Typical Scenarios
- Typical
- Scanning Room
- Photographer
Putting it together
Once the folder and file naming headache was overcome where both scanned and electronic files were properly organised, it was then possible to use the Elitefile feature of managing Bundles of documents. This improved how client files were worked on, as for example when doing a 6 monthly review. Documents can now be easily be located and added to client Bundles, or task specific Bundles. These Bundles can then be managed, shared and distributed.
Other benefits
It is possible to use the Elitefile product to run off reports – “show and print me a list of all the files I have for a client” which is excellent when having to do an audit
Mandatory Requirement on Filing Structure is now created automatically by Elitefile.
For any subfolder section – e.g. Compliance – ONLY specific names were to be presented to the user for building up filenames and therefore mistakes were prevented.
Additionally, only a certain named subfolders were to be allowed under each Client Name.
Conclusion
In conclusion, by spending a few days with my IT provider, who was able to quickly set up the filing standards to be adopted, and configure these standards into elitefile and elitepage, the system now provides user assistance in helping them do their day to day work, improving the quality and service we can provide as a company, and at the same time help in putting together standard operating procedures.
The total cost of the elitesuite software and services has paid for itself in a short period of time.
Using elitefile and elitepage – Does it help me do my work more efficiently.
Typical case study scenario
Background
The Company had a legacy of documents, which were both paper, and electronic files. The paper filing was well structured and filed within filing cabinets, however with the growth of new clients there was an urgent need to reduce the reliance on this filing method, which was inefficient and took up valuable office space.
The electronically created word processed and spreadsheets were placed within a Windows filing structure, however this structure was becoming unwieldy and would be in the future costly to maintain.
Additionally, important documents were held in the email system and so information was having to be searched in multiple systems.
The way forward
A decision was made to improve the following procedures:
Paper
A multifunction scanning and printing device was purchased that would cope with fast scanning of client files, and this was used in conjunction with Elitepage software which made the creation of the documents very straight forward, requiring little knowledge and training on how this operation was to be done.
Due to the “Templating” rules associated with.the product, mistakes on where documents are stored, and their associated created file names was not a worry.
Electronic files
Elitefile software product was purchased so the files could be easily created, and viewed including Outlook messages and attachments, and then “Templated”, which moved “like magic” to a newly designed folder and file naming structure.
There was a significant saving in the time as previously using Windows, folders needed to be created manually.
Document checking and reviewing
A large organisation has many employees submitting reports and documents that ultimately need to picked up by a content management system such as MS Sharepoint.
Each document needs to be proof read before submission to the sharepoint system. Users would submit their documents to a designated folder. The employee responsible for proofing would use elitefile with a template to review newly submitted documents and then categorise them according to content and the filename supplied by the author.
The documents need not be text (MS Word) documents – it could just as well be engineering drawings, reports, even database files.
Most file types are supported by the viewer and can be easily managed by methods of elitefile Pinning and Bundling.
The files can then be renamed with elitefile. The use of templates takes the guesswork out of filing.
The output location can be a web folder (wbedav or FTP) for direct submission to a third party system such as a web site or document management system.
Using elitefile and elitepage – Does it help me do my work more efficiently.
Typical case study scenario – scanning room
A company scans all incoming mail (some businesses are required to retain at least some postal correspondence for legal compliance). The scanner can be driven directly from elitepage or the letters can be batch scanned on a MFU and picked up by elitefile. The scanner MFU is set to duplex since some correspondence is on both sides of the page and some is single sided. The first task after a scan is to group all the blank pages to the start of the page list in elitepage and delete them. This leaves the remaining pages in the scan order and then they can be saved out as documents. At this point it is easy to rotate pages as required and maybe delete and rescan any poor quality pages (the elitepage product gives a preview of the scanned page before you accept it so different settings may be tried to improve the scan quality). Once pages are loaded into elitepage it is a very quick process to separate the pages into individual documents. Using a template the scans can be quickly and easily organised using a consistent naming convention. A typical output might be as follows
..\2007\10\01\post\customer_payment_REF7890007.tiff
The output directory could be a 'Web Folder' (webdav under windows) – this would allow direct submission to a CRM or document management system. Thus allowing scanned correspondence to appear in the CRM as quickly as possible and with meaningful index information. Many systems can derive indexing information from folder location and/or filename (fields in elitefile templates can be configured to represent a folder name or part of a filename to match the importing capabilities of the target system.
Even without the use of a third party system this use of the template system provides an electronic filing cabinet on the computer's native file system. This allows at-a-glance viewing of correspondence plus the ability to use the search facilities.
Example find a missing customer payment made in 2007 and the reference is 'REF7890007'. The user would search for the partial filename 'REF7890007' and in the folder '..\2007\'. This uses the search facilities you already have as part of the Windows OS and does not require any fruther expenditure.
Bulk renaming facility
A simple method of bulk file renaming is provided.
In fact 3 operations are possible with a tick of a couple of boxes
Move All, Copy All, and Link All.
Elitefile is an improvement on other file naming programs because you get an opportunity to view the file before the rename action. It is like running a slideshow, and at the same time of viewing the files, choices can be made on whether the files are to be copies, linked – i.e. shortcuts, or even moved to a new location. The time period of viewing each file can be altered.
The applications for use are clear.
I can run down a list of project files which need to be distributed for my work colleagues, and decide which shortcut name I want, and where it is to be saved. No duplication of files is made, and the of integrity of folder permissions is maintained.
Additionally, I can flick down a portfolio of pictures and make descriptive links back to the source files. The links can be sorted and used in different ways – e.g. a field may be set to indicate specific editing work is required to be done. All these pictures can then be grouped into a Bundle and sent to another elitefile user. All that person needs to do is to click on the Bundle name, and presto the job is then inserted into his own elitefile.
Once the work is done – the bulk renamer can be then be run where the files – including the original filename and some other appended classification – e.g. published – are moved to a new location which could be a web site or our own internal department.
In this last example, a choice can be made to switch off the viewer so the move operation is speeded up.
Finally, the system places a green tick on each file processed, so at any time the process can be stopped, but you know where you are and what you have done.
Using elitefile and elitepage – Does it help me do my work more efficiently.
Typical case study scenario – photographer
Once the camera is plugged in to the PC the image files show up in a folder on an external drive {using the import facility the new images are imported into the work area for elitepage – the import routine can be used to filter the images to a certain day or period of time}
Images can be further sorted once imported (for example one photographic shoot may have been carried out in the morning and another in the afternoon).
A common task is to skim through all the loaded images and select each one that needs rotating or cropping. The selection can then be grouped together and the necessary/changes deletions etc can be carried out without having to save as a new document or do any renaming.
Once this operation is done the pages are then reloaded in date order (done by sorting the original files in date order).
A selection is then made of a group of photographs to be copied to an output folder which will act as the permanent filling location.
Example folder structure.
..\Paul\cannon_ss\2007\10\01\brighton-fashion-show-am_005.jpeg
A printout can be made of any important images and the whole filed archive can be used as a read only source so that the user can have access to all the photographs already taken.
At the point that a document is saved it can be reduced in size or colour depth automatically according to the settings used to save. It is possible to maintain a drafts folder with rougher images and maybe a folder with the originals by saving the document twice with different settings (the selection of images is kept between saving operations).
Example
..\Paul\cannon_ss\2007\10\01\original TIFF\brighton-fashion-show-am_005.tiff
and
..\Paul\cannon_ss\2007\10\01\640x480 drafts\brighton-fashion-show-am_005.jpeg
