Manage Batches

21 Manage Batches

A batch includes scanned images, pages, and electronic documents that you can organize logically and store in a repository. After you've scanned or imported documents, you can index, edit, and release them.

When you create batches, they are automatically named using the client profile prefix (for example, SCAN or IMPORT), followed by an internal sequence number.

Batches are automatically locked to you when you create them by scanning or importing, or when you open (expand) them.

Note:
When batches are left locked with users who are no longer available to unlock them, Content Capture administrators can unlock these batches for further processing.
If there are no release processes defined and you unlock batches, the documents and metadata are sent to the Oracle Content Management repository and they are unlocked.
If you selected an available release process and released batches, the next action performed on a batch depends on the selected release process. During batch release, a progress bar moves to the right on the batch name to indicate release progress. You can select and work on other batches while the batch release continues in the background.
After release, the next action performed on a batch depends on its client profile settings. Batches may move to a post-processing step, such as bar code recognition, document (PDF/TIFF) conversion, or committing to the Oracle Content Management repository. Or, they may become unlocked, allowing other users to lock and edit them. For example, after scan operators create, review, and edit batches, they might release them to index operators who select, index, and release them for post-processing.

Here is what you can do with the batches you manage:

Change Batch Information

A batch may have been assigned a default priority and status by the client profile. You can assign it a priority number from 0 to 10 where 10 is the highest. You can also attach a status to a batch from the available status options. Similarly, you can attach a note to a batch as a reminder or to alert other users who might work on the batch. For example, you might enter a note indicating that a page is missing from a specified document in the batch.

To change the batch information:

In the Batch pane, select a batch.

Batch information is displayed in the right pane. The Priority, Status, and Batch Notes fields are editable if the batch is locked to you.
Do the following, as required:
1. In the Priority field, select a new priority number from 0 to 10.
2. In the Status field, select a new status.
3. In the Batch Notes field, enter, modify, or delete text.
Click Apply.
The changes are displayed in the Batch pane list.

View Batch Lock Information

Any content capture user can check whom a batch is locked with and the name of the workstation on which the batch is locked. But only a content capture administrator can abandon the lock.

To view the batch lock information:

In the Batch pane, select a batch.
In the Lock Information pane, click Get Information.
The Content Capture Client window displays the lock information.

Release Batches

A client profile can include multiple release processes. To release a batch, choose the required release process from the list. If there are failed batches, you can multiselect them in the Content Capture Client and release these batches to the same process.

To release batches:

In the Batch pane, select one or more batches.
If the client profile includes several processes, from the drop-down list on the right side of , select a release process and then click . Alternatively, you can right-click one or more batches in the Batch pane, select Release Batch, and then select one of the release process options configured for you. These options are also available if you select one or more documents in a batch in the Batch pane.

A bar is displayed on the batch name and moves to the right to indicate release progress. During release, you can select other batches and documents to work on them.

Note:

Released batches are refreshed periodically if you enable the Auto Refresh Batches client preference.
Optionally, click Refresh Batch List to view the new state of the batch. Once the release is complete, one of the following may happen:
- The batch disappears from the batch pane, such as after a successful commit.
- The batch icon displays a processing indicator indicating that it is undergoing further processing.
- The batch icon displays an error indicator indicating that one or more of its documents encountered an error.

Search for Batches or Filter the List

You can search for batches by name, date, status, priority, and state. Note that the filtered list always includes batches locked to you in addition to the search results.

To search for batches:

In the Batch pane, click .

In the Batch Search Criteria dialog, specify how batches should be searched using the criteria listed in the table.

You can specify multiple search options. Keep in mind that all specified search fields must match for a batch to be found, although only one value within a search field needs to match. For example, if you select Urgent in the Status field and 8, 9, and 10 in the Priority field, batches with an Urgent status AND a priority of 8, 9 OR 10 are found. On the other hand, batches with an Urgent status but a priority of 0, or batches with no status and a priority of 8, 9, or 10, are not found.

Table 21-1 Batch Search Criteria

Search Criteria	Description
Batch Name	Enter a batch name to search for. You can specify a partial name followed by `%` to match one or more characters. For example, entering `Batch%` would match batches named Batch15 and Batches214.
From Date/To Date	Search for batches created within a date range by clicking the calendar button adjacent to the date field and selecting a from date and an end date.
Status	Search for batches by their assigned status by selecting one or more statuses. Batches assigned any selected status will match.
Priority	Search for batches by their assigned priority by selecting one or more priorities. Batches assigned any selected priorities will match.
Batch State	Search for batches by their system-assigned state by selecting one or more states. Batches assigned any selected state will match. Available batch states include: Ready: Batches are not locked and no errors have been encountered Locked: Batches are locked by any user Error: An error has been encountered in one or more documents in the batch Processing: Batches are currently being processed by a processor or processor job

Click OK.

The filtered search results display in the batch pane. Remember that batches locked to you always display in the batch pane, regardless of batch filter settings, and that batch filtering remains when you refresh the batch list until removed.

To remove a search filter:

In the Batch pane, click Search.
In the Batch Search Criteria dialog, click Clear Criteria, and then click OK.

The Batch pane no longer filters the list by search criteria.

Batch Processing Errors

You may occasionally encounter errors as you work with batches and release them. You may be able to resolve some common errors based on the error explanation provided. In other cases, you may need to contact your procedure manager and provide the batch name and error displayed.

Errors while working on batches

When trying to view a non-image document in an associated application, if there is an error attempting to open the document in the associated application, the client displays the error message: Failed to open document in an associated application. There may be no application associated to this document type.

Errors after releasing batches

If an error occurs for a batch after you release it, such as during a post-processing step, the batch may display as locked to you in your Batch pane. (Note that a post-process may have renamed the batch.) You can right-click the document error icon and choose Display Batch Errors from the menu to view the error details.
If you released a batch without completing all required metadata fields in each document, an error occurs if Content Capture is set to commit the batch as a post-processing step. Typically, all documents are committed and removed from the batch. However, documents that contain errors remain in the batch. To resolve the error, open the batch, complete all required metadata fields in all documents (an asterisk * is displayed to the left of their names), and release the batch again.

Find Batch Errors

To review errors associated with documents in a batch:

In the Batch pane, right-click a batch with the warning sign that indicates the batch has errors.
From the context menu, choose Display Batch Errors.
The Batch Processing Errors dialog is displayed.
In the Batch Processing Errors dialog, select each row to view the errors associated with the document.
The error messages are displayed in the Message box.
Click Close after you've reviewed the errors.

Abandon Batch Lock

Occasionally it may be necessary to abandon a batch lock. For instance, a user may have a batch locked but may not be available to release the batch for some time. An administrator can unlock the batch so it can be locked by someone else. Another instance may be that a batch may be taking too long to complete processing by Content Capture, and has the appearance of being stuck. In any case, abandoning a batch lock may result in loss of unsaved information.

In the Batch pane, select a batch.
In the Lock Information pane, click Get Information.
The Content Capture Client retrieves and displays the lock information.
Click Abandon Lock to release the lock.

View Batch Activity Information

You can track the activity of a batch and share it with your support team for diagnostic purposes. For example, you create a new capture procedure for documents that contain barcodes. You've configured the scanned documents to flow through the barcode recognition processor to extract the barcode values and store them in capture fields. However, during the subsequent commit step, the assets being created in Oracle Content Management don’t have the barcode metadata values in them. So, you redirect the output from the commit step back to the Content Capture Client so you could view the results of the barcode recognition.

To view the batch activity information:

In the Batch pane, select a batch.
In the Batch Information section, click View Activity to display the Batch History window.
Note:
If no activities are available for your batch, a message "Activities for the selected batch are yet to be recorded." is displayed.
- In the Batch Activity section, audit events of the selected batch are displayed. The timestamp and the corresponding message text of each event are also shown. The table is sorted by date, oldest at the top. When you select a batch activity event, all log messages related to this event are highlighted in the History section on the right side. If you select any messages in the History section, as a result the batch activity event to which these messages belong is highlighted in the Batch Activity section.
- In the Documents in Batch Activity section, the documents in the batch are displayed. If it's a long list of documents, you can filter the document you are looking for using the Filter field.
- In the Document Activity section, the details of the document you selected in the Documents in Batch Activity section are displayed. When you select a document activity event, all log messages related to this event are highlighted in the History section on the right side. If you select any document activity messages in the History section, as a result the document activity event to which these messages belong is highlighted in the Document Activity section.
Note:

While the batch is in process, you can load or refresh batch activities by clicking Refresh.
Click Export to generate a text-based version (a text file) of all of the details and share it with your support team for analysis. The default name of the text file is <batch_name>_history.txt.