Doin' the LN:DI

Jim McCormack

Lotus Notes Document Imaging (LN:DI, pronounced Lindy) lets developers build image-enabled applications within Notes. LN:DI is a logical choice for firms that have already deployed Notes. However, if your company doesn't use Notes, should you move to it and LN:DI just for imaging? It's not a clear-cut decision. Until recently, the answer was "look elsewhere for imaging," in part because LN:DI's architecture was limited and not scalable.

But updates to LN:DI beginning late last year and continuing with a revision that appeared at press time make it and Notes worth considering. The IPS (Image Processing Server) lets applications connect from LN:DI to a variety of front- and back-end imaging engines . It is also possible to store and retrieve large volumes of images to and from LN:DI.

Imaging Family

Lotus's IPS ($429) is a Windows 3.1-based server that directs the flow of images being processed by the LN:DI subsystems. The subsystems available from Lotus include an import/export module, for saving and retrieving images; OCR modules; and a fax module, for sending and receiving faxes via the Notes fax gateway. You make the IPS services available to Notes applications by setting up forms and profiles in the IPS databases.

IPS is the gateway into and out of the LN:DI environment. Third-party vendors can write applications that take advantage of the IPS interchange service to connect their systems to Notes. FileNet, ViewStar, IBM, and Wang have announced plans to link their large-scale imaging environments to Notes via the IPS APIs. Other vendors, such as Keyfile, PaperClip, and Watermark, use DDEs to populate a Notes environment.

Overcom ing Size Limits

LN:DI client software ($89) uses the Windows 3.1 Notes interface for scanning and viewing images, and it is the only software needed to image-enable Notes. The client software supports TIFF, PCX, BMP, GIF, PCD, and JPEG graphics file formats. It will also support multipage TIFFs and color GIF and JPEG files. It uses OLE to store images in Notes documents. Using SmartIcons, you can scan and export an image into an RTF (Rich Text Format) field on a Notes document. You can embed image objects into a document and save the image as part of the document. For small-scale image applications, this is acceptable.

But databases in the current Notes release have a 1-GB size limit. To overcome this limitation for large-scale imaging applications, you'll need to spend an additional $4995 for MSS, LN:DI's Mass Storage System, which is an OS/2 2.1 hierarchical storage management system that lets you link the image object to the document and store only the image object's location and t he source application required to view it.

The image object resides on MSS instead of in a Notes database. MSS migrates images from one medium to another according to the rules set up in a series of Notes forms. You have the option of running MSS on the same server as your OS/2 Notes server, but a second option, a dedicated computer for MSS, will deliver better performance.

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DOCUMENT IMAGING

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LN:DI CLIENT:
To embed an image into a document, you complete an import request form and attach the image to it. The form contains data for indexing the image, the location of the target database, OCR instructions (if any), a nd other information.

IMAGE PROCESSING SERVER:
The form travels to the IPS, which routes the image to the OCR module, if necessary, or to the fax gateway. The IPS then creates the forms required to import the image object either linked or embedded into the Notes database.

MASS STORAGE SYSTEM:
This OS/2 2.1 hierarchical storage management system links image objects to the Notes document. The MSS can store entire images, to relieve storage limitations of the Notes database, which stores the image object's location and the source application required to view it.

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Jim McCormack is branch manager for U.S. Technologies, a developer of Notes-based applications headquartered in Tampa, Florida. He has designed large-scale imaging applications for financial institutions. You can reach him on the Internet or BIX at editors@bix.com .