Document Definition fields

Fields are intended for data extraction.

To work with fields in the Document Definition editor, switch to Field Regions mode by clicking the button.

All regions on the image from which you intend to capture data must be marked up as fields. Data in these fields will be recognized and recognized values can then be exported.

Fields have names, which are displayed in the Document Structure pane. Normally, a field will have a corresponding region on the image, but you can also create fields without regions (e.g. to store interim results).

The program can recognize the following types of fields:

Field	Toolbar button
Text entry field
Checkmark
Checkmark group
Barcode
Picture
Table
Region for field without region
Non-recognized region

To create a field:

Select the Field Regions mode.
Select the tool for creating a field of the required type.
Position the cursor in the corner of the field, hold down the left mouse button, and drag the cursor diagonally to the opposite corner
or
hold down the Shift key and click anywhere in the region of the field.

A frame will appear around the region of the field. The color of the frame will depend on the type of the field.

The created field will be given a name based on the explanatory text that is closest to its region. This name will appear in the list of fields that is displayed when you click the Fields tab in the Document Structure pane.

The field will be given the default properties.

An alternative method for creating a field is as follows:

In the Document Definition editor, click Edit → Create Field, or click the Fields tab in the Document Structure pane, right-click anywhere in the pane, and click Create Field. Then select the desired field type.
In the Field Properties dialog box, specify field properties and click OK.
The new field will be added to the list. It will be marked with a red asterisk indicating that thus field has no region.
To create a region for the field, click the button on the toolbar and draw a region on the image. You will be prompted to select an appropriate field name from the pop-up list.

To exclude an area from recognition, draw a non-recognized region on the image using the button.

Marking up fields inside a region

Sometimes you may need to mark up fields inside another region. This may be necessary, for example, if you need to extract an entire region (e.g. a full address) into one field and a portion of that region (e.g. the city and state) into another field.

In order to be able to mark up fields inside a region, you need to lock the region first. To do this, right-click the region and select Lock on the shortcut menu. Once locked, a region cannot be moved, but you can adjust its borders. If you attempt to mark up fields inside a region that has not been locked, you will end up selecting the entire region.

Note: When a document is closed, any locked fields will be unlocked.

To have regions locked by default, select the Text segment option on the General tab of the field properties dialog box.

Selecting multiple fields

ABBYY FlexiCapture includes a feature that lets you select multiple fields quickly if you want to edit a group of fields by type. To do this, click Edit → Select Fields by Type... or press Ctrl+Shift+F. In the dialog box that opens, specify the field types you want to select and click OK. To select all fields at once, click the Select All button.

Field properties

It is very important that the properties of each field be configured correctly. Field properties affect the quality of recognition and determine whether their values will be exported and submitted to the operator for verification. Certain properties are very important for data recognition. For example, the marking method is important in the case of a text entry field: if it is specified incorrectly, some marking will not disappear during scanning and will not be separated from the characters, resulting in poor recognition quality.

Fields of each type have their own set of properties. When you create a field of a certain type on the image, it is given the default properties.

How to change field properties:

Select the name of the field in the document structure or select the field region on the image, right-click the selection, and select Properties... on the shortcut menu.
Modify the field properties in the dialog box that opens.