I currently have an internal site for my pany where our customer support users will be uploading files from our clients. Originally, I had planned on using the help of mysql and a protected, shared network folder and used mysql to hold the filename and path. However, we also utilize ImageNow for other processes. Does anyone know if ImageNow works with javascript and php outside of the software itself? I'm new to ImageNow so any advice is appreciated.

I currently have an internal site for my pany where our customer support users will be uploading files from our clients. Originally, I had planned on using the help of mysql and a protected, shared network folder and used mysql to hold the filename and path. However, we also utilize ImageNow for other processes. Does anyone know if ImageNow works with javascript and php outside of the software itself? I'm new to ImageNow so any advice is appreciated.

• php
• javascript

• Can you specify what ImageNow exactly is, maybe provide a link? Either way, you'll probably be best off asking this on the manufacturer's site – Pekka Commented Sep 4, 2013 at 11:55
• Sure, ImageNow is produced by Perceptive Software. A quick explanation to answer your question, "mageNow is a software suite that enables employees to organize content from many different sources, including paper documents. Once imported, files can be processed and stored in an easily accessible database. ImageNow simplifies the process of content management and easily integrates into your organization or department's business processes." Source : Source : imagenow.missouri.edu/overview.html – CBC_NS Commented Sep 4, 2013 at 11:57
• It's hard to say based on the information available. The first thing I would do is run the ImageNow client with a network sniffer to see if I could recognize what protocols they use. You might be able to create your own client in php/javascript. This might not be legal. – Jo Are By Commented Sep 4, 2013 at 14:48

5 Answers 5

            logObArray = getDocLogobArray(workingDoc);
            for (var i=0; i<logObArray.length; i++)
            {
                var docObj = logObArray[i];
                var filePath = docObj.filePath;
                var fileType = docObj.fileType;
                var ftToCheck = fileType.toUpperCase();
                var phsobID = docObj.phsobId;

                //write OSM info to the file, you'll have to add the other code around this but premise is correct and tested
                var outRow = filePath;
                outRow = outRow + '\n';
                if (Clib.fputs(outRow, outCsvFP) >= 0)
                {
                    debug.log('DEBUG', 'Wrote OSM Path [%s] to file successfully.\n', filePath);
                    stats.inc('Wrote OSM Path to file');
                }
            }

ImageNow has a scripting language that lets you get past the encrypted file path in the database. The file path is available in an undocumented member of the INLogicalObject. Details below for accessing taken from the following blog article. Accessing the encrypted file path in ImageNow

A search of the ImageNow 6.x specific object documentation will find that the INLogicalObject provides information about the actual files stored in the file system. However, it does not contain any information about the file path. A little closer inspection under the hood of the object reveals that it does have a file path field and the value is not encrypted. It is a member of INLogicalObject. The following very simple example shows finding a single document and displaying its file type and unencrypted file path on the console.

 // get a single document  
 var results = INDocManager.getDocumentsBySqlQuery( "", 1, var more );  
 if ( results )  
 {  
     var doc = results[0];  
     doc.getInfo();  
     // get a single page for the document  
     var logob = INLogicalObject( doc.id, -1, 1 );  
     logob.retrieveObject();  
     printf( "file type: %s\n", logob.filetype ); // this member is in the documentation  
     printf( "unencrypted file path: %s\n", logob.filepath ); // this member is not in the documentation  
 } 

Unfortunately, ImageNow doesn't let you get at the information it stores outside of Perceptive Software provided tools. Even if you dig directly into the SQL database and look at the filesystem where it is storing the files, you can't get the information out. ImageNow stores the files unencrypted on the filesystem, so that's fine, and it stores the metadata for those images in easy to search tables in the database. However, the path from the metadata to the filesystem it encrypts before it stores it in the database. So if you are trying to go from the metadata to the images, the farthest along you can get is to the encrypted path. Without the decryption key, you can't get to the images.

However, there is a way you can write code to use ImageNow data. You need the add-on Message Agent - which you need to purchase from Perceptive. That opens up interfaces for using web services and SOAP to get at the ImageNow data.

This is the plete solution for this. It gets the root file and subsequent pages. All other solutions I've found do not get anything other than the first page of the scanned document. Change your drawer to your own drawer name (btw). I hope this helps someone. Companies that lock down people's content really make me mad. Just use the intool.exe utility. It's located in the /bin folder of your installation. The call is: intool --cmd run-iscript --file yourfile.js

var curDocId = 0;
var more = true;
// printf("curDocId : %s\n", curDocId );
while (more) {
    var rulestext = "[drawer] = 'AR' AND [docID] > '" + curDocId + "'";
    var items = INDocManager.getDocumentsByVslQuery(rulestext, 1000, more, "DOCUMENT_ID");

    var start = items[0];
    var dataDesc = new Array();

    var headerDelim = "\03"
    var dataDelim = "\02";

    for (var line=1; line <= start; line++) {
        var temp = items[line].split(headerDelim);
        dataDesc[temp[1].toUpperCase()] = new Object();
        dataDesc[temp[1].toUpperCase()].idx = line - 1;
        dataDesc[temp[1].toUpperCase()].name = temp[1];
        dataDesc[temp[1].toUpperCase()].datatype = temp[2];
    }

    for ( ; line < items.length; line++) {

        var doc = new INDocument(items[line].split(dataDelim)[dataDesc["DOCUMENT ID"].idx]);
        doc.id = items[line].split(dataDelim)[dataDesc["DOCUMENT ID"].idx];

        doc.getInfo();

        var masterDocId = doc.id;
        var itCounter = 150;
        var i = 1;
        for( ; i <= itCounter; i++) 
        {   
            doc.getInfo();
            var logob = INLogicalObject( doc.id, -1, i );  
            logob.retrieveObject();

            if(logob && logob.logobCount > 0)
            {
                var fp = Clib.fopen("c:\\inowoutput.txt", "a");
                var line = masterDocId + ',' + logob.id + ',' + logob.workingName + ',' + logob.filePath + '\n';
                Clib.fputs(line, fp);
                Clib.fclose(fp);
            }
            else
            {
                break;                  
            }
        }
        curDocId = doc.id;
    }


    //printf("curDocId : %s\n", curDocId );
}

Check out External Messaging Agent (EMA) functionality in ImageNow. It's a free module that is available in every installation.

EMA allows you to receive data from outside the ImageNow system (e.g. from a PHP web form, for example).

To use EMA, you merely would need to have the PHP script insert into the IN_EXTERN_MSG and IN_EXTERN_MSG_PROP tables. One of the properties could be the location of the file that was uploaded via PHP.

You'd then need an iScript to parse the data from the EMA tables and create a document in ImageNow.

I've built a solution like this before, and it works pretty well.