ScanSnap and Saving

[harringg]

I noticed that when setting scanning to DTPO from the application list in ScanSnaps interface, it also seems to default to the users Picture folder. Is there a way to scan just to DTPO? I find then I have to manually go in and cleanup the Pictures folder. Or is this part of the downside to this scanner and DTPO? I recall a setting in DTPO called Original Document Move to Trash, but does that only apply when running OCR?

In otherwords, using ScanSnap I’ll always get two documents? One in DTPO and one where the default puts them. I know I can change that path, but when creating new scan profiles, it sometimes gets overlooked, and I still have two files even if I put them somewhere else.

Any suggested workflows with this situation other than go to Pictures and secure delete the files I’ve just scanned?

Thanks

[twicks]

Go to DTPO Preferences > OCR tab, and check the box for Original Document: Move to Trash.

That should delete the file that SS saved externally to DTPO. It doesn’t delete the file that DTPO captured.

[Bill_DeVille]

Your ScanSnap and DTPO work wonderfully together, but that’s done through ScanSnap Manager when you have properly configured it.

Click and hold on the ScanSnap Manager icon in the Dock. If ‘Use Quick Menu’ is checked, uncheck it. Next, from the options presented while clicking and holding on the ScanSnap Manager’s Dock icon, choose Settings.

Click on the Application tab. Click on the Browse button and add DEVONthink Pro Office (if DTPO2 pb5 is installed). Now set DEVONthink Pro as the target to which scan output will be sent. Click on the ‘Apply’ button.

ScanSnap Manager will also save a copy of the scan output to a location specified under the ‘Save’ tab. By default, that is the Pictures folder. If you make a change, click on the ‘Apply’ button. NOTE: The destination specified isn’t important, as you can set DTPO’s Preferences > OCR to move the original document to Trash.

Click on the ‘Scanning’ tab to set other parameters. I usually use the Best (Slow) mode, and Duplex. If you make a change, click ‘Apply’.

Click on the ‘Compression’ tab. I set Compression all the way to the left (low).

ScanSnap Manager provides an online Help file (under the Help menu) that you may want to examine for explanations of the settings and options.

When you’ve finished configuring ScanSnap Manager, put some paper copy into the ScanSnap’s sheet feeder and press the Scan button. The PDF output will be sent to DTPO and will be OCRd and saved to the database.

That’s it!

If you get a message that offers to reconfigure the setting to send output to DTPO, respond by first checking the option not to notify you again, then press Cancel.

You also mentioned secure deletion. That’s available in OS X. Here’s an excerpt from OS X Help:

Preventing deleted files from being read
When you delete files, the disk space that the files occupied is available for use. However, until that section of the disk is overwritten with new data, the information can be retrieved by disk reading utilities.

If the files you put in the trash contain sensitive information, you can use Secure Empty Trash to overwrite that information so it can’t be retrieved.

To empty the trash and overwrite all the information in the files:

In the Finder, choose File > Secure Empty Trash.

Using Secure Empty Trash takes a bit longer than simply emptying the trash.

[harringg]

Send to trash only works during OCR and I’m not OCR’ing these. I tested this option and it still put the scan in Pictures. So I still get a document in my Pictures in addition to the copy in the DTPO db.

I am using Secure Trash, and I do routinely. Sorry I’m not being more clear in my posts.

This is my workflow and I was looking for a better one.

Any suggested workflows with this situation other than go to Pictures and secure delete the files I’ve just scanned?

[harringg]

I just found something that works for me. I have an DTPO Inbox in the Finder sidebar (didn’t see that before). I set that as my location folder and then once scanned, it goes there and I can easily delete it.

[redacted]

@harringg

I just found something that works for me. I have an DTPO Inbox in the Finder sidebar (didn’t see that before). I set that as my location folder and then once scanned, it goes there and I can easily delete it.

harringg: Thanks for bringing up this issue.

So let me get this straight. If I scan a 300 page file of papers but don’t want or need to OCR them, I have a second file created, stored somewhere on my disk, and not deleted?

Wow, maybe that’s how all my free disk space vanished.

[harringg]

AFAIK, using the ScanSnap interface it sends it somewhere on your HDD. I think the delete after OCR only deletes the copy that is in DTPO and you still have the second copy on your HDD. Maybe a more advanced DTPO user can confirm/deny the ScanSnap workflow. That’s why I set it to my Inbox so I can see it in DTPO and delete it from there.

Using my flatbed scanner, I used ExactScan and I don’t think that made duplicates, it put the scan directly inside of DTPO.

[Bill_DeVille]

@redacted

So let me get this straight. If I scan a 300 page file of papers but don’t want or need to OCR them, I have a second file created, stored somewhere on my disk, and not deleted?

Wow, maybe that’s how all my free disk space vanished.

Nor necessarily.

1. If you want to use the ScanSnap to create image-only PDFs and to store them in your DT Pro Office database you could change one setting in DT Pro Office 2 Preferences > OCR. Uncheck the option to perform OCR. (I assume you have checked the option to delete the original PDF.} Now an image-only PDF will be saved to your database at the dpi/image quality settings you have made.

2( If you wish to capture directly to DT Pro Office 2 an image-only PDF from the ScanSnap with the dpi/image quality settings established in ScanSnap Manager, you can change two settings in ScanSnap Manager: 1) in the Application tab, choose to ‘Scan to file’; 2) in the Save tab set ‘Image saving folder’ to ‘Inbox’.

More generally for any scanner, the scan image output can be set to go to ‘Inbox’, with the result that an image-only PDF will be stored into the Global Inbox. Note, however, that an error message will result if one simultaneously tries to send the image to, or capture it from, DTPO2 with OCR. Of course, once a scan image has been saved to the Global Inbox, one can later use Data > Convert > to searchable PDF.

In Case 2) there will be only one PDF on your hard drive and it will be in the DTPO 2 database.

[rparvu]

Actually I do not think that is the question. harringg was asking if we can scan directly into DEVONthink only: that means we end up with only one scanned file on DEVONthink and nothing else!

[BLUEFROG]

You should not scan into the Global Inbox directly.

The only time you could do this is if you are not performing OCR either in DEVONthink or an external application. Since this would be an unusual circumstance in our user base, we stand by the initial statement.

[rparvu]

As someone pointed out, OCR should be really optional as sometimes doing that on really large documents will consume too much time and resources. So expecting that all scanned documents will be OCR’d as they are added to DEVONthink, is complete nonsense.

On the other hand, is there a way to add the scanned document to DEVONthink, without creating a duplicate on another Finder location that would need to be manually removed?

[BLUEFROG]

So expecting that all scanned documents will be OCR’d as they are added to DEVONthink, is complete nonsense.

I did not say we mandate all incoming documents must be OCR’d.
I said the majority of our user base would be doing OCR on import, hence the warning about not using the Global Inbox as the destination.

On the other hand, is there a way to add the scanned document to DEVONthink, without creating a duplicate on another Finder location that would need to be manually removed?

Command-drag into DEVONthink to move a file instead of copy it.

[DouglasLind]

Hi, I’ve read as many posts about this as I can, and am still confused. My ScanSnap does its own OCR, and then sends the result to DTP fine (I’m using the latest versions of software). But it also stores another copy in a folder of my choice, which is presumably a necessary intermediary in the process (using the “Mac (Scan to file)” option in “Managing Options”). I don’t see any way to automatically delete this afterwards. There are various workarounds (e.g. just deleting all the files monthly), but is there a way to have DTP automatically delete this external copy after it is imported to its database?

[BLUEFROG]

1. Make sure the ScanSnap support is installed in DEVONthink > Install Add-Ons.
2. Set Preferences > OCR > Convert Incoming Scans to No Action.
3. Enable *Preferences > OCR > Original Document > Move to Trash.
4. In the scanning profile in ScanSnap Home, set the Send to option to DEVONthink 3.

[DouglasLind]

Thanks for the quick reply. I have already done steps 2, 3, and 4. When I try to do step 1, there is nothing there about ScanSnap support. This is what I see.

I am running the latest version of DTP 3.0.3, and using High Sierra. I was upgrading from DTP2, and did have ScanSnap support when using that, so perhaps it doesn’t show up because of that?

[BLUEFROG]

Apologies. I was thinking of ExactScan support (which has such an option if the application is detected).

[DouglasLind]

After confirming I’d already done steps 2, 3, and 4 in your message, ScanSnap still keeps a seperate copy of every scan (in addition to the one imported into DTP). So it looks like there is no way to prevent this, and I’ll just have to occasionally go to the folder where these are put and delete everything (or create a folder that automatically deletes contents, but that may create problems). Is that correct?

[rparvu]

In the newer versions, the Inbox is not visible in Finder anymore so I cannot find any way to scan (using SnapScan) directly into DEVONThink without getting another scanned file in Finder!

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[BLUEFROG]

In the newer versions, the Inbox is not visible in Finder anymore

Sure it is!

However, you should not be scanning directly to the Global Inbox anyways.

Set the ScanSnap Home profile to scan to the default location of ~/Pictures and set the Send to to DEVONthink 3 (added in ScanSnap’s **Preferences > Applications, if it’s not available)**.

[rparvu]

Oh, I see the problem: it seems that I might still have ver.2 installed so when I click Inbox, I get this:

Do we have a step-by-step about how to clean up the ver.2 without losing any data?

Thanks!