Defining document properties for use with a preferences file
- Identify data that you need document properties for.
Examples:
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You want to extract account number, customer name, and statement date from each document in the job. You need to define three document properties.
As a job goes through the workflow, the IdentifyPDFDocuments step (PDF files) or IdentifyDocuments step (AFP files) extracts the data from each document in the job.
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You want to extract two columns of data from an external preferences file so you can insert the data into the job. The columns have the headings Output Type and Awards. You need to define two document properties.
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- For each document property, choose a user interface name and a database name.You can use existing RICOH ProcessDirector document properties, or you can define your own custom document properties.
Examples:
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You can use the Output type document property (database name Doc.Pref.Output), which is supplied with the Preference Management feature.
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Instead of using the Output type document property, you can define your own custom document property. You might give the document property the user interface name Delivery choice and the database name Doc.Custom.DeliveryChoice.
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You can define your own custom document property with the user interface name Award level and the database name Doc.Custom.AwardLevel.
Note: We recommend that the database names of your custom document properties start with Doc.Custom. -
- Define all the custom RICOH ProcessDirector document properties you need by editing the document properties configuration file
(docCustomDefinitions.xml).
For example, you might add these lines to the file:
<docProperty name="Doc.Custom.AccountNumber" datatype="String" dbType="varchar (32)" access="attrWriteAdmin" shortCaption="Acount number" caption="Account number" description="Customer account number"/> <docProperty name="Doc.Custom.AwardLevel" datatype="String" dbType="varchar (32)" access="attrWriteAdmin" shortCaption="Award level" caption="Award level" description="Customer award level"/> <docProperty name="Doc.Custom.StatementDate" datatype="Timestamp" dbType="Timestamp" access="attrWriteAdmin" shortCaption="Statement date" caption="Statement date" description="The date the statement was created"/>Note: The name line defines the database name. The caption line defines the user interface name. - Update your configuration files by running the docCustom utility.The first time that you run the docCustom utility, it creates the Custom Document Properties feature and adds it to the Feature Manager. When you run the utility again, it updates the Custom Document Properties feature.
- Use Feature Manager to install or update the Custom Document Properties feature.
- If you are working with PDF files, load the updated RICOH ProcessDirector document properties to RICOH ProcessDirector Plug-in for Adobe Acrobat.
- Specify the data that the IdentifyPDFDocuments step (PDF files) or IdentifyDocuments step (AFP files) extracts from each document in the job:
- If you are working with PDF files, use the Define Document Property function in RICOH ProcessDirector Plug-in for Adobe Acrobat.
- If you are working with AFP files, use the Document Property Designer (DPD) mode of
RICOH Visual Workbench.
Note: If the AFP files do not have index tags defined for the document data that you want to extract, use the AFP Indexer mode to add the tags. AFP Indexer is not supplied with RICOH ProcessDirector. You must purchase the feature.
- Save your document property definitions in a control file for use with the IdentifyPDFDocuments step (PDF files) or IdentifyDocuments step (AFP files):
- If you are working with PDF files, use the Save control file function in RICOH ProcessDirector Plug-in for Adobe Acrobat.
- If you are working with AFP files, use the Save control file function in RICOH Visual Workbench.
- Send the control file to the RICOH ProcessDirector server in a directory that the RICOH ProcessDirector system user has access to.