At its root level, the basics of ECM & Laserfiche has three components: Storage, Search and Retrieval.
In the first post in this series of documents on Electronic Content Management, we introduced ECM software, what it is and how organisations can benefit from implementing an ECM solution, with particular attention on Laserfiche. This post will focus on Laserfiche and how it works.
Storage:
All electronic and paper formats of documents can be stored on Laserfiche software thus eliminating the need for filing cabinets that take up expensive floor space.
Thousands of documents can be stored and automatically indexed to corresponding electronic folders for easy retrieval.
Laserfiche can be set up to read each document and assigns a metadata description which describes the content.
For documents such as .pdf’s and scanned documents, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is used to “read” the document. OCR can be implemented to “read” certain areas of a page, for example where an invoice number is, or it can read an entire document.
The document will then be filed in related folders for quick retrieval. For example: All invoices scanned into Laserfiche Could be added to an “Invoice” folder, because the OCR will have recognised the word Invoice and filed it appropriately.
For efficient case management, where information is shared through people and departments, Laserfiche allows the document to be stored in one place, yet accessible to all permitted departments/users. Documents can be stored and linked through a common association thereby preventing documents from going astray and allowing for easy retrieval.
Search:
Searching for documents stored on Laserfiche is simple.
“The Laserfiche search engine not only ranks results in order of relevance, but also enables users to quickly refine searches to pinpoint exactly what they need. And Laserfiche’s Intelligent Search functionality, full-text, template field and other precision searches reduce time lost on hard copy file retrieval.”
Laserfiche software repository can be accessed via the web and through individual users’ PC’s. The search function allows the user to search, and then narrow down the possible selection of documents. Bespoke search fields can be tailored to meet the needs of each individual department, then saved for future use.
– Search the contents of the entire repository (imaged and electronic documents) for a specific word or phrase.
– Search the text of documents, find what you need despite alternate spellings or typos using fuzzy search.
– See your search result hits in context to determine whether you’ve located the document you need.
– Search for documents or folders based on their properties, user-defined metadata or text.
– Perform basic and advanced searches through simple user interfaces or with user-provided syntax.
Retrieval:
Through the search you can choose the correct document virtually instantly and view/edit the document. Documents stored on Laserfiche can also be emailed…
Laserfiche is integrated with Microsoft Office software, and with a click of a button, a Microsoft document can be filed into the Laserfiche repository.
The Laserfiche interface is easily recognised by users of MS office as the layout is developed to look like a Microsoft product so training end users simple cutting training time to a minimum.
Posted in Control Costs, Document Management Solutions, Laserfiche
