TAMPA, FLA. (Nov. 2, 2021) – OnTask, a workflow automation and eSignature tool, has launched a new Health Tracking platform providing unmatched flexibility for companies to track employees’ vaccination records, exemption requests, COVID test results, health screenings, and wellness status.

The affordable and secure cloud-based system can be used with any device and from any location, making it simple for both employees and the human resources department to use.

Employees can access OnTask Health Tracking to submit important information, like proof of vaccination documents and COVID test results, and use an eSignature to certify authenticity of the information. It’s as easy as clicking a link or scanning a QR code from any device – employees don’t need to create an account, set a password, or install an app.

Once an employee submits information, OnTask Health Tracking routes the information to the appropriate people or departments, depending on the automation rules for notification and approval that the company sets. Each company has the ability to set the specific configurations that work best for the company’s workflow.

“We developed the OnTask Health Tracking platform to be simple for the user and a powerful tool for the company,” said Steve Wilson, president of OnTask. “It saves the HR department time by making health tracking simple and efficient.”

The platform’s pre-built workflow templates are quickly configured to fit within any company’s operations, allowing a company to start using OnTask Health Tracking within hours. Once configured, it’s simple for users to make adjustments to the workflow as mandates or business needs change, or OnTask’s support team can quickly make changes for an employer.

OnTask Health Tracking is a secure, timely, and efficient way for employers to comply with existing federal mandates and recently released Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidance around COVID-19. Its flexible platform allows employers to quickly adjust to changing legal requirements over time, including automatically timing and tracking when proof of vaccine boosters may be required.

In addition, repetitive document-centric HR tasks like onboarding new employees, managing PTO requests, and submitting expenses can move into the OnTask platform, making it useful long after the pandemic.

The platform is already gaining attention for its innovation. OnTask Health Tracking was recognized as a Top Vaccine Management Software Vendor by Select Software Reviews and featured in SaaSHub’s weekly trending products. It’s also a finalist for Tampa Bay Tech’s 2021 Tech Project of the Year.

View demo videos and additional information about the benefits of using OnTask Health Tracking at https://www.ontask.io/solutions/health-tracking/.

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. OnTask is a flagship product of Tampa-based software company Accusoft, which holds more than 40 patents for its software technologies that are designed to solve complex workflow challenges, improve productivity, provide actionable data, and deliver results that matter. For more information on OnTask, visit www.ontask.io.

The financial industry has made significant investments in document lifecycle management solutions to enhance their productivity, accuracy, and flexibility. There is broad recognition that paper-based processes are a huge source of waste and inefficiency, but simply transitioning away from paper often isn’t enough on its own to achieve true digital transformation. That’s because performing a digital-based process manually still presents many of the same problems. In order to leverage the true benefits of digital document management, FinTechs need to implement data capture and document generation capabilities as part of a broader process automation solution.

A Quick History of Data Capture & Document Generation

To understand how FinTechs can use data capture and document generation technology to enable their digital transformation, it’s helpful to take a moment to understand the history of these tools and how they’ve developed since their origins.

Data Capture

The financial industry was an early innovator in data capture technology with the development of the specialized OCR-A font in the 1960s. This simple monospace font is still used today for the account and routing numbers on an ordinary bank check. Early data capture technology relied on pattern recognition, so an exact pixel match was needed to read the characters electronically and match them to a corresponding character in a font library. While this worked well enough for scanning printed bank checks into a computer system to track transactions, reading anything else on the check with an automated system required further developments in data capture tools.

Modern character recognition technology utilizes a more sophisticated feature detection approach that uses the component elements of each character to distinguish them from one another. An “A,” for example, usually consists of the same basic elements (two angular lines that come to a point with a horizontal line crossing them) regardless of the font used. Breaking characters down into their component elements has even made it possible for software to read handwritten characters as well as machine-printed text.

Document Generation

Document generation technology emerged in the 1970s in the form of document assembly, which was originally used by lawyers to streamline contract creation. Contracts are highly structured and rules-oriented, which made it easy to build a decision-tree logic that could be understood by the software tools of that era. Early document assembly programs used a collection of document templates that incorporated conditional fields the software could replace automatically each time it generated a contract.

Modern document assembly is typically used as part of a more robust document automation solution. Software extracts information from a database and inserts it into a template to generate unique documents quickly, easily, and accurately. These programs are much more sophisticated and flexible than early document assembly tools, allowing organizations to programmatically generate a wide range of documents without ever having to look at the contents prior to the final review process.

Data Capture & Document Assembly in FinTech Today

Despite being an early innovator in OCR technology, the financial industry has been slow to implement more robust data capture capabilities throughout their operations. According to a recent study, 63% of banks are still collecting information from documents manually, a process that’s not only time consuming, but also incredibly prone to error. They’ve been slightly faster to adopt document generation, with 49% of banks still relying on manual processes to create documents. 

Ironically, FinTech organizations are even more dependent upon manual practices than traditional banks. When it comes to data capture, 75% of FinTechs are reviewing documents and entering their data manually rather than using an automated solution. The story is largely the same for document generation, as 79% of them are still creating documents manually.

Understandably, most of these organizations are planning to implement some form of automated data capture and document generation solution within the next two to three years. That’s because they recognize that it will be difficult to achieve true digital transformation without them.

Why Data Capture and Document Generation Are So Important for FinTech

FinTech companies have developed a wide range of innovative financial tools that allow consumers to take better control of their finances and help organizations manage their resources more efficiently. In order to deliver those streamlined solutions, however, FinTechs need to have the capabilities in place to make their own processes more efficient.

Data capture and document generation work together to help these organizations maximize the value and potential of their document management systems. Financial information can be submitted in many different formats, ranging from digital forms and fillable PDFs to images, flattened PDFs, and scanned documents. Extracting information from each of these formats requires a sophisticated understanding of data capture that few software developers possess. 

Once that data is extracted, it can be routed anywhere it’s needed by workflow automation tools. That could be a new document that’s being generated, but more often it will be sent to a database. When the time comes to generate a new document, previously captured information can be inserted wherever it’s needed programmatically. Multiple documents (or just sections of them) can also be merged or split apart to create entirely new ones filled with information drawn from several sources.

All of this can be done in a matter of seconds with the right software integrations, which saves a tremendous amount of time for FinTech teams who have many other priorities to focus on. By incorporating robust data capture and document generation capabilities into their platforms, they can provide faster, better functionality to their customers. Rather than uploading a document and waiting for it to be processed, information can be extracted and routed wherever it’s needed instantly to facilitate faster reviews and resolutions.

Another key benefit of data capture and document generation is accuracy. Between manually reviewing information, entering it by hand into a system, and then retrieving it to create new documents, there are plenty of opportunities for mistakes to be made. In a financial context, those errors often have the potential to be systemic, creating additional errors that are time consuming and expensive to remediate. Automated extraction and assembly remove the risk of human error, which enables FinTechs to accelerate and scale their processes more effectively.

Integrating Data Capture and Document Generation with Accusoft

For over 30 years, Accusoft has been a pioneer in building software integrations that expand application functionality. We provide a variety of data capture and document generation solutions that meet the needs of today’s FinTech platforms. Whether you’re incorporating functionality directly into your application with an SDK or deploying a cloud-based solution that connects to one of our APIs, we have the flexibility to help you integrate the features you need to complete your digital transformation.

To learn more about how Accusoft can enhance your FinTech application with data capture and document generation, talk to one of our solutions experts today.

Having the right file conversion tools in place can make or break an application. Developers frequently face the challenge of managing multiple file types within a consolidated workflow. Without effective conversion tools, users are forced to rely on external applications that compromise both efficiency and security.

Out of all the file formats developers must account for, PDFs remain among the most important. The ability to convert a wide variety of document and image file types into PDF format can provide an application with unmatched versatility. In fact, PDF conversion support is one of the keys to unlocking better workflow performance, security, and collaboration.

5 Reasons to Convert Files to PDF

1. PDF Format is Consistent

Sharing documents and images across different devices and operating systems can sometimes create problems if the recipient lacks the up-to-date software necessary to view the file properly. This is a particular challenge with documents created using Microsoft Word since the formatting could look quite different across different versions of the program. Since PDF files are designed to look the same no matter how they’re being viewed, the format is ideal for sharing. Both documents and images can display equally well as PDFs, so converting files into this format is a quick and easy way to make them accessible for viewing.

2. PDF Files Are Easily Compressed

Sharing large image files can be a challenge for many organizations. High-resolution JPEG or TIFF files are often too large to share over email or web-based applications. Converting them to compressed PDFs is a quick way to reduce file size for easier sharing while still retaining a copy of the original file. Since the compressed version is in PDF format, there is less chance of version confusion when someone needs to access the original source image.

3. PDFs Are Widely Supported

Although PDFs once required specialized viewing software, thanks to JavaScript-based libraries like PDF.js, they can now be viewed by a conventional web browser. For all intents and purposes, this has made PDF a universal file format that can be viewed on any device. Converting a file into PDF ensures that it will be accessible to anyone who is granted access to it, regardless of the device or operating system they’re using.

4. PDFs Offer Security Protections

For many organizations, protecting privacy and confidential information is incredibly important. Converting document and image files into PDF format allows them to take advantage of the standard’s security features. Passwords can be set to authorize viewing and editing access to a file, which not only helps to ensure privacy but also limits who can make changes to a file so version control is easier to maintain. Files can also be converted into PDF/A format for secure archival purposes.

5. PDFs Support Annotation Markups

Most PDF viewing solutions support some form of annotation markups, which allows multiple contributors to make notes and comments on a file. Converting documents or images into a PDF facilitates this collaboration while safely preserving the original version of the file for future reference. Since PDF viewers provide a variety of annotation tools, they offer a great deal of flexibility when it comes to marking up images and documents without having to depend upon specialized software. Image and document files with additional annotation layers can also be converted into flattened PDFs for easier viewing.

Converting Files to PDF Using ImageGear

Accusoft’s ImageGear provides an extensive array of file conversion tools that allow developers to easily save multiple document and image file types into PDF format. With these conversion capabilities built into the back end of their applications, developers can help customers streamline their file management.

Converting Microsoft Documents to PDF

ImageGear supports the conversion of multiple Microsoft Office documents, including Word (DOCX/DOC), Excel (XLSX/XLS), and PowerPoint (PPTX/PPT). The conversion engine supports all text elements, raster images, and graphic shapes for Microsoft Office Open XML and Microsoft Office 97-2003 formats. It can convert the entire document into a PDF as well as any designated page or page ranges. The following examples show how this can be done using C#.

Converting Microsoft Word to PDF

To convert a Microsoft Word document in its entirety, the first step involves loading the ImageGear filters to create the input and output instances: 

ImGearFileFormats.Filters.Add(ImGearOffice.CreateWordFormat());
ImGearFileFormats.Filters.Add(ImGearPDF.CreatePDFFormat());

For the next step, the PDF library needs to be initialized:

ImGearPDF.Initialize();

The ImGearFileFormats.LoadDocument method is then used to read all pages of the file:

ImGearDocument igDocument;
using (FileStream fileStream = new FileStream(inputFileName, FileMode.Open,
       FileAccess.Read, FileShare.Read))
{
   igDocument = ImGearFileFormats.LoadDocument(fileStream);
}
Finally, the ImGearFileFormats.SaveDocument method is used to save the output PDF: 
using (FileStream fileStream = new FileStream(outputFileName, FileMode.Create,
       FileAccess.ReadWrite))
{
   ImGearFileFormats.SaveDocument(igDocument, fileStream, 0,
       ImGearSavingModes.OVERWRITE, ImGearSavingFormats.PDF, null);
}

Converting Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint to PDF

The process for converting Excel and PowerPoint files follows the same basic format as converting Word files. First, initialize the input, then modify the sample code from above for the appropriate formats.

To initialize Excel:

ImGearFileFormats.Filters.Add(ImGearOffice.CreateExcelFormat());

To modify sample’s open file dialog for XLSX/XLS extensions:

ofd.Filter = @"DOCX files (*.docx)|*.docx|XLSX files 
(*.xlsx)|*.xlsx|XLS files (*.xls)|*.xls";

To initialize PowerPoint:

ImGearFileFormats.Filters.Add(ImGearOffice.CreatePowerPointFormat());

To modify sample’s open file dialog for PPTX/PPT extensions:

ofd.Filter = @"DOCX files (*.docx)|*.docx|PPTX files 
(*.pptx)|*.pptx|PPT files (*.ppt)|*.ppt";

Converting an Image File to PDF

ImageGear PDF supports the conversion of multiple image types into PDF format just as easily as it converts documents, but the process looks a bit different in code. After initializing PDF support for ImageGear.NET, the following C# example can be used to load an image file and then save it as a PDF page. The conversion process can be used for any file format that ImageGear supports.

using System;
using System.IO;

using ImageGear.Core;
using ImageGear.Formats;
using ImageGear.Formats.PDF;
using ImageGear.Evaluation;

public void SaveImageAsPDF(string inputFilePathName, string outputFilePathName)
       {
           try
           {
               const int FIRST_PAGE = 0;

               // Initialize evaluation license.
               ImGearEvaluationManager.Initialize();
               ImGearEvaluationManager.Mode = ImGearEvaluationMode.Watermark;

               // Initialize common formats.
               ImageGear.Formats.ImGearCommonFormats.Initialize();

               // Add support for PDF and PS files.
               ImGearFileFormats.Filters.Insert(0, ImGearPDF.CreatePDFFormat());
               ImGearPDF.Initialize();

               // Load required page from a file.
               ImGearPage page = null;
               using (Stream stream = new FileStream(inputFilePathName, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
                   page = ImGearFileFormats.LoadPage(stream, FIRST_PAGE);

               // Save page as PDF document to a file.
               using (Stream stream = new FileStream(outputFilePathName, FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write))
                   ImGearFileFormats.SavePage(page, stream, FIRST_PAGE, ImGearSavingModes.OVERWRITE, ImGearSavingFormats.PDF);
           }
           catch (Exception exp)
           {
               // Write error to Console window.
               Console.WriteLine(exp.Message);
           }
           finally
           {
               // Call PDF engine terminating in any case.
               ImGearPDF.Terminate();
           }
       }

Add Conversion Flexibility to Your Application with ImageGear

Accusoft’s ImageGear provides applications with comprehensive conversion, annotation, and viewing support for PDF files. As part of the broader ImageGear collection, it also delivers powerful image processing capabilities and support for multiple document and image file types. These features can help turn any application into a robust document management platform capable of streaming workflows and empowering collaboration.

If you’re ready to see how the SDK will function as part of your development environment, start your free trial and get straight to the code.

The industry-wide push to digitize documents and minimize the use of physical paperwork has made PDF one of the most ubiquitous file formats in use today. Business and government organizations use PDFs for a variety of document needs because they can be viewed by so many different applications. When it comes to archiving information, however, PDFs have a few limitations that make them unsuitable for long-term storage. That’s why many organizations require such files to be converted into the more specialized PDF/A format.  Learn how easy it is to convert PDF to PDF/A with ImageGear.

What Is PDF/A?

Originally developed for archival purposes, the PDF/A format is utilized for long-term preservation that ensures future readability. It has become the standard format for the archiving of digital documents and files under the ISO 19005-1:2005 specification. Government organizations are increasingly utilizing PDF/A to digitize existing archival material as well as new documents.

The distinctive feature of PDF/A format is its universality. Although PDFs are well entrenched as the de facto standard for digital documents, there are many different ways of assembling a PDF. This results in different viewing experiences and sometimes makes it impossible for certain PDF readers to even open or render a file. Because PDF/A documents need to be accessible in the indeterminate future, there are strict requirements in place to ensure that they will always be readable.

PDF vs PDF/A

While PDF and PDF/A are based upon the same underlying framework, the key difference has to do with the information used to render the document. A standard PDF has many different elements that make up its intended visual appearance. This includes text, images, and other embedded elements. Depending upon the application and method used to create the file, the information needed to render those elements may be more or less accessible for a viewing application.

When a PDF viewer cannot access the necessary data to render elements correctly, the document may not display correctly. Common problems include switched fonts (because the original font information isn’t available), missing images, and misplaced layers.

A PDF/A file is designed to avoid this problem by including everything necessary to display the document accurately. Fonts and images are embedded into the file so that they will be available to any viewer on any device. In effect, a PDF/A doesn’t rely on any external dependencies and leaves nothing to chance when it comes to rendering. The document will look exactly the same no matter what computer or viewing application is used to open it. This level of accuracy and authenticity are important when it comes to archival storage, which is why more organizations are turning to PDF/A when it comes to long-term file preservation.

How to Convert PDF to PDF/A

ImageGear supports a broad range of PDF functionality, which includes converting PDF format to a compliant PDF/A format. It can also evaluate the contents of a PDF file to verify whether or not it was created in compliance with the established standards for PDF/A format. This is an important feature because it will impact what method is used to ultimately convert a PDF file into a PDF/A file.

Verifying PDF/A Compliance

By analyzing the PDF preflight profile, ImageGear can detect elements of the file to produce a verifier report. The report is generated using the ImGearPDFPreflight.VerifyCompliance method. 

It’s important to remember that this feature does NOT change the PDF document itself. The report also will not verify annotations that have not been applied to the final document itself. Once the report is generated, a status code will be provided for each incompliant element flagged during the analysis. 

These codes can have two values:

• Fixable: Indicates an incompliance that can be fixed automatically during the PDF/A conversion process.
• Unfixable: Indicates a more substantial incompliance that will need to be addressed manually before the document is converted into PDF/A.

Converting PDF to PDF/A

After running the verification, it’s time to actually convert the PDF to PDF/A. The ImGearPDFPreflight.Convert method will automatically perform the conversion provided there are no unfixable incompliances. This process will change the PDF document into a PDF/A file and automatically address any incompliances flagged as “Fixable” during the verification process.

While it is not necessary to verify a PDF before attempting conversion, doing so is highly recommended. Otherwise, the document will fail to convert and return an INCOMPLIANT_DOCUMENT code. The output report’s Records property will provide a detailed report of incompliant elements. Since any “Fixable” incompliances would have been addressed during conversion, the document’s remaining issues will need to be handled manually.

This method is best used when manual changes need to be made to the PDF file prior to conversion. One of the most common changes, for example, is making the PDF searchable. Once the alterations are complete, the new file can be saved using the ImGearPDFDocument.Save method.

Other ImageGear PDF to PDF/A Conversion Methods

Raster to PDF/A

ImageGear can save any PDF file produced directly by a raster file as a PDF/A during the initial conversion. A series of automatic fixes are performed during this process to ensure compliance.

• Uncalibrated color spaces are replaced with either a RGB or CMYK color profile. This could change the file size.
• Any LZW and JPEG2000 streams are recompressed since PDF/A standards prohibit LZW and JPEG 2000 compression.
• All document header and metadata values are automatically filled in to comply with PDF/A requirements.

Quick PDF to PDF/A Conversion

For quick conversions in workflows that don’t require displaying or working with a file in any way, the ImGearFileFormats.SaveDocument method is another useful option. This process loads the original file, converts it, and saves the new version all at once. It’s important to set the PreflightOptions property to be set in the save options. Otherwise, the new document will not save as a PDF/A compliant file.

Take Control of PDF/A Conversion with ImageGear

Accusoft’s versatile ImageGear SDK provides enterprise-grade document and image processing functions for .NET applications. With support for multiple file formats, ImageGear allows developers to easily convert, compress, and optimize documents for easier viewing and storage.

ImageGear takes your application’s PDF capabilities to a whole new level, delivering annotation, compliant PDF to PDF/A conversion, and other manipulation tools to meet your workflow needs. Learn more about how ImageGear can save you time and resources on development by accessing our detailed developer resources.

Document viewing capabilities are no longer a specialized feature that require dedicated applications. Thanks to powerful software integrations, developers can now build PDF viewing into their solutions to create a better user experience and streamline workflows. The growing popularity of mobile devices, however, has posed a few challenges to development teams accustomed to building an exclusively desktop experience, especially when it comes to JavaScript PDF viewers. That’s why one of Accusoft’s key development goals has focused on making a JS PDF viewer responsive to mobile screens.

The Increasingly Mobile Internet

Since 2017, mobile devices have accounted for about half of global internet traffic. This trend has been fuelled primarily by a combination of improved cellular network coverage and the ever-increasing processing capabilities of the average mobile device. It’s hardly a surprise, considering that the latest smartphones are often the most powerful computing device people own. Even for consumers who own desktop or laptops as well, mobile devices make it easy to access internet services on the go, allowing them to manage finances, collaborate on work tasks, or utilize eLearning resources (or watch cat videos).

Today’s customers expect organizations to provide applications that deliver a consistent experience across all devices, regardless of screen size. The era of designing software exclusively for desktop computers and treating mobile support as an afterthought is long gone. If an application’s mobile experience doesn’t at least match that of the competition, customers will quickly make a change.

Viewing Challenges on Mobile Devices

Mobile devices can present a few challenges for application developers, especially when it comes to viewing documents like PDFs. While there are many PDF reader apps available for mobile platforms, they typically require users to download a file to local storage or to a cloud service in order to open a document. In addition to being inconvenient, this often leads to some presentation problems because the reader may not render the PDF exactly as the creator intended, especially if it’s not linearized.

Developers could, of course, rely upon the mobile browser to display documents, but this also introduces problems. As with external reader apps, the browser viewer may not render the document as intended, which creates an uneven user experience across multiple platforms. More importantly, the browser’s interface may lack key controls that enhance the viewing experience on mobile devices, especially if the viewer is little more than a basic PDF.js library.

PDF.js and Mobile PDF Viewing

The open-source PDF.js library was originally designed for Mozilla’s Firefox browser, but it has become the basis for a broad range of PDF viewers due to its flexibility. That’s partly why the Accusoft PDF Viewer uses PDF.js as its foundation. However, one area where that versatility is sorely lacking is with regards to mobile support.

More specifically, PDF.js doesn’t supply a UI that is responsive for different screen types. It was designed to render PDFs to a conventional computer display and provides the expected tools needed to navigate a document using a keyboard and mouse interface. Even if developers were to incorporate the PDF.js library into their application, they would still need to build a new user interface for mobile devices. Otherwise, key mobile viewing features like touch scrolling and pinch to zoom would be handled not by the viewer, but by the device’s touchscreen interface. 

While this might sound like a small distinction, it can actually create serious problems when it comes to rendering the document at different zoom levels. Essential features like text search may also be rendered useless by the poor interface, and the lack of thumbnail previews could make navigating the document tedious.

Making a JS PDF Viewer Responsive

Today’s developers need viewing integrations that offer out-of-the-box mobile support to deliver a consistent viewing experience. That’s why we built upon the foundation of PDF.js to create a responsive viewer interface that instantly adapts to any screen size. Easily integrated into any web-based application, the Accusoft PDF Viewer immediately determines what type of device is being used when a document is opened. If it’s a mobile device, the viewer replaces the controls used for desktop viewing with dedicated mobile controls designed for a touchscreen. 

Key touch features like pinch-to-zoom allow users to interact with PDFs on mobile and tablet devices just as easily as they could with a mouse and computer screen. That usability is the key component of making a JS PDF viewer responsive. Mobile screens should never be treated like conventional screens. By integrating a mobile-ready viewer into their web application, developers can ensure viewing consistency across platforms while also allowing people to access documents where they want and when they want them.

Integrate Responsive PDF Viewing in a Snap

Building an application that includes a JS PDF viewer responsive to mobile screens is easier than ever thanks to Accusoft PDF Viewer. As a flexible JavaScript PDF library, it integrates quickly into any web-based application with just a few lines of code and no complicated server configurations. Our industry-leading expertise with imaging technology has allowed us to make substantial improvements to the way PDF.js renders PDF documents and ensure high levels of resolution regardless of zoom level or screen DPI.

To find out what Accusoft PDF Viewer can do for your application, download the Standard Version today at no cost and test its powerful viewing features in your development environment. With only a few lines of code, it’s the fastest way to add responsive PDF viewing to your web-based software solutions.

For expanded features like annotation markup tools, eSignature capabilities, UI customization, and white labeling, consider upgrading to Accusoft PDF Viewer Professional Version. Download our fact sheet for a detailed breakdown in available features.

Document management solutions are well-equipped to handle common file types like DOCX and PDF format. When developers are building software to manage workflows and make files accessible through web-based applications, they can typically turn to HTML5 viewers and document processing integrations to provide the document features their customers require. 

When it comes to Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, however, there are some additional considerations that often create difficulties. One aspect of XLSX workbooks that deserves special attention is how applications manage, secure, and control spreadsheet formulas.

Securing Proprietary Formulas

Many financial services and insurance organizations depend upon proprietary information like specialized, unique formulas to provide their customers with beneficial insights. Insurance underwriters, for example, may have a special calculation they use when setting their rates, while an investment firm likely has a risk formula that helps them to identify best opportunities for clients.

Such formulas are often the product of many years of work and experience in the industry and are inexorably linked to a firm’s service offerings. If customers or competitors were able to access those formulas directly, they may be able to adapt them for use elsewhere without the original firm’s permission.

Spreadsheets pose a unique challenge in this regard because the typical workbook contains many formulas, some of which may contain proprietary information. This may not be much of a problem for internal use within an organization, but it could become a problem the moment those spreadsheets are shared with someone outside the organization or with someone who lacks the proper authorization. While cells in an Excel spreadsheet can be hidden or password protected, these protections can potentially be breached by someone familiar with Microsoft security features once they’ve downloaded the file.

Maintaining Spreadsheet Control

Anyone who has accidentally deleted or changed some portion of a spreadsheet formula in a single cell and wrecked calculations throughout a workbook knows how important it is to keep those formulas locked from unnecessary editing. If the workbook is being shared with multiple users, the odds are good that someone will make a mistake somewhere, potentially altering important calculations and providing a misleading portrayal of the available data.

The challenges are even greater when spreadsheets are shared online. A public facing Excel spreadsheet used to make financial calculations, for instance, could be rendered useless if someone were to alter (knowingly or unknowingly) the formula information in a cell. And if the workbook is downloadable, undetected formula changes could be passed on with the file, making it difficult to know which copies of the workbook are accurate and which ones contain errors. 

Protecting Spreadsheet Formulas with PrizmDoc Cells

Developers have long faced two choices when it comes to managing spreadsheets within their applications. One option is to manage the XLSX files themselves while depending upon Microsoft Excel to actually open and view the spreadsheet. While this approach maintains the full functionality of Excel, it creates serious control issues as the user is required to download the file from the secure application environment. If they make changes, they can then upload the file again, creating a potential for version confusion.

The other option is to keep the spreadsheet in application storage, but render it as a print preview in an HTML5 viewer. While this approach certainly protects spreadsheet formulas, it’s also little more than a static view of a spreadsheet, which is only useful if an existing spreadsheet needs to be reviewed and not interacted with in any way.

Accusoft’s PrizmDoc Cells is an API-based integration that allows developers to securely embed XLSX files within their web-based applications while retaining the ability to edit and interact with them. A financial planning workbook, for instance, could be embedded within the browser to provide much of the basic functionality users are familiar with from Excel. This makes it ideal for applications that require a balance of usability and security, such as a digital vault that keeps vital financial data within a secure environment.

When uploading an XLSX file for display using PrizmDoc Cells, there are a few options that make it easy to protect valuable spreadsheet formulas.

Formula View/Edit Settings

There are two formula options that developers can easily adjust based on the needs of the application or the use case of the customer. The “canView” setting determines whether or not formulas are even sent to the browser for viewing. If set to “false,” any formulas within the spreadsheet will be automatically hidden. The “canEdit” setting either gives or denies users permission to edit or enter formulas. Hiding formulas is ideal for situations involving proprietary information, while editing restrictions are more suitable for internal workflows designed to reduce human error.

Value-Only Upload

When an XLSX file is uploaded, all cell values and formulas are normally preserved. This allows the workbook to retain the same basic functionality it has in Excel. For situations where the spreadsheet’s values need to be shared, but no changes are being made to the formulas, PrizmDoc Cells can upload workbooks as “values-only,” which removes all formulas from the embedded version. After being uploaded in this way, the spreadsheet can then have individual cells redacted as needed to further enhance security. Text can be placed in redacted cells to indicate why values were removed.

Enhance Your Application’s Spreadsheet Functionality

As an API integration, PrizmDoc Cells integrates smoothly into any web-based application. It also interfaces seamlessly with PrizmDoc Viewer to provide a broader range of viewing features when it comes to spreadsheets. Whitelabeling features allow developers to customize and rebrand the UI as part of their own software solution.

Find out how easy PrizmDoc Cells makes it to manage spreadsheets within your application by downloading a free trial. It’s the best way to get a close up view of how this powerful integration performs within your dev environment.

Information is critically important for organizations of all sizes, but it’s especially vital for large enterprises. Without access to accurate data, it can be difficult for separate departments to coordinate efforts or for leadership to make informed decisions. Important files can quickly be lost in a complex web of IT systems, some of which may not even be able to directly communicate with each other. Developers have worked hard to address these challenges by building content management platforms that integrate various technology resources into a single system and provide a primary source of digital information.

What Is an Enterprise Content Management System?

Today’s enterprises have massive amounts of information at their disposal. Much of that data, however, is scattered across the organization in different repositories, folders, archives, and file shares. A great deal of valuable insights could be found there, including information about customers, market trends, and product feedback, but so long as it remains spread across different locations, it can be difficult to access and view in totality.

Enterprise content management (ECM) systems help organizations to create a more workable structure for business knowledge. By implementing document automation and data capture tools, they can quickly assess and process information flowing into the enterprise to identify its value and route it to the proper destination.

A typical ECM system uses a few key steps when processing incoming information. These steps form the basis of the enterprise’s document or content lifecycle:

• Capture: First, the information needs to enter the system in some way. This usually takes the form of document files or images being uploaded into the ECM.
• Manage: Documents and other files need to be identified and labeled for accurate storage and easy access. Simply uploading content into the system without doing anything to organize it quickly results in content chaos. 
• Storage: Whether the ECM utilizes physical, on-premises storage or cloud-based storage (or some combination of the two), the system needs to use a clearly defined structure when saving content so it can be easily located in the future. A database should contain all the necessary metadata to indicate where each file is stored.
• Retrieval: Without some way of easily retrieving the right information when it’s needed, an ECM system isn’t going to be able to reach its full potential. Stored documents and files need to be accessible quickly and easily so they can help to inform key business decisions.

Avoiding Content Chaos with Barcodes

Without some way of effectively tracking documents through an ECM, organizations can quickly fall prey to “content chaos,” in which there is an abundance of information available but no easy way to access the right content at the appropriate time. This can be particularly frustrating for an enterprise that already has effective data capture and file conversion capabilities in place because without an effective retrieval mechanism, a great deal of valuable information will often go unused or even unnoticed.

Fortunately, ECM developers can provide a simple solution to this problem by utilizing barcode recognition technology. Although barcodes have been a mainstay of inventory management for decades across many industries, they’re finding a new use case in document management systems.

Rather than manually indexing documents with alphanumeric account number strings, barcodes can be created and applied to documents at the point of capture and then automatically routed to the proper storage destination. Once the barcode is scanned, key information about the file is uploaded into the ECM database so it can be easily located and retrieved in the future.

Another key benefit of barcodes is their ability to link documents that need to be associated with one another as part of the same batch. When documents are captured and converted into a digital format, one or more barcodes can be assigned to them to indicate connections to other file types. That information will be uploaded into the ECM database when the barcodes are scanned, instantly creating a traceable record of where files are located. 

This is especially important for situations where different information types could be stored in different locations. For instance, architectural drawings for a project may be stored in one location, but financial documents related to the same project may be stored elsewhere. When one of the files is accessed, the ECM’s database will indicate that there are related files in other locations and provide a link to them. This is particularly important for large enterprises with content spread across multiple departments that could easily be overlooked.

Build a Better Enterprise Content Management System with Barcode Xpress

Accusoft’s Barcode Xpress SDK provides powerful barcode support that’s designed to address the specific needs of document barcodes. While some software is oriented toward retail or supply chain applications, Barcode Xpress is optimized for document management, which makes it ideal for ECM systems. The SDK’s barcode reader can accurately locate and decode multiple barcodes on each page at incredibly high speeds.

With support for over 30 unique barcode types, Barcode Xpress provides tremendous flexibility when it comes to content management. Developers can also generate and detect both 1D and 2D barcodes to create a diverse content ecosystem within their ECM platform. Barcode Xpress can easily identify and recognize barcodes no matter where they’re located (and oriented) on the page. It can even accurately register incomplete barcodes from just a few intact lines.

To learn more about how Barcode Xpress can enhance your enterprise content management system, download our detailed fact sheet for a closer look at the barcode SDK’s capabilities.