inFORM Adds Self-Service Options to Online Archival System

by Alex Woodie

inFORM Decisions last week launched iView 2.0, the latest version of its browser-based document archive and distribution application that plugs into its forms package. With this release, the Irvine, California, company has added new search capabilities and new distribution options to iView that allow authorized users to e-mail, fax, and print the documents and reports that are stored as PDFs in iView's iSeries repository.

inFORM Decisions originally launched iView in 2002 as the online component of iDocs, its flagship forms design and output management suite for OS/400 and Windows NT. iView monitors output queues for spool files or output from iDocs and other similar output management products, and stores them in OS/400's Integrated File System (IFS), where employees, business partners, and customers with authorized OS/400 user profiles can view them from a Web browser.

With Version 2.0, inFORM has added new self-service features that it says makes it easier for users to find the right invoice, purchase order, checks, or other documents, and then distribute them. Product enhancements provide users with the capability to fine tune their searches through iView 2.0's new character search and indexing features. For example, users can search for purchase orders based on a specific customer number, or look for a shipping confirmation document based on a range of dates. Once the user has performed his search, iView 2.0 allows him to prioritize the search results by sorting them against the index fields that the product provides.

iView 2.0 provides more distribution options once the user has found the right document. This version includes the capability to automatically distribute the PDF document through e-mail and fax, and print the document to a local laser printer, or leave the document in the central repository for later viewing and retrieval. Sending a document to an e-mail, fax, or print server is a matter of pressing a button on iView's search and retrieval menu. All of this occurs from the Web browser.

iView 2.0 is available now, as a standalone product or as an add-on to an existing forms management product. iView is priced according to the number of users accessing it, and licenses start at $11,995. Discounts are available to existing inFORM customers using iDocs, or inFORM, the output management product from FORMation mg, the precursor to inFORM Decisions. For more information and free 30-day downloads, go to www.informdecisions.com.

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