Batches: Overview
A batch is a stack of documents that you process together allowing you to do such things as:
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Set up a method of locating archived documents, making it easier to find paper documents later on.
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Divide documents into manageable quantities.
Batch size recommendation
The size of a batch depends on the type and quantity of documents along with the production process used. However, ReadSoft recommends that the total size of any one batch never exceeds 200 pages or 50 invoices. This is because larger batches are more difficult to control. Smaller batches are the most manageable. In addition, when you are processing invoices, Web Verify and re-separation work better with smaller batches.
When scanning in color at 300 DPI, you must limit the batch size to a maximum of 40 pages. Failure to do so causes problems/errors when the batch is processed by the Enhance task.
Creating and defining a batch
To start with, you need to create a batch specification.
is selected by default. With this setting, each document in a batch is identified by unique batch data, for example the batch number and the document number within the batch. If you know the batch data for a document, you can easily find the original paper document
Batch tag
A string of numbers and/or letters (such as an operator's name or email address) used to tag a batch with. This can be specified in the dialog of an Input task or through the use of an add-on/Advanced API. It is used to track batches (and their documents) and to help operators locate and process specific batches. It is also displayed in the column of the 
dialog. The maximum allowed length of a batch tag is 256 characters.
Languages and interpretation engines
Despite the fact that you can specify languages and OCR engines on the document specification level, do not specify more than one of each within any given batch specification.
Related topic: Processing documents in different languages
Batches and the production flow
Batch, compound and document specifications are selected for processing in the dialog: settings.
Production tasks containing an early activity are always made up of documents input as a single batch, and must have a batch specification as the only included specification. This keeps the documents together until they have passed Inspect. If not for this, documents having any kind of error could be unintentionally divided onto different workstations, and any opportunity to correct classification and grouping errors would be lost.
If the production task only contains later activities (that is, from Extract onwards), then documents and compounds can be selected. It is assumed that by this point, documents are grouped and classified correctly and no longer need to be kept together as a batch.
After batch members have passed the Inspect activity, they are released from the batch, allowing them to be processed on different workstations. Documents can be tied to the batch through the whole flow by selecting in the Batch specification editor.
Disadvantages and advantages of selecting Keep batch together
Without
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Many Verify operators can process documents simultaneously, because batches are broken up and can be routed to any number of available workstations after the documents leave Extract. |
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When rerouting an invoice, Verify operators can select any invoice profile in the solution, rather than being limited to those invoice profiles that were included in the batch specification. |
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When a Verify operator selects multiple invoices and begins to verify them, only the invoice he is currently verifying is locked. This can cause confusion. (For more information, see Troubleshooting: Invoices are locked or not found.) |
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Verify operators cannot do things that require access to related documents. The only available thumbnail is the current document. Therefore, for example, if an operator discovers that a two-page document only has one page, he will not be able to group it correctly. If document separation, classification, and grouping are done correctly in Sort and Inspect, this is not a problem. |
With
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You can use batch rules. |
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You can output entire batches to another system. (The settings in the are used.) |
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If you work with large batches and have several Verify operators, possibly even at separate locations, can result in bottlenecks in the workflow, where one operator has a backlog of hundreds of documents, while another has none. |
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If you select , you cannot use Web Verify to verify invoices. |
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When rerouting an invoice, Verify operators can select only those invoice profiles that were included in the batch specification. |
Batch specifications that contain compound document specifications or validation rulesmust have selected.