Re: Document scanning and retrieval system

[Robert Bononno <bononno -at- ACF2 -dot- NYU -dot- EDU>]

On Sat, 5 Mar 1994 REYNOLDSI_J -at- DT3 -dot- DT -dot- UH -dot- EDU wrote:

> Hello Everyone:

> We want to install a document management system that uses some relatively
> new technology:  scanning, optical character recognition (OCR), and "fuzzy"
> text search-and-retrieval capabilities.  We're calling our new system a
> document scanning and retrieval (DSR) system.  (We *must* have acronyms
> involved in whatever we do ;>).

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I can only speak from the perspective of a single user working on a
fairly modest platform. I don't yet use OCR, so can't answer that part of
your question.

I currently use a product called ISYS by Odyssey Development in Colorado
for full-text search and retrieval. This is a DOS (or Windows)
application for now. The product is very easy to install and use and I
find it very fast for my limited needs. I believe it can index up to two
million documents. I'm not sure about the fuzzy feature because I don't
need it, but I know you can formulate either command-line or menu-assisted
queries. You can set it up on a LAN if you want. I've looked at ZyIndex
and prefer ISYS. I think it's a bit faster and I prefer the kinds of
results it provides--number of hits and a list of documents from which
you can select. You can create multiple indexes in several directories
(not necessarily on one physical drive).

If you're working on OS/2 (I am) IBM has a product called Search
Manager/2. It _does_ do fuzzy searches. I've looked at the specs for the
program, however, and wasn't impressed by its indexing speed.
Unfortunately IBM couldn't provide any additional information. They might
be more willing to speak with a potentially larger consumer than me,
however.



>  > Some of my detailed questions to you
would be... >
>    o   What products are you using (and on what hardware platforms)?

ISYS, as above.

>    o   Where there any combinations of products used to provide the full
>        document management capabilities you and your coworkers needed?

N/A in my case. I'm not using OCR...yet.

>    o   How easy or practical is the system you use?

Very. Very.
>    o   Is it slow in operation or in printing?

It's quite fast and reads a variety of file formats. Printing is pretty
fast, too, but it doesn't reproduce the original document format.

>    o
Can you always find the information you seek?

I've always found it, if it's there.

>    o   Does the system let you use a little less paper than before?

N/A.

>    o   How difficult was it to install the system and make it operational?

Very easy. It was up and running in twenty minutes. Took less to install.

>    o   In general, are you happy or dissatisfied with the system?

Satisfied. But I'm looking for a native OS/2 solution that's as good.

>        (Are you or your coworkers eager or reluctant to use the system?)


Robert Bononno

        bononno -at- acf2 -dot- nyu -dot- edu