OCR / Imaging Example - 2025 R1 Released!

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Updated OCR / Imaging Example!

    Software Tool & Die Inc. (STD) are please to announce the updated release of an STD Integrated Framework OCR / Imaging example application that utilizes the STD framework to implement both OCR scanning and Image management! The OCR / Imaging feature inside this application is all driven by DataWindow controls and utilizes the free and open source Tesseract and ImageMagicK products for OCR and Image management! 

 

   The OCR / Imaging application is a working prototype of a real life application that was actually put into production. It emulates a "web" look & feel with controls and menus leveraging DataWindow technology. It allows language switching, OCR data location, Image redaction and foreground text Escapement to signify a completed redaction of payment card information. The application also demonstrates security, reporting, work queue management and drag & drop data targeting!

 

   The OCR / Imaging application is a;; driven by the STD framework which allows the PB developer to easily build any GUI Application interface that is required (desired). The framework also allows the PB developer to be  exponentially more productive!
  

Bilingual Welcome Screen

 

Login dialogue utilizes Active Directory services

    Once you are past the the Login dialogue (any password is accepted in this demo app), you are presented with the main working dialogue for the application. Note that the Header band is a DataWindow that allows the application user to a) switch language, b) return to the "home" screen, c) Logout, d) View the App log (if they are an Admin User) and e) enter the App's Help information via an HTML URL. The main working menu on the left is also a DataWindow!
 

Main application working dialogue using DataWindow top & left menus

 

    The next step would be to select the "Administration" section of the left side DataWindow menu. This allows the App user to a)  Manage App users (if they are an App Admin) or b) Reassign work that is "in progress" in the assigned work queue. Note that the latter feature would be used where an App user is on vacation, sick, leaves the department, etc and there is "work in progress" that needs to be reassigned to another valid app user in order for it to be completed.

  

OCR / Image user security rights administration

    The next part could be the reporting section where privileged users and/or App Admin can get information about WIP (work in progress) by various status (completed, redacted, or reviewed). These areas (as well as the above mentioned Administration section), are just a standard PB Tab Control plus Tab Page that includes standard PB DataWindow controls to drive the show!

  

Example of Tab Page user object with DataWindow reports

    The "meat and potatoes" though of the application  is within the "Redaction" side of the left menu DataWindow. This brings into play a User Object Tab Control plus Tab Page that contains three DW's a) top main processing menu, b) right side image handling menu DW and c) a center DW that is used for displaying images, OCR, targeting, image manipulation, redaction and task completion, as follows:

   

Main image handling tab page with surrounding menu DW's!

 

    From here the App user can rotate the images, use the "Find" on the top tool bar to OCR the image to locate possible credit card information, use the right DW menu to manually target credit card information, redact and then complete & save the image back to the DBMS (of course all the time, using PB's BLOB handling commands). Note that because all the dialogues are DataWindow control based, the entire App then becomes Zoomable!

  

Image flip & rotation handling

Using OCR to locate possible credit card data within a form

  

Redacted credit card information on the image within the DW!

 

Final image redacted & saved back the the DB BLOB table.

     The STD OCR / Image PowerBuilder example application can now be downloaded from the SourceForge website. Please click here to download & enjoy the APP and the code behind that demonstrates that with PB, you can build any type of App GUI & functionality that you need! 

 

    
Enjoy ... Chris