ESC Adds Full PDF Indexing to LaserVault Archive

by Alex Woodie

Electronic Storage Corp. has added full PDF indexing to its LaserVault Universal Server, giving users the same capability to search for archived PDF documents as they've had for finding other types of documents stored with LaserVault. ESC also announced a new release of Content Express, a LaserVault add-on for distributing documents electronically, that provides new faxing features.

LaserVault is a Windows-based archiving product that has reduced the paper storage needs of more than 1,000 companies, many of which are OS/400 shops. The software accepts print spool files from host systems--such as mainframe, Unix, Windows, or OS/400 servers--indexes the files, compresses them, and then stores them on PC hard disks, DVDs, or other removable storage. Alternatively, scanners can be used to input reports into LaserVault.

In 2002, ESC added PDF support to LaserVault, which meant that companies could start using LaserVault to store their PDF output. This was a strategic move for ESC, as companies are increasingly adopting the PDF as the document standard that anyone can use. However, the first incarnation of LaserVault's PDF support was limited, in that it did not provide full text indexing of the document--something that is critical to being able to find a specific document among thousands or tens of thousands of similar-looking documents, and something that LaserVault supported with text documents.

With LaserVault Version 5.021, announced in late February, ESC now offers full text indexing of PDF documents. ESC says this capability is important because it allows users to search by specific fields within the PDFs. When a field with the correct value is found within a PDF document, the field is highlighted, which, ESC says, saves employees the time and energy of having to manually search through documents and files.

Full text indexing of PDFs can also be used to do a batch search across a range of dates, ESC says. After all of the PDF documents and reports for the specified date are found, they can be combined into a single PDF and either e-mailed, faxed, or posted to the Web using Content Express.

This release of LaserVault also includes a new application integration feature, which ESC says will give employees faster and easier access to reports. Function keys can now be configured to automatically retrieve reports, invoices, or other documents. ESC says this feature could be used by customer service representatives to gain instant access to a customer's past invoices and reports, after pulling up a customer's account.

ESC also last week announced a new version of Content Express, which includes several enhancements to its fax-sending capabilities. First, Content Express users can now pull fax numbers directly from documents, rather than having to search and manually enter the numbers before sending their documents. The software also now features a new batch faxing capability that allows users to fax several different documents at once. Finally, users are provided instant notification, via e-mail, of whether faxed documents have been sent successfully. A similar notification system is also now available that tells the recipient when documents are available for viewing on the Web.

The latest releases of LaserVault and ContentExpress are available now. For more information and free trial downloads, go to www.elstore.com.