Using Alchemy® Library Services, your users can edit the content (body and annotations) and metadata, including OCR text, associated with documents contained in your databases that are under Alchemy Server control. Like a physical library, Alchemy Library Services uses check out and check in features to control which documents are available for editing. When a user wants to edit the content of a document, he or she checks the document out. When finished, he or she then checks the edited document in. At check in time, the user can either replace the original document with the edited version, or keep the original document and add the edited document to the database as a version of the original document. In addition, the user can undo his or her check out, which restores the original version of the document and checks it back into the database.
Users can access Alchemy Library Services functions from the following Alchemy client applications:
Alchemy Administrator
Alchemy Index Station
Alchemy Search
In order to use Alchemy Library Services your databases must meet the following conditions: be built to containers; be under Alchemy Server control; be writable Read-only databases, such as those built to a CD or other removable media type cannot be accessed by Library Services, although you can search read-only databases for documents edited through Library Services. If a writable database does not meet the first two requirements, and you want to make it available for Library Services, if necessary, build the database to containers and then add it to your Alchemy Server. You make your databases available to Library Services by adding them to the service through the Alchemy Server MMC console.
Alchemy Web Users can also access Library Services functions through Microsoft Office applications such as MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint using the Alchemy Document Management Client (ADMC).
Note: Library Services does not support encrypted databases
Check in / Check out features
When you add a database to Library Services and then view the database in an Alchemy client such as Alchemy Administrator, all functions that allow you to edit a document in that database are disabled, for example, Annotations tools and Document profiles. To edit a document in a database under Library Services, your user must check the document out. When your user checks out a document, Library Services places a temporary copy of the document on the user’s computer in the following default location: \Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Captaris\Alchemy\Databases|<database name>\Check-out\ When the user checks the document in, Library Services removes the copy. This process is transparent to your user. After completing edits to the document, your user checks the document in. During this operation, your user can choose from the following options:
Replace the original document with the edited document.
Keep the original document and add the edited document to the database as a new version of the original document. When your user selects this option, Library Services creates a new document from the edited original and assigns it a version number. The new document version is then added to the database as the parent document to the original or previous document version, which becomes the child in a hierarchical document tree structure.
Undo the check out. In this case, any changes made to the document are lost and the original document is restored to the database. Library Services stores the document check out/check in history in a SQL Server database. If you remove the database from Library Services and/or Alchemy Server control, you can still keep the check out/check in history for all documents in the database for your records. Users can check out/check in built and unbuilt documents.
Library Services provides two types of document check out modes:
Background: Background check outs are automatic and occur without direct user selection. This check out mode is used exclusively for operations that involve large volumes of data, for example, during high volume changes to documents following document capture, such as a scan operation. In this mode, the following conditions apply: Documents are checked out in exclusive mode and no other users can access or change the documents until they are released by Library Services; Documents are not copied to the user’s local hard drive; Document metadata is not added to the SQL Server database; No new document versions are created; When finished, Library Services places the documents in a not checked out status.
Background check out mode is used in the following situations: Adding custom profile fields after an Add File, DataGrabber, or Scan with zone OCR operation; Copy/Move; Batch OCR; Batch Profiling; Search/Replace – Does not create a new version; Moving a document in a database; Deleting a document; Creating a compound document
Manual: You perform a manual check out when you want to edit the content or metadata of a document. Until a doc-ument is checked out, all features that allow you to change the document, for example, adding annotations or changing the file name, are disabled. After you check out the document, these features are active under the My Documents tab where you edit the document.
Roles Based Access Control (RBAC) features
By default, when you add a database to Library Services, all applicable Alchemy client Library Services functionality is enabled for your users. To give you better control over who can use Library Services, Alchemy Server allows you to control Library Services functions through Integrated Security and Role Based Access Control. Using Alchemy Integrated Security and Role Based Access Control you can control the following Library Services functionality: Library Services Administrator; Overwrite document during check in; View document versions; Check out documents; Check in documents; Undo document check out; Delete document version; Roll back document versions; Publish document versions
Publishing edited documents
When your users check in an edited document, Library Services by default publishes the mort recent version of the document. The published version of a document is the version that Library Services makes available to your users for viewing and searching. Your users, however, can choose to publish a different version of the document when they check the document in, thus giving your organization flexibility over which document versions to make available to casual users.
Adding databases to Library Services
Adding databases to Library Services gives your users the ability to edit documents contained in those databases.
Note: In order to add databases to Library Services they must be built to containers and must be under Alchemy Server control.
To add a database to Library Services:
1. In the Alchemy Server console tree, expand Alchemy Server | <the node for your server’s name>.
2. Select the Databases node.
3. In the details pane, right-click the name of the database you want to add to Library Services. Tip: Use Shift+Click and Ctrl+Click to select multiple databases to add to Library Services.
Enabling Library Services
On the shortcut menu, click Library Services Add.
On the message dialog, click Yes to confirm your action. The status of the database under the Library Services column in the details pane changes from Off to On. Tip: You can also add databases to Library Services at the time you add them to Alchemy Server. To add a database to Library Services when you add it to Alchemy Server, select the Add to Library Services check box on the New Database dialog box when choosing the database you want to add to Alchemy Server.
Removing databases from Library Services
On the shortcut menu, click Library Services Remove.
On the message dialog, click Yes to confirm your action. The status of the database under the Library Services column in the details pane changes from Off to On.
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