Minimum Requirements for Using Continia Document Capture

• 29/03/2022
• 10 minutes to read

There's a significant difference between running Document Capture in the on-premises version of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and using it online in the cloud version. This article describes the minimum requirements and things to note when running Document Capture in Business Central online. You can find the on-premises requirements here.

Local scanner requirements

Document Capture supports the scanning of documents using a local desktop scanner connected to a computer. This requires a separate Continia application to be installed as well as a TWAIN-compatible scanner. When you use the Business Central web client, both 32- and 64-bit versions of the Twain scanner driver are supported. However, note that 32-bit TWAIN scanner drivers are only supported in Document Capture 2021 R1 service pack 2 and later. For details on how to run the Document Capture Scanner Service as a 32-bit application, see this article.

Email requirements

You import documents into Document Capture simply by sending them via email to a predefined email address hosted by Continia. See this article for technical requirements and things to note.

PDF requirements

When you import PDF documents into Document Capture, we recommend that you send each document as a separate PDF file. However, it’s possible to split a PDF file consisting of multiple documents automatically based on different criteria, for example based on barcode or invoice number.

The version of the PDF file must be PDF 1.7 or earlier, and it must conform to the PDF/A standard. Note that handwritten text isn't supported and is unlikely to be recognized well.

The following limitations also apply:

• Encrypted/password-protected PDF files are not supported.
• PDF files with electronic signatures may be processed successfully but are generally not supported.
• PDF files using the Adobe XML Forms Architecture (XFA) format are not supported.
• The maximum number of pages that can be processed for PDF files is 500.

To process files with any of these properties, you must republish them as new PDF files. You can do this using, for example, Microsoft Print to PDF, which is available for free in Windows 10. Republishing the files as new PDFs will remove the added features and produce "flat" PDF files with no interactive elements.

Continia Web Approval Portal

Documents can be approved using either the Business Central web client or the Continia Web Approval Portal. The Web Approval Portal is built on the standard approval functionality used in Business Central, but it’s a separate service that can be accessed by licensed users from any supported web browser. The web browsers that are supported for Continia Document Capture are also supported for the Web Approval Portal.

Note that the Web Approval Portal is fully supported on mobile devices, with very few exceptions. One notable exception is that styled XML files aren't displayed in the portal in mobile mode, so if you want to view an XML file on a mobile device, we recommend that you switch to desktop mode in your mobile browser.

To access the Web Approval Portal, you must be an authenticated Business Central user and have a named user license for Business Central. A “named user license” is a separate user subscription license (SL) that’s specific to each user and can’t be shared with others, as opposed to concurrent user licensing. User SLs are the primary type of licenses for Business Central.

For approval users that only approve documents and change purchase lines, Team Member licenses are sufficient, subject to Microsoft licensing conditions (see below). In all other cases, Continia only supports users with Essentials or Premium licenses. For details about the Team Member license and how add-ons may affect the use of this, see the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Licensing Guide. You can download this guide on the Business Central website.

Note that users of the Web Approval Portal will also automatically be able to access Business Central once they've been granted a Team Member license. The reason for this is that the Web Approval Portal is built on standard Business Central functionality and was never intended to exclude anyone from accessing Business Central.

Azure Blob Storage

For newer versions of Microsoft Dynamics NAV/Business Central (NAV 2013 or later), Document Capture supports archiving of document files using Azure Blob Storage. For more information on Azure Blob Storage, including details on pricing and configuration, see this dedicated Microsoft page.

In order for Azure Blob storage to work, the Dynamics NAV/Business Central service tier must be configured to use the TLS 1.2 security protocol. For further setup details, see Setting up Azure Blob Storage.

We strongly recommend that you enable blob soft delete for your Azure Blob Storage accounts, as this allows you to restore any documents or files that were deleted or overwritten by accident. This is no requirement though.

Continia has no further minimum requirements for the use of Azure Blob Storage to store Document Capture files. For any specific questions or requests regarding Azure – including setup, subscription types, and general architecture – please refer to Microsoft.

Additional guidelines

A number of other requirements and recommendations are relevant to mention, as they have an impact on how well Document Capture performs and how the app is used. These can all be found here.

See also

Additional Guidelines for Using Continia Document Capture
Overview of Business Functionality
Business Central website