Scanning multiple documents, but wanting separate PDFs?

DEVONthink Scenarios
1

I’m thinking about getting the ScanSnap (to go along with DTPO).

Question:

  1. let’s say I have a stack of documents to scan (all unrelated to each other) … If I scan them all at the same time …

how can I separate which pages belongs together and put them together into their own PDF? Or does all of those documents get clumped together into the same PDF?

Does that mean I need to scan each of the related documents separately?

  1. Does DPTO OCR the documents as they are scanned? Or does it go into a PDF first, then you have to manually “convert into searchable PDF”?

  2. Is there any way to auto-delete the old PDF files when you “convert them to searchable PDFs” ?

thanks :slight_smile:

I’m trying to find the best method to maximize my workflow of scanning business-related receipts/invoices for next year’s taxes … :slight_smile:

2

Yes, documents scanned consecutively will be saved as one document. You can use the freeware PDFlab to separate them afterwards.

PDFs can be OCR’d as they are imported. Not sure if it can be done automatically as they are scanned/imported.

I think you can set up a smart folder that automatically imports and OCRs the pdf documents. Alternatively, you can import the scanned pdfs with the Scansnap and batch OCR them in DTPO afterwards.

Hmmm, perhaps with an applescript but I don’t know how.

I’m sure others will chime in.

3

The documents are written as files by the ScanSnap Manager application (if you set it to use PDF in its preferences), then they are handed to DTPO whereupon they are OCRed. The original files will not be deleted by our software.
You could set up the ScanSnap Manager preferences to save the files to Library > Caches > Temporary Items, in that case they will be removed for you when you log out and back in.

4

There is an option in ScanSnap Manager Settings (File option > Option…) which allows you to choose between scanning to a multipage PDF or as individual pages PDFs. I just tried it and can confirm that it works as described.

5

How about for two sided documents, will it separate these too? (that would be great if it would know it belonged to the same paper and in those cases, put the two together into one PDF)

Can DPTO easily stitch certain PDFs together into one PDF?

6

When you say “they are handed to DTPO” … is it because DPTO looks in the folder where the ScanSnap Manager dumps the PDFs into? If so, how often does it do this? And when it does do it, does it just OCR and import the PDF in and thus, you can delete the original? Or does it make a duplicate of the original PDF, then OCR that PDF (which leaves you with three copies) ?

thanks :slight_smile:

7

No, the ScanSnap Manager writes those files in a folder and notifies our application. Through OCR a new file will be created and imported. The originals from the ScanSnap Manager application are not deleted.