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1996-05-21
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ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Facility/2 Version 1 Release 2 Now Recognizes Hand-Printed Characters
Announced on May 21, 1996
Software Announcement 296169
In Brief . . .
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Facility/2 Version 1 Release 2:
o Electronically processes images from scanned forms to automate the
indexing and entry of business data from these images.
o Uses intelligent forms processing and optical character
recognition (OCR) instead of large amounts of key-entry to extract
indexing information and application data into the ImagePlus
environment.
o Recognizes typed, machine-printed, and hand-printed characters.
o Provides a user-friendly Forms Definition Utility to simplify the
creation and maintenance of an electronic forms library.
o Provides more function and utility to you than the competition by
combining forms definition, forms library maintenance, forms
recognition and data lift, typed- and handwritten-character
recognition, and OCR correction all in one workstation.
o Protects investment in paper forms and form designs since IPFO may
not require special forms or the use of drop-out ink. IPFO is
compatible with, and supports, current IBM ImagePlus file formats.
----------------------------------------
IBM ImagePlus(R) Intelligent Forms Facility/2 (IPFO) Version 1
Release 2 provides a significant enhancement to improve productivity
and reduce the cost of data entry. IPFO Version 1.2 provides new
hand-printed character recognition through optical character
recognition (OCR) Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) technology
for customers who scan forms with typed, machine-printed, or
handprinted data for storage in their host ImagePlus for OS/400(R),
ImagePlus for MVS/ESA(TM), and ImagePlus VisualInfo(TM) systems.
IPFO Version 1.2 provides support for ImagePlus OS/400, ImagePlus
MVS/ESA, and ImagePlus VisualInfo environments.
IPFO provides the automatic recognition of scanned forms and specific
user-defined fields to be processed, separates field data from the
background content of the form (field extraction), and includes
optical character recognition of the extracted data. The results are
then returned to the ImagePlus Workstation Program/2 workstation for
indexing and storing in the ImagePlus system. If there are typed or
handwritten characters in the fields not recognized by IPFO
(including unrecognized, suspicious, or misrepresented characters),
the image and data may be passed to the optional IBM ImagePlus
Intelligent Forms Assist/2 (IPFA) feature of IPFO for the OCR-reject
correction capability.
IPFA enables a user to simultaneously view the original image, along
with the recognition results, and manually correct the data. Manual
techniques are reserved for error correction or verification of the
data following forms processing and OCR. IPFA is designed to
increase overall throughput and accuracy of data captured and
documents indexed for storage in ImagePlus systems.
Planned Availability Date: June 28, 1996
(R) Registered trademark of International Business Machines
Corporation
(TM) Trademark of International Business Machines Corporation in the
United States or other countries or both. in the United States
or other countries or both.
DESCRIPTION
IPFO provides ImagePlus customers with an alternative to entering
data manually from scanned forms by automatically analyzing a scanned
form to determine its form type, extracting the relevant information
fields (based on previously stored field specifications), performing
OCR on the fields, and returning the data and exception results to
the IWPM/2 workstation. IPFO is designed to enable you to process
scanned form images easily and extract the relevant information to
index the images for storage and retrieval on ImagePlus systems.
User Productivity
IPFO is a tool to restructure the people-intensive process of manual
key entry performed when indexing and capturing data from scanned
images. Intelligent forms recognition performs an analysis of line
patterns, or a barcode, to identify the form types and extracts the
information needed to automate document indexing. Automated analysis
and identification of form images during the scan process can help
reduce the labor and expense of presorting the forms before scanning.
Key entry is eliminated for a large portion of the data capture
process by using optical character recognition on the fields
extracted from the form images.
Overall productivity may be improved by automatically capturing data
from the scanned forms, limiting manual key-data entry to the process
of correcting unrecognized characters. Data entry personnel can now
focus on forms rejection or exceptions generated by badly written
data, unrecognizable fonts, or poor quality images. IPFO is now able
to recognize handwritten characters, further reducing the amount of
manual exception work you need to do.
Additional enhancements to productivity are provided through the IPFA
feature. This feature enables data entry personnel to correct
unrecognized characters by presenting the image and data on the
screen concurrently. They are able to match the fields on the image
with the data to be entered or corrected.
Growth Enablement
IPFO and the IPFA feature are designed to run on the IWPM/2
Version 1.2 (or later) workstation. This enables you to add forms
processing and OCR to ImagePlus Workstation Program/2 workstations as
capacity requirements increase. As new applications are developed,
additional form types can be added through use of the Forms
Definition Utility.
Investment Protection
IPFO provides the Forms Definition Utility (FDU) to customize the
recognition and processing of forms. FDU enables IPFO to work with
your existing stock of forms. This may reduce the expense of
redesigning and printing new forms, or reduce the difficulty of
negotiating new form designs.
IPFO functions are compatible across IBM ImagePlus MVS/ESA, ImagePlus
OS/400, and ImagePlus VisualInfo platforms. The product may be
substituted for existing, or planned, manual data-entry skills. As
an image application service function, IPFO can be readily integrated
into ImagePlus systems (MVS/ESA and OS/400 and VisualInfo).
EDUCATION SUPPORT
Call IBM Direct Education at 800-IBM-TEACH (426-8322) for education
catalogs, schedules and enrollments.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Hardware Requirements
o The minimum processor will support OS/2(R) Version 3 or later,
IWPM/2 Version 1.2 or later, and has at least 20MB of free storage
on its hard disk after the installation of required software. The
recommended processor is a PS/2(R) Model 8590-0J9, or higher, with
enough hard disk capacity to store images of all the unique forms
that must be recognized.
The Intelligent Character Recognition functions, which perform the
handwriting character and multiple font recognition, require an
IBM PS/2, PS/1(R) or ValuePoint(TM) (or compatible).
o Displays -- Any display supported by IWPM/2 Version 1.2 or later
for SBCS support
o RAM Memory -- 16MB minimum
o Communications Adapter -- any communications network adapter (such
as the IBM Token-Ring Network 16/4 Adapter/A Card) that is
supported by the Advanced Program-to-Program Communications (APPC)
facility of the IBM Communications Manager/2
o Scanners -- Any scanner supported by IWPM/2 Version 1.2 or later.
Scanners with automatic document feed, for example, the IBM 2456
Image Scanner (2546-001) or Kodak ImageLink Scanner 900 (1) are
recommended to reduce image skewing
o IBM Mouse -- Pointing Device (optional but recommended)
Note: FDU supports any display attached via a VGA or 8514/A adapter.
FDU will also run on any Image Adapter/A-supported display, since the
Image Adapter/A provides compatibility with VGA and 8514/A display
modes.
The IPFA feature is installed on an IPFO workstation, and has the
following additional hardware requirements:
o At least 10MB additional free storage. The recommended processor
is a PS/2 Model 8556-059, or higher.
Software Requirements: IPFO Version 1.2 runs on an IWPM/2
Version 1.2 or later workstation, and has the following additional
software prerequisites:
o OS/2 Version 3.0 or later
o Communications Manager/2 Version 1.1.1 or later
o OS/2 LAN Requester Version 4.0 or later
o DB2(R) for OS/2 Version 2.1 Single-User (41H-2112) or later
o When attached to the IBM ImagePlus OS/400 platform, the following
must be installed:
- IBM ImagePlus Workfolder Application Facility/400 Version 2.4
and its prerequisites must be installed on the ImagePlus
WAF/400 host platform (see Software Announcement 294-063, dated
February 15, 1994, for details).
o When attached to the IBM ImagePlus MVS/ESA platform, the following
must be installed:
- The client portion of DB/2 Version 2.1 or later
- IBM ImagePlus Object Distribution Manager Version 2.2 (see
Software Announcement 292-606, dated October 20, 1992, for
details).
- IBM ImagePlus Capture Facility/2 Version 1, or later, and its
prerequisites, including IBM OS/2 LAN Server Version 4.0, or
later -- Entry (5871-AAA), must be installed on a LAN attached
to the ImagePlus MVS/ESA platform (see Software Announcement
296-170, dated May 21, 1996).
Note: Either the Entry or Advanced version of LAN Server may be used.
ORDERING INFORMATION
Current Licensees
Current licensees of IPFO Version 1 Release 1 will be sent a program
reorder form which may be returned directly to IBM Software
Manufacturing Solutions (SMS) to activate an order for Release 2.
The mailing of the reorder forms will be completed by June 7, 1996.
Reorder forms returned to SMS will be processed within 10 working
days of receipt.
New Licensees
Orders for new licenses will be accepted now. Shipment will commence
on the planned availability date. Orders entered after the planned
availability date will be assigned a scheduled shipment date for the
week following order entry.
New users of ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Facility/2 Version 1
Release 2 should specify:
Type Model
5696 011
Basic License: To order a basic license of IPFO, specify the program
number and feature number 9001 for asset registration. Specify
feature number 0400 for a one-time charge (OTC).
Feature Feature
Description Number
ImagePlus Intelligent Forms
Facility/2 Version 1
Release 2 0400
Workstation Feature: To order the Workstation feature (IPFA), a
separate order must be processed. Specify the program number and
feature number 9998 for asset registration. Specify the feature
number and the desired quantity (maximum 250).
Workstation Workstation Feature
Feature One-Time Charge
Description Feature Number
ImagePlus Intelligent Forms
Facility/2 Version 1
Release Workstation Feature 0401
Specify the feature number 3501 for the Workstation Master Media
distribution (master copy of the IPFA feature). The workstation
master cannot be used until a distributed workstation feature for OTC
is ordered. Also, specify the feature number 5010 for the basic
license distribution medium (1.44MB 3.5-inch diskette).
Basic Machine-Readable Material: To order, select the feature number
of the desired distribution medium.
Feature
Product Environment Number Distribution Medium
IPFO
(U.S. English) OS/2 5010 1.44MB 3.5-inch
diskette
Customization Options: Select the appropriate feature number(s) to
customize your order to specify the delivery options desired. These
features can be specified on the initial or MES orders.
Example: If publications are not desired for the initial order and
for future updates, specify feature numbers 3470 to ship media only,
and 3480 to ship media updates only. In the future if publication
updates are required, order an MES to remove feature number 3480, and
the publications will ship with the next release for the program.
Feature
Description Number
Initial Shipments
Serial Number Only (suppresses shipment
of media and documentation) 3444
Ship Media Only (suppresses initial
shipment of documentation) 3470
Ship Documentation Only (suppresses
initial shipment of media) 3471
Update Shipments
Ship Media Updates Only (suppresses
update shipment of documentation) 3480
Ship Documentation Only (suppresses
update shipment of media) 3481
Suppress Updates (suppresses update
shipment of media and documentation) 3482
Local IBM Office Expedite
(for IBM use only) 3445
Customer Expedite Process Charge
($30 charge for each product) 3446
Optional Machine-Readable Material: Not applicable.
DSLO License: To order, specify the program number and feature
numbers 9901 for asset registration and 9010 for a OTC.
Ordering DSLO feature will result in IBM maintaining a record of this
customer location as DSLO user only. All material for DSLO license
must be ordered by the basic licensee. IF a user selects DSLO, no
other feature numbers are valid for this order and no program
materials or updates will be shipped.
Unlicensed Documentation: A memo and one copy of the following
publications are supplied automatically with the basic
machine-readable material.
Publications included with the basic IPFO license:
Order
Publication Number
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Facility/2 GC31-7651
Install Verification Chart
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Facility/2 GC31-7658
Install Guide
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Facility/2 GC35-0826
Licensed Program Specifications
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Facility/2 SX76-0150
Quick Reference for the ImagePlus
MVS/ESA Environment
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Facility/2 SX76-0149
Quick Reference for the ImagePlus/400
Environment
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Facility/2 SB35-0824
Administrator's Guide
Publications included with the IPFA Feature:
Order
Publication Number
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Assist/2 SB35-0833
User's Guide for the ImagePlus MVS/ESA
Environment
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Assist/2 SB35-0834
User's Guide for the ImagePlus /400
Environment
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Assist/2 SB35-0832
Installation and Administration Guide for
the ImagePlus MVS/ESA Environment
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Assist/2 SB35-0831
Installation and Administration Guide for
the ImagePlus/400 Environment
Additional copies or unlicensed publications will be available, for a
fee, after product availability. These copies may be ordered from
your IBM marketing representative, through the system library
subscription service (SLSS), or by direct order.
Displayable Softcopy Publications: The following unlicensed
publications are offered in displayable softcopy form in addition to
hardcopy:
Order
Publication Number
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Facility/2 GC31-7658
Install Guide
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Facility/2 SB35-0824
Administrator's Guide
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Facility/2 SX76-0150
Quick Reference for the ImagePlus
MVS/ESA Environment
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Facility/2 SX76-0149
Quick Reference for the ImagePlus/400
Environment
Order
Publication Number
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Assist/2 SB35-0833
User's Guide for the ImagePlus MVS/ESA
Environment
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Assist/2 SB35-0834
User's Guide for the ImagePlus/400
Environment
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Assist/2 SB35-0832
Installation and Administration Guide for
the ImagePlus MVS/ESA Environment
IBM ImagePlus Intelligent Forms Assist/2 SB35-0831
Installation and Administration Guide for
the ImagePlus/400 Environment
The displayable manuals are part of the basic machine-readable
material. The files are shipped on the same media type as the basic
machine-readable material.
These displayable manuals can be used with the BookManager(R) READ
licensed programs in any of the supported environments. Terms and
conditions for use of the machine-readable files are shipped with the
files.
IBM now provides documentation in softcopy on a CD-ROM. The IBM
ImagePlus Online Library CD-ROM is SK2T-2131.
This CD-ROM contains books, bookshelves, and book search indexes for
selected ImagePlus products. Books available on the CD-ROM include
product libraries for selected ImagePlus OS/400, ImagePlus MVS/ESA,
and ImagePlus workstation products.
All unlicensed publications for this product that are displayable in
softcopy form (see above) are included on the CD-ROM.
For additional information on the ImagePlus Online Library CD-ROM,
refer to Software Announcements 292-607 or 292-606.
For additional detailed CD-ROM ordering information, refer to the
Software Announcement, 292-450, dated August 25, 1992, titled: IBM
Online Book Collection Kit Ordering Information and IBM Hardcopy
Billing Policy Changes.
Terms and conditions for use of the displayable book files and the
IBM Library Readers are described in a document included on the
CD-ROM.
Licensed Documentation: Subsequent updates (technical newsletters or
revisions between releases) to the publications shipped with the
product will be distributed to the user of record for as long as a
license for this software remains in effect. A separate publication
order or subscription is not needed.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Licensing: The program in this announcement is licensed under the
terms of the IBM Customer Agreement.
Variable Charges Apply: No
Installation License or Location License Applies: No. A separate
license is required for each machine on which the license program
material will be used.
Distributed Features Apply: Yes
Volume Discount: Not applicable
PRPQs: Will not be available
Warranted: Yes
Licensed Program Materials Availability: Restricted Material -- No.
This licensed program will be available without source licensed
program materials. It will be available in object code.
Testing Period: Basic License -- Two months. DSLO -- Not applicable.
Workstation Feature: A two-month test period will also apply to the
first order of the IPFA feature.
CHARGES
Contact your IBM representative for charges information for this
announcement.