Install on Amazon Web Services (AWS)

You can run DocView Capture in your own AWS account. One template creates everything: the web site, the DocView Workers, the database and the storage. When it is ready, you open the site and finish in the setup wizard. You don't need to install anything on your computer.

What gets created

What you need

• An AWS account, and a sign-in that can create the resources above. An administrator account is the simplest.
• Nothing else. The one-click way runs entirely in your browser.

Step 1: Create the stack (one click)

1. Sign in to the AWS console, then pick your region at the top right. Choose one close to your users, for example Europe (London).

2. Open the Launch stack link:

   Launch stack

   The link opens the template that is published with each release.

3. Fill in:

   • Stack name: keep docview, or choose your own name. Use a different name for each installation.
   • Administrator e-mail: your e-mail address. The setup wizard fills it in for you.

   Everything else has sensible defaults. You can change any of it later.

4. At the bottom, tick I acknowledge that AWS CloudFormation might create IAM resources.

5. Choose Create stack.

It takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Creating the database is the slow part. When the status shows CREATE_COMPLETE, open the Outputs tab.

Step 2: Finish in the setup wizard

1. On the Outputs tab, open SetupUrl.
2. The wizard asks for the setup token. To get it, open SetupTokenConsoleUrl from the Outputs tab, then choose Retrieve secret value. Or run the SetupTokenCommand output in AWS CloudShell.
3. Go through the wizard and create your administrator account. The deployment has already set the database and storage, so the wizard shows those steps as fixed. See The setup wizard.

If the site shows 503 Service Unavailable, the first start is still running. Wait a few minutes and try again.

Another way: one command

If you prefer commands, open AWS CloudShell from the console toolbar. You can also use any computer with the AWS CLI. Upload docview.yaml from the release's deploy/aws folder, then run:

aws cloudformation deploy --template-file docview.yaml --stack-name docview \
  --capabilities CAPABILITY_IAM --parameter-overrides AdminEmail=you@example.com

Or use the scripts next to the template. They print the site address and the setup token when they finish:

bash deploy.sh -e you@example.com            # -r region, -w workers, -o OmniRead, -t version

.\deploy.ps1 -AdminEmail you@example.com -Region eu-west-2

Add DocView Workers or DocView OmniRead

To add more, just change a number.

1. In CloudFormation, select the stack, then choose Update › Use existing template.
2. Change DocView Workers (WorkerCount) or Number of DocView OmniRead instances (OmniReadCount).
3. Choose Next until you reach the end, tick the acknowledgement, then choose Submit.

For a quick change, you can also run the ScaleWorkersCommand or ScaleOmniReadCommand output, with N replaced by the number you want. A later stack update sets the number back to the value in the stack, so for a lasting change, update the stack.

Turn on DocView OmniRead the first time by updating the stack (OmniReadCount 1 or more). This also gives the site the OmniRead address. Then open a Batch Setup and choose DocView OmniRead as its OCR engine. The service address and key are already set. The first pages take longer, because OmniRead downloads its models when it first needs them. See DocView OmniRead and DocView Workers.

HTTPS and your own domain

1. In AWS Certificate Manager, in the same region, request a public certificate for your domain, for example capture.example.com. Confirm it with the DNS record it shows you.
2. Update the stack:
   • HTTPS certificate ARN (CertificateArn): the certificate's ARN.
   • Your own domain name (CustomDomain): capture.example.com.
3. At your DNS provider, create a CNAME record from capture.example.com to the LoadBalancerDnsName output.

The site then answers on https://capture.example.com, and http is sent to https automatically.

Update to a new version

• Using a version number: update the stack and set Version (ImageTag) to the new version, for example 1.5.0. The web app updates first, then the DocView Workers.
• Using latest: a stack update with nothing changed does not fetch the new release. Instead, run the RedeployCommand output in CloudShell. It restarts the web app on the newest release first, then the DocView Workers and DocView OmniRead. Each one uses aws ecs update-service --force-new-deployment.

The database is upgraded automatically on start. See Upgrading.

Costs

These are rough monthly estimates for US East (N. Virginia), running all the time. Prices vary by region and change over time, so check them with the AWS Pricing Calculator.

The default setup, with 1 web app, 1 DocView Worker and no OmniRead, comes to roughly $180 a month.

For the smallest sensible setup, choose a web app size of 0.5vCPU-1GB, a DocView Worker size of 1vCPU-2GB and a db.t3.micro database. That is roughly $110 a month. To pause the work, set WorkerCount to 0. The database and the load balancer still cost money while the stack exists.

Logs

Open the LogsUrl output. Each container writes to its own stream:

• web/... for the web app
• worker/... for the DocView Workers
• omniread/... for DocView OmniRead

Delete everything

1. If you turned on Protect the database from deletion, update the stack and set it to false first.
2. In CloudFormation, select the stack, then choose Delete.

Two things are kept on purpose, so you don't lose documents by accident:

• The S3 bucket (the BucketName output). To remove it, open it in the S3 console, choose Empty, then Delete. Or run aws s3 rb s3://<BucketName> --force.
• A final snapshot of the database. To remove it, open RDS › Snapshots, select the snapshot, then choose Actions › Delete snapshot.

Troubleshooting

• The stack fails while creating the database. Open the stack's Events tab. If the instance class isn't offered in your region, or doesn't fit your edition, choose another Database size. Express runs on db.t3.micro to db.t3.xlarge, and Standard needs db.t3.xlarge, db.m5.large or bigger. Delete the failed stack, then create it again.
• The site shows 503 or doesn't load just after creation. The first start creates the database. Wait 5 minutes. If it still fails, check the web log stream (see Logs).
• The wizard says the setup token is wrong. Copy it again from SetupTokenConsoleUrl, without spaces. The token is only needed until the wizard is finished.
• The stack stays in progress for a long time while creating a service. A container can't start, usually because the image can't be found. Check Container registry and Version, and the service's Events in the ECS console.

Next steps

• The setup wizard
• DocView Workers
• DocView OmniRead
• Upgrading
• Install with Docker