Capture-Fields processor

Note: This plug-in has been moved to the Legacy group.

The Capture-Fields processor action task is used to update the Capture database using information received from an incoming PGC file, which generally originates from a communication by the Anoto penDirector.

This task is put into effect in the following use cases and example processes:

Input

This task requires a PGC file that has been obtained from an Anoto Digital Pen that was used to write on documents generated from the same PReS Workflow installation.

Processing

The PlanetPress Capture Fields Processor action task receives and processes the information sent by the Anoto digital pen and updates all the documents in the PlanetPress Capture Database using the information from the pen. Any ink in the pen is added as an EPS (image) layer on the PDF inside the Capture Database. If a specific document needs to be closed to release its pattern, this task does so.

During processing, ink is always applied to the document first and then the logic is applied for releasing patterns. This means that even if a document is closed by a field set as Final that was checked first, ink present in other fields will still be applied to the document.

From version 7.5 and onwards, ICR is done on the ink, if the "Perform ICR Recognition" option is checked.

Error handling

If the Capture Fields Processor generates a critical error during the processing of any document in the PGC file, all of its actions will be reverted. If your PGC file contains multiple documents, even those documents that were processed before will revert. It is strongly suggested to backup your PGC file before using this task and to create an error handling process to capture these errors.

Logical errors do not cause this task to exit. For example, if a List Item Capture Field is set to only accept a single option but contains ink in more than one option, or if a Capture Field that does not accept re-writing receives more ink, the task will still complete. The inks that are relevant to logical errors are still added to the PDF document, but they are added on a separate "error" layer.

Output

This task outputs the PGC file it received along with Metadata that contains the documents that have been updated by this task. The Metadata can be used to do post-processing of the file using Capture Conditions, or directly through other Metadata tools. The structure of the output Metadata added by Capture is the following:

  • Document Level
    • CapCloseDate: Date at which the document was closed by Capture Field Generator. Blank if the document is still open.
    • CapDocID: The database ID of the document. This field is useful especially if using the Capture API since the ID corresponds to the itembyID function.
    • CapDocName: The name of the document as specified in the Capture Field Generator.
    • CapOpenDate: The date at which the document was created by the Capture Field Generator.
    • CapPatternSequence: The value of the pattern sequence assigned to the document.
    • CapPGCName: The name of each PGC file that was used to update this document (will repeat for each PGC file)
    • CapStatus: Current status of the document:
      • 0: Open
      • 1: Closed by an optional field
      • 2: Closed by a mandatory field
      • 3: Closed by a final field
    • CapTemplateName: Name of the PReS Connect document used to generate the document.
  • Page Level:
    • CaptureField: Information on each capture field on the page. Repeated for each capture field that is present.

Note: There is no method of obtaining the information from a PGC except through a successful processing of this task, or via the use of the PlanetPress Capture API within a Script (see Using Scripts).

Task properties

Capture Fields Processor action task properties are as follows:

  • PGC Name: This value will be added to the output Metadata, as well as the Capture Database, to link the PGC to the document it updates.
  • Pattern sequence group
    • Type: Specify from where the Pattern Sequence should be taken.
      • None: Do not use a Pattern Sequence.
      • Pen Information: Use the Pattern Sequence assigned to the pen in the PlanetPress Capture Database.
      • Custom: Overwrite the pen's information and specify a Pattern Sequence manually or use a data selection.
    • Custom Pattern Sequence: If you choose Custom in the Type drop-down, enter a manual Pattern Sequence or a data selection that contains the Pattern Sequence to be used.
  • ICR Settings group
    • Perform ICR Recognition: Triggers the PlanetPress Capture ICR engine. For more information, see PlanetPress Capture ICR.
    • Engine Language: Define the language the ICR engine will use for text recognition. This has a major effect on the way text is recognized, as different languages use different databases to recognize letters, numbers and characters. For example, accented letters are not correctly recognized in the English ICR database.
  • Fail if new ink is found on non-rewritable fields: Check to trigger the On Error tab if and when a field set as Disable Rewriting receives ink in a new session.
  • Ignore out of bounds ink data: Check to continue processing even if receiving a PGC that causes ink to be outside of any Capture Field to appear. This may happen if updating the wrong document. When out of bounds ink is found, the document will be set in the "Error" status. (see note below)
  • Split PGC by document: Check to treat each document as a separate PGC file. This removes the need to use a Capture PGC splitter before this task, however the PGC Splitter remains useful when using self-replicating processes to accelerate PGC processing.
  • Add pattern information to the Metadata: Adds advanced information in the Metadata for post-processing:
    • At the Document node, timestamp information such as ink start/end time
    • At the Page node, information about each Capture Field such as its name, dimensions, style, index, mask, timestamp and content status.

Note: When the Ignore out of bounds ink data option is checked, this option modifies the way that the On Error tab reacts. When a single split is processed and generates an error, only that split triggers the On Error tab. The other splits continue processing as usual. If another split generates an error, it also triggers the On Error tab.

On Error Tab

For a description of the options on the On Error tab see Using the On Error tab.

Miscellaneous Tab

The Miscellaneous tab is common to all tasks.

It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button and are displayed in The Task Comments Pane.

Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area.

The tab also provides an option to highlight the task in The Process area with the default color, set in the Preferences (see Colors), or the color selected or defined under Highlight color on this tab.
To revert the selected highlight color to the default color, open this tab, turn the Highlight option off and close the dialog with the OK button; then turn highlighting back on.
Highlighting can also be turned on and off via the task's contextual menu and with the Highlight button on the View ribbon.