Working with Document Categories

  • 11/07/2024
  • 11 minutes to read

Continia Document Capture comes with a default configuration that sets up a number of document categories, including categories for handling purchase and sales documents. These categories are ready to use, but you can adjust them to your liking if you have specific needs or requirements. You can also create categories to process certain types of documents.

This may be less relevant to you if, for example, you generally only process purchase documents – but you could still benefit from knowing that there are different types of documents and that they’re grouped into different document categories.

The following table describes some of the key areas on the Document Category page that determine how documents are processed.

To access the Document Category page, go to Continia Document Capture Activities in the Role Center and select Ready to Register:

  • If you’ve only imported documents in one category, this takes you to the document journal – which in this case is named Ready to Register. Then, select the three dots on the right side of the Document Category field at the top of the page, select the line of the category you want to open (not the code itself, as this will open the document journal), and choose Edit in the action bar.
  • If you’ve imported documents in multiple categories, this opens a new window where you can choose the relevant document category. To do this, select the line of the category you want to open (not the code itself, as this will open the document journal), and then choose Edit in the action bar.

AreaDescription
Source table and fields (on the General FastTab, under Source Table and Fields)Every document in Document Capture is linked to a record. In this section, you can define what table should be used as the source table and what field within that table should be the primary key field. This helps Document Capture to link incoming documents in this category to the correct records. You can also specify what field to display as the name or description in the document journal and the document card. For purchase documents, the default source table is the vendor table, even though imported purchase documents typically result in the creation of purchase invoices and credit memos. This is because each of the templates for purchase documents is linked to a vendor, and not to individual purchase invoices or credit memos.
Destination table and fields (on the General FastTab, under Transfer Value to...)In this section, you can define the destination table, that is, the table which the values of a document are transferred to when the document is registered. For purchase documents, the default destination tables are the Purchase Header and Purchase Line tables. Please note that if you set up a new document category, you can’t have records in a destination table created without also having a codeunit that creates the record. To learn more, see Development and Customization.
Identification fields (the Identification Fields action in the action bar)Identification fields are used for identifying the source of an imported document. You can decide what fields should be used in the identification process. To learn more about setting up identification fields, see Setting up Identification Fields.
Templates (on the Templates FastTab)Templates include a number of rules and configurations that determine how documents should be captured and processed. There are three types of templates:
  1. Identification templates, which are used for configuring Document Capture to find the source record of a document. Typically, there’s only one identification template in a document category. To learn more, see Understanding Identification Templates.
  2. Master templates, which are copied when individual templates are created for the source records (for example, when you create a template for a specific vendor). This means that all configurations and rules that you apply to a master template become the base for any new source templates (such as new vendor templates). Therefore, it’s important to set up your master templates as correctly as possible from the very beginning. To learn more, see Working with Templates.
  3. Templates for each of the source records that you process documents for (vendors, for example). Document Capture creates these templates automatically by copying the master template.
OCR settings (on the OCR Processing FastTab)Using the advanced OCR settings, you can configure how exactly documents should be OCR-processed. To learn more, see Configuring Advanced OCR Options and Splitting and Merging Documents.
Codeunits (on the Codeunits FastTab)Codeunits are used to determine what happens when documents are imported and processed, and it’s one of the features that make Document Capture generic and versatile. As an example, there’s one set of codeunits for the purchase category and another set for the sales category, and each of these codeunits is tailored to work with its own set of documents. With standard Document Capture, these codeunits work with – and consider – a range of settings configurable for each document category, template, etc. To learn more, either check the tooltips of all relevant codeunit fields or see Development and Customization

Creating a document category for delivery notes

As an example, to create a document category for delivery notes:

  1. Choose the Search icon, enter Document Categories, and then choose the related link.
  2. In the action bar, select New.
  3. A new category line is added to the list. Enter a code and (optionally) a description for the new document category by filling out the relevant line fields. In this case, Code could be DELIVERY, and Description could be Delivery Notes.
  4. Open the new document category: Select the category line (not the category code, as this will open the document journal), and then choose Edit in the action bar.
  5. On the Document Category card, make sure that edit mode is activated (the pencil in the icon at the top of the card must be circled).
  6. On the General FastTab, go to Source Table and Fields. In the Table field, select the three dots to open the Objects page, and then select the relevant table – in this case table number 110, Sales Shipment Header.
  7. In the Name Field field, select the three dots to open the Fields Lookup page, and then select the relevant name field – in this case field number 5, Bill-to Name.
  8. Only for on-premises OCR: On the OCR Processing FastTab, select the OCR Languages field to open the Document Category Language page, and then select the language(s) that you expect to receive documents in within this category. When you're done, select Close to return to the Document Category card.
  9. On the Codeunits FastTab, go to the Get File Counts field and select codeunit 6085618, CDC Update Doc. Counters.
  10. In the Import Files field, select codeunit 6085577, CDC Document Importer.
  11. In the action bar, select Identification Fields to add identification fields to the new document category. On the page that opens, go to Field No. and select field number 3, No. Under Rating, enter the number 5, and then close the page by selecting the Back icon.
  12. Choose the Search icon, enter Export OCR Configuration Files, and then choose the related link. A dialog box confirms that a number of configuration files have been exported. Select OK to close it.
  13. Optional: If incoming documents are to be received via email (network scanner), you must also add a connection endpoint.

Note

There are numerous configuration options, and the above is only one example of how document categories can be configured. For different categories – or even for the same one in a different setting or scenario – other configuration settings may very well be preferable.

See also

Development and Customization
Setting up Identification Fields
Understanding Identification Templates
Working with Templates
Configuring Advanced OCR Options
Using a network scanner (multi-function printer, MFP)