Frequently Asked Questions

Why would I want to scan my documents?
This will give you instant access to your documents and others can also share those documents at the same time. This is an opportunity to remove all those old file cabinets and hallway boxes filled with your documents. Summarizing:
  1. Faster retrieval of documents,
  2. Reduction of filing space,
  3. Wider access to documents.

How does StreamDoc store the documents?
When you index a document, the document id and the document text are stored in the database. The original PDF document is stored as a PDF file in a folder on your hard drive. The design is optimized to facilitate fast document retrieval. StreamDoc uses Microsoft SQL Server 2005 for the database component.

Can I access my documents directly?
Usually this question is asked by users who fear losing their documents into a system from which they could never retrieve them if needed. If you have access to the folders on your hard drive there is nothing to stop you accessing the documents directly. Note, however, that they will be named using a numbering scheme which optimizes computer retrieval. It is strongly recommended that the document storage folder tree be off-limits to users. Use StreamDoc to find and retrieve documents. People can easliy cause problems by moving, renaming or even deleting valuable documents. For example, a user may move a file when he only wanted to copy the file!

What if more than one person wanted to access the documents at the same time?
StreamDoc is a web application. The website handles serving documents to the user's web browser. So, there is no problem in many users viewing the same documents at the same time.

How safe are my documents?
Users log on to StreamDoc using their assigned user name and a password which limits access. The physical documents are stored on a server computer and your network administrator can restrict access to these document files.

How many documents can I store in StreamDoc?
An frequently asked question. The limits are set by two main factors:  
1. Folder storage space and,  
2. Database size.
When you run out of storage space on your hard drive then you will have reached one limiting factor. When the database gets full you will have reached another. StreamDoc does not impose any limits. However, depending on the version of SQL Server 2005 you are using, you may need to upgrade at some point. For example, SQL Server 2005 Express allows a maximum 4GB of database usage.

Can I modify a document after I've scanned it in?
No. StreamDoc is designed to index and retrieve documents, not maintain or modify them. However there is nothing to stop you editing the stored pdf document and then re-indexing this document as a revised version of the original.

When I have a lot of documents will StreamDoc slow down?
This is a good question. Since many document storage systems store their documents in folders, where index information is part of the folder name, the system definitely starts to slow down when you get a lot of folders. With StreamDoc, since the document content and location information are held within the database, searching is much faster. The file names are displayed to you as a list and the time required to open the file depends on the size of the document. For example, a 100-page document will take longer to open than a 5-page one.

Are there hardware or software requirements?
These are the same as those needed for Microsoft .NET framework 2.0 and SQL Server 2005. StreamDoc does not add any additional requirements.

Can I change the default location of my document storage?
Yes, this is a path setting which is editable in the web.config file.

Does StreamDoc support audit trails?
An audit trail is attached to each document. Each time a user views a document the user name, date and time is logged. So, you are able to see the history of all users who have viewed a given document. You can also select a particular user to determine all those documents viewed by that user. This information is stored in the database and can be exported as required.