person who indexed the batch. See Verify.
Export
Which output formats are supported?
PDF, searchable PDF, PDF/A and TIFF (single-page or multipage), plus XML, CSV and JSON data files. You can design the data files yourself, and validate XML against your own XSD. See Output and export.
Where can DocView Capture send the output?
To a folder or network share, an SFTP server, a SQL Server table, a REST web service or webhook, or a C# export script. A Batch Setup can have several export destinations. See C# export scripts.
What happens if an export fails?
Nothing partial is left behind at that destination. The batch stops with an error in the export step, and you can retry it from the Batch Manager. A retry only delivers to destinations that have not succeeded yet.
Security and administration
Can users sign in with their Windows account?
Yes. With Windows sign-in turned on, users select Sign in with Windows, and Active Directory groups can be mapped to roles. See Windows sign-in.
Is there an audit trail?
Yes. The Audit log records administrator and operator actions, including every field change with the old value, new value, user and time. See Audit log.
How are passwords and keys stored?
Secrets such as OCR keys, connection strings and SFTP or mailbox passwords are encrypted in the database and never shown again. Settings refer to them by name. See Security.
How long are batches kept after export?
Exported batches are archived and deleted after 30 days by default. You can change this with Delete archived batches after (days) under Administration › Settings. See Archive and retention.
I missed a message on the screen. Where can I read it again?
Click the bell at the top right. Every message DocView Capture showed you is kept there, with news about your scheduled reports and batches that stopped with an error; See all notifications opens the full history with filters. You only see your own. See Notifications.
Still have a question?
See Troubleshooting, or contact support.