1 Introduction
1.1 Scope
The FOIAXpress Scanned Document Service (SDS) Manual provides instructions for installing, configuring, and utilizing the SDS feature for FOIAXpress.
1.2 Overview
The FOIAXpress Scanned Document Service provides a link between your local scanner and the FOIAXpress application, allowing users to send attachments to requests, and to send datasets to the Electronic Document Review (EDR) server for ingestion. By utilizing a barcode system and linked folder directories, you can place scanned documents in a specific network location. This network location is periodically scanned, and any newly added files are duplicated in FOIAXpress. By reading the associated barcodes, FOIAXpress can automatically associate scanned documents with the Review Log of a specific Request Folder. This provides an easy solution for importing documents into FOIAXpress without the need for manually uploading and associating files.
1.3 Prerequisites
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8 or later must be installed locally prior to installing and configuring the Scanned Document Service.
1.4 About This Manual
This manual includes the following topics:
Installation: How to install the SDS on your local machine.
Configuration: Configuring your SDS.
Using the Scanned Document Service: Steps to use SDS to scan documents to Document Management (DM) and the Request Correspondence Log, and transferring data sets to the EDR server.
Additionally, the following formatting conventions are used in this manual to highlight important information:
Italicized text indicates a location, for example a particular Folder, Tab, or Window.
Bold text indicates a specific user action, such as clicking a button.
Red text and this symbol (!!) are used in Notes to bring attention to crucial information.
2. Installation
This section provides steps for installing the FOIAXpress Scanned Document Service to your local machine. The Scanned Document Service must be installed on each user’s local computer. To install SDS:
Right click SDS.exe and select Run as Administrator to launch the installation wizard. From the Welcome screen, click Next.
The License Agreement screen appears. From this screen, select (A) I accept the license agreement, then click (B) Next.
The User Information screen appears as shown below. Enter the (A) User Name and (B) Organization in the respective fields and click (C) Next.
Installation
On the Destination Folder screen, the default drive for FOIAXpress SDS is set as C:\Program Files (x86)\FOIAXpress SDS Service\. If you would like to select a different directory, click (A) Browse to locate and select another directory. After the Destination Folder is set, click (B) Next to install the files to the selected directory.
The Ready to Install the Application screen appears. Click Next to start the installation.
Please wait while installation is in progress. Interrupting this process may cause the installation to fail.
When the installation is done, the Successful Installation screen appears. Click Finish to complete the installation. The Installer pop-up window closes, and the installation process is complete.
3. Configuration
This section provides details on configuring the FOIAXpress SDS to automatically upload scanned documents from a local scanner to your FOIAXpress application.
To configure FOIAXpress SDS, click Windows Search then type FOIAXpress SDS in the universal search bar. The Configuration option appears.
Right-click Configuration and select Run as administrator. After running the Configuration as an administrator, the SDS Configuration screen appears as shown below with three primary sections: Scanned Paths, Authentication¸ and Schedule. Each is outlined in the following steps.
Scanned Paths: You must configure at least one scanned path. Scanned documents, along with FOIAXpress Request/Document management barcodes, are placed in this configured location. The FOIAXpress SDS service first picks up each document and uploads it to the FOIAXpress document cache, then initiates a Process Scanned Documents job in FOIAXpress. After the scanned document is uploaded to FOIAXpress, it is automatically deleted from the corresponding scanned path. The Process Scanned Documents job splits the document pages from the barcode page, identifies the barcode details, and uploads theremaining pages (not including the barcode page) to FOIAXpress. An email notification for this job is sent to the Administrator configured to receive notifications.
NOTE: The path configured within the Scanned Path fields must be either a local or shared location. Shared locations require sufficient permissions to allow access to the machine, as well as disk space for saving files, remote or network location.
EDR Folder Path: You must first create the folder on your local computer at the same location as the SDS Scan Location pathways, or alternatively, within the Browse for Folder pop-up window, navigate to the desired location and click Make New Folder.
NOTE: A barcode is not required to upload documents to the EDR Server.
Authentication: These fields allow you to configure the SDS authentication settings. Properly configured, this integrates with your FOIAXpress application using the chosen method.
FOIAXpress URL: The URL used to access your FOIAXpress Application (example: https://ains-dev/FOIAXpress).
Authentication Type: Authentication type to be employed. Note that this type should match the preferred Authentication Mode of the FOIAXpress application.
User Name: Your FOIAXpress Administrator User Name.
Password: Your FOIAXpress Administrator Password.
NOTE: The SDS Service does not integrate with Single Sign On (SSO). The Authentication Type must be Forms or Windows.
Schedule: Determine how often, in minutes, the Process Scanned Documents job should occur.
When the fields are configured as needed, you can click to Test the configuration, or select Configure to save the selected configuration settings.
NOTE: After making changes to the configuration, you must restart the SDS service for the changes to take effect in the system. You can restart the SDS service using Command Prompt and entering “Services.msc”. Command Prompt returns FOIAXpress.SDS Service. You can restart the service from this step.
Administrators can view the status of the Process Scanned Documents job in the Jobs list, as well as within the My Jobs list in the FX Dashboard.
4 Using Scanned Document Service
You can use SDS (along with the EDR module) to simplify the process of uploading large data sets to FOIAXpress. The SDS allows for scanning and adding documents in three ways, and each method is described in the following sections:
Scan and upload files to Document Management
Scan and upload files to the Correspondence Log of a Request
Transfer data sets to the EDR file server
4.1 Scanning to Document Management
To use the SDS to add files to DM, you will first acquire a barcode from the folder where you would like the scanned documents uploaded. This can be done through Document Management, and each Document Management folder/section and Request has a unique barcode that can be scanned along with the document set (barcode first, followed by the documents for scanning). Using the barcode reference, the SDS automatically uploads the scanned files to the DM folder/section associated with that barcode.
NOTE: Documents cannot be added to folders that already contain sections.
Follow the steps below to automatically scan documents to a specific Document Management folder/section using SDS. These steps assume creating a new folder/section in DM to capture scans; however, documents can also be scanned to an existing folder/section.
The steps below detail the process for scanning documents into document management:
In FOIAXpress, click Document Management > Create New Folder.
NOTE: To open an existing folder (that does not contain pages) skip to step 5 below.
Enter a (A) Folder Name and click (B) Create Folder.
NOTE: Optionally, you can also enter information/change a drop-down menu selection for any other available field.
A verification message displays. Click OK.
Select the checkbox next to the folder you created, and then click Open Folders. The newly created folder will open in Document Management.
From the left-hand navigation in Document Management, right-click the (A) folder level, and then click (B) Print Barcode.
NOTE: Optionally, you can also print a barcode from a section to upload documents to a specific section within the folder.
Select a printer and click Print.
Attach the printed barcode to the front of the documents you want to scan, and then scan the documents using your scanning application.
NOTE: Documents must be scanned in PDF format or TIFF format.
Save the documents to one of the Scanned Paths configured for SDS.
The documents initially display in the selected Scanned Path before being transferred to the folder associated with the scanned barcode.
NOTE: The SDS Service will not transfer the documents if they are open.
This process may take several minutes depending on the size of the scanned documents.
4.2 to Request Correspondence Log
To use the SDS to add files to a Request Correspondence Log, you will first acquire a barcode from the Request where the scanned documents should be uploaded. Each Request has a unique barcode that can be scanned along with the document set (barcode first, followed by the documents for scanning). Using the barcode reference, the SDS automatically uploads the scanned files to the Request Correspondence Log associated with that barcode.
Follow the steps below to automatically scan documents to a Request Correspondence Log using SDS.
In FOIAXpress, open the Request where you want to add scanned documents.
Click (A) More Actions > (B) Print Barcode Page:
The Barcode Details window displays. Select or enter a Subject and modify any other fields as needed.
NOTE: To upload documents as an Expedite Description, Fee Waiver Description, or Request Description, select the corresponding options from the Attachment Type drop-down menu.
When complete, click Print Barcode.
Select a printer and click Print.
Attach the printed barcode to the front of the documents you want to scan, and then scan the documents using your scanning application.
NOTE: Documents must be scanned in PDF or TIFF format.
Save the documents to one of the Scanned Paths configured for SDS.
The documents initially display in the selected Scanned Path before being transferred to the folder associated with the scanned barcode.
NOTE: The SDS Service will not transfer the documents if they are open.
You can check the progress of the job by logging into FOIAXpress and checking the My Jobs queue.
4.3 Transfer Data Sets to EDR Server
SDS allows you to transfer scanned data sets to your EDR file server.
NOTE: EDR can only be accessed by organizations that have purchased EDR licenses, and the license has been assigned to a user.
Follow the steps below to create a location for a data source to transfer the data sets to the EDR File Server:
Navigate to the EDR File Path configured for SDS (see the Configuration section for details):
In the toolbar, click New Folder.
Rename the folder to include the Request Number.
NOTE: The EDR File Path must be local to your computer and cannot be a network location.
If you are making an addition to a previous data set, add it as a new folder with a unique name. Reusing folder names creates issues with data quality and retention.
Do not use ZIP folders when creating the data source location, ZIP folders will not transfer to the EDR server.
Copy the data source or files and paste them in the newly created folder.
Next, the application locates the folder during its next configured sync timeframe. After the application picks up the folder it is removed from the EDR File Path location and placed in the EDR File Server.
Return to the application and open the request.
Navigate to the Electronic Document Review (EDR) tab and click the EDR File Server button to retrieve the folder containing your data source.
The Browse Folder pop-up window appears. Expand the folder tree until you locate the desired folder path, then select it.
