Document Storage/Retrieval Systems

[Raistlin]

Ok, so I've got this server right?

In my server I have a couple of large hard drives with plenty of space.....

I've also got this flat, ok?

In this flat I have a number of small rooms with not a lot of space.....

So I start trying to work out how I can increase the amount of living space I have available.

It occurs to me that if I could find a way to scan all of my documents (bank statements, letters, etc) into my PC and store them on the server, I would be able to get rid of the various ring-binders that I have knocking about the place and generally cluttering them up.

In theory I should be able to search (by keywords or whatever) for that ellusive letter that I can never seem to lay my hands on when I want it - and therefore make ful use of the wonders of modern technology.

So, I imagine that there must be some sort of software available that will simplify this process somewhat.

Has anybody got any experience of using any software that will allow me to do what I want to do? Can anybody recommend any that they feel does the job particularly well? Are there any other features/problems/drawbacks that I might want to consider?

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot, FREE would be a good word in any reply

Cheers
__________________

Forgot to say that I already have a scanner, it's one of those Lexmark all-in-one jobs.

[gkhewitt]

The basic and cheap solution would be seem to me to be a two-part process

1. Get a decent OCR (optical character recognition) package. This will convert all your scanned documents into actual text that can be put into Microsoft Word, for example. I don't know how much a "decent" one would cost, or what the free ones are like - it's been a while since I've looked at that market but I know the quality is good these days. Your scanner is likely to have come with one.

2. Use Google Desktop Search. On your PC (assuming it's networked to the server) create a network drive to the server and get GDS to index that. You can then search and IIRC, GDS will index the contents of documents for just such purposes.

Et voila. I hope!

[Millay]

I would also get a scanner with a document feeder on it, as scanning a 20 page phone bill could become tiresome.

[MadGamer]

Also i would recommend a shredder for shredding bank statements etc, as this could lead to fraud of they are not shredded.

[ian@huth]

I just have a folder for each company/utility, scan the documents and save them in the format "2005 04 21 powergen electricity bill". That way if all the files start with the date in yyyymmdd format then they will all stay in the correct chronological order within the folder.

[Valerie]

When you've done all that, and before you shred anything - don't forget to back it up!

[ian@huth]

Don't forget that certain people, mainly Government departments, will only accept originals of certain documents.

Originally Posted by Raistlin

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot, FREE would be a good word in any reply

Seems you have had lots of good FREE advice so far

The Google desktop search tip is particularly good - but it does assume you OCR all these documents.

Downside there is that you lose the 'copy' of the document - can sometimes be useful to be able to show, rather than simply the content.

Maybe use wiki software to maintain the OCR'ed documents and then link the OCR data to the document copy.

Or http://contineo.sourceforge.net/ (not tried it)

More info on other systems here http://www.manageability.org/blog/st...epository/view

[Raistlin]

Cheers for all the help guys, I'll try some of those suggestions when I get home tonight.

Fill up a HD with bank statements and bills?

I thought the idea was to stuff it with music,pron and millions of old emails plus a few cherished family photos...

However mine's stuffed with Graphics software and pictures when I occasionally go through and delete,quite by accident ,my son's tentative pron cache...But no bank statements.