Technical FAQs

Barcodes continue to be an essential tool for today’s organizations, whether they’re using them for managing supply chains or sorting documents within a complex digital workflow. Since the early 1990s, however, the potential use cases of barcodes have expanded tremendously. That’s largely due to the invention of the quick response barcode, better known as the QR Code. Developed by the Japanese manufacturer Denso Wave in 1994, this two-dimensional barcode revolutionized the way data was encoded and scanned. Today, QR Codes can be found practically everywhere, along with their smaller cousins, the Micro QR Code.

What Is a Micro QR Code?

Although the standard QR Code could hold a tremendous amount of information, that ability occasionally created challenges for specialized use cases where space was at a premium. Small components like circuit boards or machinery parts, for example, often couldn’t accommodate a QR Code. Even when they could, much of the QR Code’s storage capacity wasn’t being used to its full potential. For use cases where space was at a premium and only a small amount of data needed to be encoded, a more compact version of the QR Code was needed.

The Micro QR Code was designed to solve this specific challenge. Roughly half the size of the conventional QR Code, this smaller version still provided many of the benefits of its bigger cousin, including finder patterns to orient the image properly, multiple levels of error correction, and support for Japanese Kanji, Kana, and Hiragana characters.

The Anatomy of a Micro QR Code

A Micro QR Code consists of four elements that allow it to encode data and provide a barcode reader with instructions for how to read the contents.

Data Modules

Like any other QR Code, Micro QR Codes store binary data in square modules. While the human eye only registers the black modules, a computer scanner also registers white modules when reading the code. A black square represents a binary 1 while white squares are read as a binary 0. The amount of information that can be encoded into these modules changes depending upon the size of the barcode. Micro QR Codes can be written in four different sizes (more on that in a moment), allowing them to store up to 35 numeric digits, 21 alphanumeric characters, or 128 data bits.

Finder Pattern

The finder pattern is the square “bull’s eye” that appears in the upper-left hand corner of a Micro QR Code. This pattern ensures that the barcode is oriented and scanned correctly when read by an application. Since Micro QR Codes contain less complex data, they only require a single pattern finder while a conventional QR Code uses three. While many QR Codes also require an alignment pattern to correct for crookedness or distortion, Micro QR Codes are not large enough for these problems to create much of an issue during scanning.

Timing Pattern

A series of alternating black and white modules running vertically along the left side and horizontally along top of the barcode, the timing pattern is used to configure the rest of the data grid for the scanner. By reading the timing pattern, the scanner software can quickly determine the size of the barcode’s data matrix, as well as the symbol and version density.

Quiet Zone

A clear margin space surrounding the rest of the barcode elements, the quiet zone makes the boundaries easy for scanning software to detect and identify. While a conventional QR Code requires four or more modules of empty space, a Micro QR Code only needs a two module-wide space. This helps to keep the barcode compact regardless of how much data is encoded within it.

Micro QR Code Sizes and Error Correction

Depending upon the amount of data encoded, Micro QR Codes can be written in one of four sizes. The smallest version, M1, consists of 11×11 modules, while the largest, M4, is 17×17 modules. Each size above M1 can support different levels of error correction, although the more thorough the error correction, the less data can be encoded.

Error correction is based on the Reed-Solomon algorithm and allows scanning software to recover lost, poorly printed, or damaged barcode data. Versions M2 and M3 offer two levels of error correction:

• Level L (Low): Capable of recovering up to seven percent of encoded data.
• Level M (Medium): Capable of recovering up to 15 percent of encoded data.

As mentioned above, higher levels of error correction impact the amount of data that can be encoded into Micro QR Code modules. That’s because the redundancies necessary to support error correction algorithms take up available space. Increasing an M3 barcode’s error correction from level L to Level M, for instance, would reduce the number of numeric characters that could be supported from 23 to 18.

An M4 Micro QR Code contains enough modules to support a third level of error correction:

• Level Q (Quartile): Capable of recovering up to 25 percent of encoded data.

Although level Q provides excellent durability, it leaves much less space for encoding data. An M4 barcode with this level of error correction actually holds less data than an M3 barcode with level L error correction. When writing a Micro QR Code, it’s important to determine what level of error correction is actually necessary for the use case at hand rather than simply defaulting to the most robust option.

Differences Between Micro QR Codes and Conventional QR Codes

While Micro QR Codes use many of the same 2d barcode principles as traditional QR Codes, it’s not quite accurate to think of them as a condensed version. They have some notable differences that make them more or less suited to specific use cases.

Micro QR Codes

• Provide up to three levels of error correction.
• Needs only a single finder pattern for orientation.
• Can encode up to 128 bits.

Conventional QR Codes

• Provide up to four levels of error correction.
• Requires three finder patterns for orientation.
• Can encode up to 23,658 bits.

Enhance Your Barcode Capabilities with Barcode Xpress

Adding barcode recognition capabilities to an application can help to streamline document management workflows and allow organizations to route files more efficiently. Developers can easily integrate the ability to read and write barcodes into their platforms using a barcode SDK like Accusoft’s Barcode Xpress. With support for more than 30 unique barcode types, including Micro QR Barcodes, this versatile SDK provides the tools to support a wide range of use cases that call for fast, accurate barcode recognition.

For a hands-on evaluation of how Barcode Xpress will perform in your development environment, download a free trial today or start a conversation with one of our SDK specialists.

On August 3, 2021, Accusoft announced the release of the paid Professional version of Accusoft PDF Viewer. Initially released in March of 2021, the Standard version of Accusoft PDF Viewer is a free-to-use, lightweight JavaScript PDF library featuring a responsive UI for out-of-the-box mobile support. The new Professional version adds enhanced PDF tools and document functionality without introducing any complex server dependencies that could impact application security or performance.

“We’ve received tremendous feedback so far regarding the Standard version of Accusoft PDF Viewer,” says Jack Berlin, CEO of Accusoft. “With the release of the paid Professional version, customers now have a clear upgrade path that allows them to add new features without having to rethink their application architecture.”

Key Accusoft PDF Viewer Professional features include:

• Multiple Annotation Types
• Customizable UI
• White Labeling
• Electronic Signature

As an entirely client-side integration, Accusoft PDF Viewer can be incorporated into any web application with just a few lines of code. The paid Professional version features the same intuitive UI controls that provide an optimized viewing experience across all screen types, making it ideal for web apps that need to run on both desktop and mobile devices.

“We did a lot of research to determine which features are most important to developers,” says Mark Hansen, Product Manager at Accusoft. “The ability to markup and electronically sign documents without having to rely on external servers or backend processing is going to be a gamechanger for a lot of applications.”

To learn more about the latest Accusoft PDF Viewer features, please visit our website.

About Accusoft: 

Founded in 1991, Accusoft is a software development company specializing in content processing, conversion, and automation solutions. From out-of-the-box and configurable applications to APIs built for developers, Accusoft software enables users to solve their most complex workflow challenges and gain insights from content in any format, on any device. Backed by 40 patents, the company’s flagship products, including OnTask, PrizmDoc™ Viewer, and ImageGear, are designed to improve productivity, provide actionable data, and deliver results that matter. The Accusoft team is dedicated to continuous innovation through customer-centric product development, new version release, and a passion for understanding industry trends that drive consumer demand. Visit us at www.accusoft.com.

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Forms have long been used to provide organizations with important information about their customers. For a financial services or insurance company, that information might be used to determine eligibility for a loan or set a policy rate. Legal teams and healthcare providers, on the other hand, often use them to quickly gather information that could be relevant to a client’s case or a patient’s care. By building form workflow automation into their applications, developers can provide these organizations with the tools they need to improve efficiency and provide better service to their customers.

A Better Way to Capture Data with Form Workflow Automation

At its core, a forms workflow is designed to capture data from completed forms and route that information to the appropriate destination. That end point will vary based on the application. In some cases it could be used to autopopulate database entries. Other systems may feed it into machine learning algorithms to identify trends or provide predictive insights. Before any of that can happen, however, automated workflows with forms recognition capabilities need to be in place to identify various form types and extract information from them using various forms of optical recognition.

The primary benefits of workflow automation are speed and accuracy. By building a forms workflow within their applications, developers can help their customers process submitted forms much more efficiently than they could by hand. Even if manual data entry wasn’t so prone to human error, it would still be a waste of valuable resources to have skilled employees performing such a repetitive, routine task. Automating this sort of work is often the first step in maximizing performance in other areas of an organization because it frees up resources that can be directed toward higher-value tasks.

Say Goodbye To Paper (Mostly)

Organizations have talked about going “paperless” for decades, but they frequently find it much more difficult to do so in practice. That’s largely because physical forms continue to be used across many industries. Converting these paper forms into digital format as quickly as possible is critically important. Without some way of incorporating them into an automated workflow, inefficiencies and manual errors will continue to creep back into business processes. 

A forms workflow needs to be able to handle scanned forms images in addition to purely digital documents. Robust forms identification tools are essential for this process because they have the ability to match any submitted form to a library of predefined templates. Without identification capabilities, applications would need to be given specific information about every form. At best, submitted forms would need to be manually presorted before they could be scanned and uploaded for processing rather than being converted into digital format all at once and identified automatically.

Recognition and Extraction

Once forms are scanned, uploaded, and identified into an application, the data capture process can begin. While digital forms can easily send information contained in fields to the proper destination, a scanned form is just a static document image. Even if the form was filled out digitally and never existed as a paper document, the fields may not be responsive or the entire form may be nothing more than a flattened PDF image. In these cases, the only way to reliably capture data is to implement some type of optical recognition.

Optical Character Recognition

For machine printed text, forms workflows can deploy Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to identify and extract information from an identified form. High-quality OCR engines can read multiple languages, allowing them to capture data from almost any source and send it to the next phase of an automated workflow. When extracting text, OCR tools can be set to carry out full-page extraction, which pulls text from the entire form, or zonal extraction, which focuses the data capture effort on a smaller, predetermined area. The latter approach is much more common with forms processing because it allows the application to set parameters on each zone to enhance performance. If the OCR engine is instructed to look for only numbers in one field and specific regular expressions in another, it will be able to identify and extract text faster and more accurately.

Intelligent Character Recognition

Of course, many physical forms submitted for processing will not be filled out with standardized digital fonts, but rather by hand using a pen or pencil. For these handwritten forms, Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) will need to be deployed to read and extract field contents. Although identifying handwritten text is a much more challenging undertaking, the combination of a powerful ICR engine and good form design can greatly improve accuracy and processing times to keep information moving through automated workflows.

Optical Mark Recognition

Forms frequently use checkboxes or fillable bubbles to indicate important information. When scanned images are run through a forms workflow for processing, applications need to be able to quickly identify the presence of a mark and apply the conditional information associated with it. Today’s forms workflow tools utilize Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) to detect the presence or absence of marks automatically. They can also check the entire form to determine what information might be missing, such as essential fields or signatures.

Unlock Your Form Workflow Automation Potential with the FormSuite Collection

Building an automated workflow for forms processing requires a variety of software tools and specialized imaging expertise. It’s a challenging task that becomes even more difficult when developers are facing tight deadlines for other application features. With the right forms workflow SDKs, software teams can rapidly integrate the features needed to identify a variety of forms and capture vital data using full-page or zonal text recognition.

Accusoft’s Forms Collection bundles our powerful forms toolkits into a single, easily deployed package. Whether you’re using FormFix to identify and align forms, cleaning up scanned images for better recognition results with ScanFix Xpress, or deploying fast, accurate OCR and ICR with SmartZone, FormSuite provides all the SDK resources your team needs to unlock your application’s workflow automation potential. Learn more about what’s included with the FormSuite Collection by downloading our detailed fact sheet.

Few document formats are more common than XLSX spreadsheet files. Although many alternatives are available, most enterprises continue to rely on the broad (and familiar) functionality of Microsoft Excel when it comes to their spreadsheet needs. However, few organizations take the appropriate steps to ensure Excel spreadsheet security, which could leave their private data and formula assets exposed to substantial risk.

As a third party dependency, Excel represents an obvious security gap that could easily be exploited. Any time a file travels outside a secure application environment, there is a potential risk of data theft and version confusion. In any situation where files are travelling between separate applications, there is also an opportunity for malicious files to slip into unsuspecting workflows. By focusing on ways to shore up their Excel spreadsheet security, organizations can minimize risk and protect their sensitive data.

Excel Spreadsheet Security Risk #1: Malicious File Extensions

Most organizations are aware that opening a file attached to an email is one of the most common ways to introduce malware into a system. What they may not realize, however, is just how pervasive the problem is or how well those files are masked. It’s easy to identify a malicious email attachment when its name is a jumble of letters and it has an unfamiliar file extension. The real threat comes when it actually resembles something familiar and potentially legitimate.

Unfortunately, XLSX spreadsheet files are frequently used to distribute malware. According to a comprehensive cybersecurity study conducted by Cisco in 2018, Microsoft Office file extensions (such as DOCX and XLSX) were used by 38 percent of malicious email attachments, higher than any other format. These extensions are attractive to cybercriminals precisely because they’re so widely used. Someone working in a financial services organization, for instance, is usually quite accustomed to sending and receiving spreadsheets via email, so they are more likely to open an XLSX file out of curiosity.

Of course, this raises a separate question about basic cybersecurity. No organization today should be relying on poorly secured channels like email to share sensitive documents in the first place. By integrating native XLSX viewing and editing capabilities directly into their web applications, developers can provide the tools necessary to share spreadsheets without the risk of exposing collaborators to malicious file extensions. Embedding spreadsheet files into the application allows for easy access, but also keeps the file safely within a secure environment. Once users become accustomed to accessing spreadsheets this way, they’ll be less likely to fall prey to a malicious XLSX extension in their email. 

Excel Spreadsheet Security Risk #2: Insufficient Access Control

Spreadsheets can contain a great deal of information. Not only do they make it easy to reference data and carry out complex calculations in seconds, there’s a lot happening behind the scenes that may not be immediately obvious to the average user. Spreadsheet cells typically incorporate highly detailed (and often proprietary) formulas that help organizations to estimate costs, assess risk, and adjust revenue forecasts. For many industries, there’s simply no software that can compete with the extensive capabilities of spreadsheets.

But that versatility comes with a cost. Any user with a rudimentary knowledge of spreadsheets can easily reveal hidden information and examine the formulas behind the document’s calculations. And once they’ve downloaded their own copy of the spreadsheet, there’s nothing to prevent them from using it elsewhere, which can be a serious problem for any organization that depends upon its proprietary formulas to drive business success.

The root problem in this case comes down to who has control over the spreadsheet. When an XLSX file is shared, it can then be copied or even altered without the knowledge or permission of its original owner. The best way to maintain control over spreadsheets is to integrate native XLSX viewing capabilities directly into a web application. This allows developers to control which elements of the spreadsheet are being shared and prevents anyone from downloading a copy without permission. Since users can only interact with the spreadsheet on the terms set by the file’s owner, they can’t peek “under the hood” to obtain proprietary assets like cell formulas.

Secure Your Spreadsheets with PrizmDoc Cells

Accusoft’s PrizmDoc Cells is a powerful API integration that allows developers to provide dynamic spreadsheet viewing and editing capabilities within their web application environment. Far more versatile than traditional viewer integrations that offer only a static “print preview” image of a spreadsheet, PrizmDoc Cells makes it possible to scroll both vertically and horizontally and even enter information into cells to perform calculations. It’s the most secure way to provide access to spreadsheet resources without sacrificing control over editing permissions. And since the XLSX file never has to travel beyond a secure application environment, there’s no need to worry about malicious file extensions when sharing spreadsheets.

Developers can use PrizmDoc Cells’s whitelabeling features to customize its look and functionality within their application. From editing cell content and format to embedding graphics, they retain complete control over the way viewers interact with spreadsheet files to maximize security and protect vital proprietary information. To learn more about how PrizmDoc Cells can enhance Excel spreadsheet security within your application, visit our product page to explore this powerful integration’s features.

As the software industry continues to transition to web-based applications and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions, developers are prioritizing flexibility more than ever. Building a unique and compelling customer experience frequently requires versatile software toolkits that are easy to customize and adapt to changing requirements.  Customizing the PrizmDoc Viewer interface makes this simple.

Accusoft’s PrizmDoc Viewer is an HTML5 viewing integration that not only provides an extensive array of viewing, conversion, and annotation features, but was also designed with customization in mind. Creative developers have several options at their disposal when they deploy this innovative solution within their applications.

PrizmDoc Viewer Interface Basics

Once PrizmDoc Viewer is integrated into an application, developers can deploy the pre-built user interface to start viewing documents and image files. Out of the box, the viewer consists of a number of components:

• Tab Navigation: PrizmDoc Viewer can perform a variety of different functions, such as basic viewing, annotation, and redaction. The Tab Navigation indicates which function is currently active.
• Tab Pane: Each tabset selected in the Navigation features a specific set of tools. They can be configured to display either vertically or horizontally.
• Status Bar: This component indicates the current page being viewed. By selecting a different page number, a user can quickly jump to another document page.
• Dialog: Extended options and settings are displayed in this menu area.
• Context Menu: Used primarily for markups, this menu allows users to change annotation properties.
• Page List: The core element of the viewer control, this component is where the document or image itself is rendered for viewing.

Any of these tabs can be disabled easily by altering the configuration parameters. For example, to disable the navigation tab for redaction, the following code could be applied:

var pluginOptions = {
    uiElements: {
        redactTab: false
    }
};

Customizing the Viewer

While developers can simply deploy the viewer interface as-is, PrizmDoc Viewer provides extensive customization features that allow them to change almost every aspect of the viewing experience. The viewer’s functionality itself is built upon the Viewer API, so changing different elements of the viewing interface doesn’t alter the rendering performance or other core PrizmDoc Viewer functionality.

Here are just a few quick customization options that can be added to the viewer with minimal effort:

Custom Buttons

Adding a customized button that performs a specific task can greatly improve the viewer’s functionality for end users. Developers can quickly add custom buttons with a bit of JavaScript and uploading an SVG icon for display.

Keyboard Shortcuts

The PrizmDoc Viewer interface already supports a variety of keyboard shortcuts that allow users to easily scroll up and down the page, adjust the zoom level, and delete selected marks. Developers can alter the existing key bindings to enable new shortcuts or create their own.

Customize Style

In order to provide a consistent brand experience, many developers choose to alter the look and feel of the viewer to match the rest of their application. PrizmDoc Viewer provides extensive controls that allow them to alter image resources, colors, toolbar sizing, icons, and more.

Reorganize Menus

All of the menus and navigation elements can be adjusted based on application needs. Developers can add or remove different viewer templates that feature unique elements for specific use cases. Each template could use different styles and feature custom tabs or markup tools.

Create/Customize Mouse Tools

Unique mouse tools can be created along with a custom button within the UI, although PrizmDoc Viewer comes with a variety of predefined mouse tools that can be deployed and customized. Creating a new mouse tool is a quick two-step process that involves some JavaScript code that first defines the tool and then updates the UI to add a button for it (usually in the annotation tab pane).

Step 1

// Create the new mouse tool. var myTool = PCCViewer.MouseTools.createMouseTool(
                 "PinkLine",
                 PCCViewer.MouseTool.Type.LineAnnotation);

// Configure the tool to draw a pink (#FF69B4) line that is 10 pixel thick myTool.getTemplateMark()
    .setColor("#FF69B4")
    .setThickness(10);

Step 2

<!-- The following markup will create a button that enables use
     of the mouse tool named "PinkLine".

     The custom attributes that are used:
      \* data-pcc-mouse-tool="PinkLine" - specifies that the button selects the mouse tool named "MyLineTool"
      \* data-pcc-context-menu="false" - specifies that a context menu is not shown for this mouse tool
     -->
<button>
    data-pcc-mouse-tool="PinkLine"
    data-pcc-context-menu="false"
    class\="pcc-icon pcc-icon-annotate-line"
    title="Pink Line Tool"\></button>

Build a Customized UI

Developers may decide that the default PrizmDoc Viewer UI isn’t quite right for their application needs. In such cases, they can easily use the available components to build a customized viewing UI that is better suited to their application and end users. Creating a custom interface allows developers to strategically place menu and button elements to improve application workflows and conform to their own user experience priorities.

Embrace the Power of Flexibility

Turning to a third-party solution for an application’s viewing and imaging needs doesn’t mean a developer has to give up control over their application’s user experience. Accusoft’s PrizmDoc Viewer delivers powerful viewing, conversion, and annotation features in a fully customizable package that can be adapted to a wide range of application needs. Developers can use the available tools to craft a unique viewing experience from the ground up or utilize the built-in viewing interface to get their solution up and running quickly while putting off customization until later in their development cycle.

PrizmDoc Viewer’s versatile HTML5 rendering technology makes it an ideal integration for web-based applications that need the flexibility to adapt to changing user expectations. Thanks to those customization options, the application a developer brings to market can evolve over time to support a wide range of additional features throughout the product’s lifecycle. To experience the customizable power of PrizmDoc Viewer firsthand, download your free trial today.

Without accurate forms recognition, developers will have a hard time building effective forms processing applications. The primary advantage of forms processing workflows is the ability to automate the data capture process, but the benefits of automation quickly evaporate if the system continually misidentifies forms or can’t align document images cleanly for accurate data capture. Accusoft’s FormFix SDK ensures that forms processing applications get off to the best start possible by quickly matching and aligning form images to predefined templates.

When to Use FormFix

FormFix works with structured forms that feature a standardized layout with fields located in fixed positions. The SDK has a number of use cases as part of a broader forms processing and data capture workflow. Its primary function is to identify form images and route them to the proper destination. In some instances, this will mean handing the recognized form off to the SmartZone integration, which performs optical character recognition (OCR) and intelligent character recognition (ICR) to extract printed text from form fields. If data capture doesn’t need to be done immediately, the form can instead be routed to a storage location for later reference.

But FormFix can do more than simply identify forms. It also features powerful optical mark recognition (OMR) capabilities, which allows it to detect marks in fillable bubbles or checkboxes that are commonly used on a wide range of forms. Without OMR, a forms processing application will be forced to rely on manual data entry for any form that contains these marks, which typically indicate information like marital status, health history, ethnic background, or a variety of demographic data. Deploying OMR to process these forms automatically helps to minimize the risk of human error and speeds up processing times. In addition to being able to read single or multiple marks, FormFix can also use OMR to detect the presence of a signature on a document. 

Creating Master Form Templates for Identification

Before FormFix can start identifying form images, it first needs FormSets to work with. A FormSet consists of several FormDefinitions, each of which represent a document form page. Every FormDefinition object contains compressed image data of a form template and indicates the fields from which data can be extracted. The individual fields can also have specific instructions associated with them that should be performed at the time of processing. This could include despeckling or other forms of image enhancement or clean-up. 

FormSets are created by the FormDirector API, which allows developers to designate what information needs to be extracted and where on a form it should be extracted from. Setting up a FormSet template for a IRS 1040 form, for instance, would involve designating which fields on an unfilled form will be matched and aligned so the information contained in them can be captured accurately. Developers can also create their FormSets using the FormAssist application, which is a graphical interface for FormDirector that allows them to easily upload blank form images and specify how each field should be handled during processing.

How FormFix Identifies Form Images

After a form image is uploaded and cleaned up (usually using the ScanFix Xpress SDK), it can be identified and aligned for data capture. FormFix uses its forms recognition processor to examine the input image and compare it to the available FormSets on file. It does this by looking at the FormDefinitions within the FormSets and matching their embedded template images to the current input image. Once a potential match is identified, FormFix selects the appropriate template and provides a confidence value for all identification candidates.

The FormFix alignment algorithm then takes over, placing the input image on the form template and making a series of adjustments to ensure that the field areas line up as precisely as possible. It can also perform form image drop-out, which removes pre-printed graphical elements, found in the template, like form field boxes and instructional text and leaves only the filled-in information behind. This helps improve recognition accuracy, whether the application is using SmartZone OCR/ICR or deploying FormFix’s OMR capabilities.

Improving FormFix Forms Recognition

Although FormFix is capable of quickly matching form images with the master forms the application has on file, there are a few steps developers can take to streamline the forms recognition process and improve workflow performance. For example, FormFix can be set to only compare images at 90, 180, and 270 degrees, or to only exert certain amounts of effort during forms identification. 

When setting up templates, developers can define what image operations need to be completed for each image input. These parameters can be set at different hierarchies, so some operations may be applied to all forms while others are only applied to specific FormDefinitions or form fields. This eliminates unnecessary image processing operations that may slow down workflows while still ensuring that consistent adjustments are being made where they’re needed.

If possible, barcodes can be affixed to different form types to quickly indicate which template needs to be referenced for the form alignment process. This allows FormFix to bypass the identification process and proceed directly to aligning the form images for dropout and recognition. 

Accelerate Your Forms Processing Workflow with FormFix

Accusoft’s FormFix SDK helps your forms processing application to quickly identify form images, prepare documents for zonal and full page OCR/ICR, and extract information with OMR functionality. Fully customizable to meet the needs of your forms workflow, FormFix also includes a variety of image cleanup tools that can remove imperfections and noise to improve recognition accuracy.

To learn more about the capabilities of the FormFix SDK and see how it fits into a broader forms processing solution, download our FormFix Fact Sheet today or contact one of our integration experts for more information.

Legal organizations faced tremendous challenges in 2020 due to the impacts of COVID-19. Firms and departments rapidly transitioned to remote work environments and were forced to rely upon their established technology resources more than ever before. While the industry fared better than many others, the experience has caused organizations to rethink their longstanding business models and workflow processes. As firms consider what steps to take in 2021 and beyond, LegalTech developers must be closely attuned to the pressures informing those decisions so they can provide the software to support automation in law firms.

The research firm Gartner provided a glimpse into those pressures in a 2020 survey focused on legal spending trends. Their findings reveal an industry in transition as legal organizations increasingly work to expand their internal capabilities, improve legal document automation, and reduce reliance on outside spending. LegalTech developers are uniquely positioned to facilitate this inward turn with versatile legal workflow automation software.

Turning Weaknesses Into Strengths

The COVID-19 pandemic forced law firms and legal departments to take notice of organizational shortcomings that often escaped notice in previous years. According to Gartner research, the biggest area of concern was by far technology solutions. Some organizations found themselves saddled with legacy systems that lacked the robust feature set of modern LegalTech applications. Others, however, wisely made the investment in new software over the last decade, but those systems have not been fully adopted by legal personnel. This echoes the results from a 2020 Accusoft survey that found over 40 percent of firms are still relying on inefficient manual processes for document assembly, discovery, signature gathering, redaction, and contract management. 

For LegalTech developers, these twin shortcomings present a tremendous opportunity. Legal organizations will be in need of technology solutions that help them to automate low-value tasks and enhance collaboration capabilities while also looking to secure broader acceptance and buy-in from employees. That means delivering a streamlined, intuitive user experience will be every bit as important as integrating the latest legal workflow automation software.

Identifying Opportunities

The LegalTech market is a diverse and rapidly growing field that consists of multiple technology solutions. Gartner’s 2020 research into legal organizations offers a helpful snapshot of how far these firms and departments have to go when it comes to legal technology adoption and automation in law firms:

• E-Billing: 48 percent
• Contract LIfecycle Management: 44 percent
• Document Management: 40 percent
• eDiscovery: 33 percent
• Records Management: 28 percent

Although overall legal spend did not change substantially from 2019 to 2020, the pandemic has caused firms to shift resources away from outsourced services and toward their in-house capabilities. With nearly a third of organizations looking to accelerate their technology, there are significant opportunities for LegalTech developers to deliver efficient and cost-effective solutions. Contract automation tools, document management platforms, and eDiscovery applications will all be in high demand thanks to their ability to help firms enhance their productivity and scale services in a sustainable fashion.

Improving Implementation

Understanding the work culture and processes of a legal organization is critical to any successful technology implementation. Without that knowledge, developers can end up building a solution that doesn’t meet a customer’s needs or is too removed from existing workflows to be easily adopted. This problem was quite pronounced in the early days of LegalTech software, when many legal professionals still had doubts about the usefulness of technology.

Communication between developers and legal departments is quickly improving, however. From 2018 to 2020, the number of organizations with a legal operations manager in place increased by 75.8 percent. In 40 percent of firms, that role is filled by a non-lawyer who is better equipped to facilitate conversations between software developers and internal stakeholders.

LegalTech developers can use this channel to get a better idea of how they can implement solutions like legal document automation through an organization’s existing technology stack with minimal disruption. They can also begin to address specific internal pain points and match those needs to the right software integrations to round out their application’s functionality. Versatile SDK and API integrations will play a crucial role in meeting these needs because developers may have to build out customized feature sets to provide the ideal capabilities.

Doing More with Less

Developers with the ability to build out customizable, flexible software applications can also help legal customers to eliminate redundant or outdated solutions they already have in place. There’s no reason for a firm to rely on one program for assembling documents, another for viewing and redlining them, and yet another for redacting them to protect privacy. With the right software integrations, LegalTech developers can build core productivity features into their platforms quickly and easily. They can then offer a comprehensive solution that solves multiple customer needs and allows them to incorporate more of their workflows into a comprehensive, secure application environment.

This consolidation of LegalTech capabilities will continue to be important as all but the largest legal organizations transition toward a more customer service-oriented business model that emphasizes competitive, transparent pricing and “off-the-shelf” legal services. Legal collaboration will increasingly expand to include the firm’s clients, which makes the adoption of easily-accessible web applications more important than ever. An ideal LegalTech solution will allow legal teams to share information easily, quickly, and securely with people inside and outside their organization. Developers can build the applications that make this possible, ushering in a new era of transparency, collaboration, and efficiency that will help firms continue to grow.

Choosing the Right Integrations

Accusoft’s collection of SDK and API integrations have long helped LegalTech developers incorporate the powerful features their customers are looking for into their applications. By turning to contract assembly tools like PrizmDoc Editor or the legal document automation capabilities of Barcode Xpress, software teams can quickly implement core functionality while dedicating the bulk of their resources to building innovative new features that will set their product apart in a crowded market. 

The benefits of selecting the right integration partner are particularly evident when looking at eDiscovery applications. Developing a comprehensive LegalTech eDiscovery platform requires a wide-range of viewing, annotation, comparison, conversion, search, and redaction options. Building those features from scratch can extend development timelines by months, which could potentially cost a software developer their chance to break into a highly competitive market. With an API integration like PrizmDoc Viewer, however, they can rapidly integrate proven features into their application to help deliver better performance to customers while also getting to market faster and saving valuable resources that may be needed elsewhere during the development cycle. 

To learn more about how Accusoft’s family of SDK and API integrations can transform your LegalTech application and improve automation in law firms, have a look at our LegalTech Fact Sheet and match the right solution to your development needs.

OnTask API is a solution created for software developers looking to integrate eSignature functionality into new or existing applications. Often, creating an in-house solution to solve for these needs is a costly, time-consuming process involving a large lift from team members. This new offering aims to cut down on deployment time, while scaling with the needs of growing businesses. 

The automated eSignature solution from OnTask can easily be embedded into applications, and is a white label product that is fully-configurable to company needs and branding guidelines. 

“We believe OnTask API is going to be a gamechanger for start-ups and businesses with less development resources,” states Steve Wilson, President. “This solution is going to help a lot of businesses save resources, while still being able to accomplish their digital document goals.”

OnTask API allows users to embed legally-binding eSignature technology, as well as workflows complete with document routing, fillable digital forms, and document upload features into their applications. Additionally, users have the ability to bulk launch workflows to collect large numbers of eSignatures and participant data at a single time.

“Our developers have taken all of the features users love about OnTask, and given them the ability to integrate it directly into the applications they’re already using,” says Wilson. “Users can still build complex workflows with conditional logic, but now they can be launched directly from their site or application.”

OnTask has helped small to mid-sized businesses across a variety of industries stay in compliance, collect legally-binding signatures, and save time where it matters most. The OnTask team is looking forward to the feedback from this latest release.

About OnTask

OnTask is a workflow automation tool that makes it easy for small to mid-sized businesses to digitally send and fill forms, get signatures on documents and automate overall business processes, saving time and resources. For more information on OnTask, visit www.ontask.io