Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is the first edition of PaperPort that I have used, so I am not writing this from the perspective of the value of an upgrade from earlier versions. This is a "first impressions" review.
Right after I installed it, I wanted to start an index on my computer. I have about 30 Gig of documents, so I knew this would be a chore.
First effort: Run the included "Index Manager". This failed because Index manager does not erase temp files until the entire scan completes. I had 40 Gig of free space on my disk, but that wasn't enough. I had to abort the scan. A full two days wasted before I recognized the issues with Index Manager.
Second effort: Run the internal index by selecting, "Add to all-in-one index". This seemed to work, however it kept me from using PaperPort while running. I decided to try another route.
Third effort: Setup to scan during "idle time" and let it run. This worked fine. It still took hours, however it cleaned up as it went. I was still unable to use PaperPort while the index ran because the index would restart. I did let it complete my index, however.
Now I have all my documents indexed. How does maintenance work? Many of the local PC search utilities tie into Windows XP functionality and update in realtime without having to rescan the hard disk. Not true with PaperPort. Clearly dependent on old code, it must scan periodically. Okay, we'll move on.
PaperPort will scan during idle times. The problem is that it reads through everything, every time. Then if you use PaperPort, let it go idle, it will again restart from the beginning. If you have a substantial amount of documents, this method just won't do. The index program will run constantly.
Since I have the professional version, I have "Index Manager", which allows me to schedule regular updates for my index. While this tool was unacceptable for building the initial index, it does work for maintenance. I set it up and let it run through and "update" my documents. Just to be clear, no changes were made to my documents, I just wanted to test the program. Even though every single document was recently indexed and not one file was changed, it still took hours to rescan my data. Monitoring the temp folder, it produced over 1 Gig of temp files for documents that were not modified. This is horribly inefficient. Even with no document changes, an update scan will take a half day to complete. This is INSANE!
A "professional" edition of this product should index documents better. The entire index process is totally garbage-by-design. My point deductions for this program are strictly due to the indexing process.
If your documents are less than a couple gig, then this application will probably work okay for you.
So now onto the application of PaperPort. What a great product! I could make a long list of things to improve, but the improvements I would suggest are minor. I love being able to see the pages of my documents, to search through all these PDF documents, OmniPage projects (I love OmniPage), etc.
For the main application, you can use PaperPort to manage documents in all new ways. I love being able to stack and unstack pages, move things around, and it makes short work of organizing my huge collection of electronic documents. I could list a dozen features I would like to see added, however what is provided works extremely well.
I have to add a couple more negatives. If you want support, you have to pay for it. You get one free call and that's it. The documentation is weak, the knowledgebase is rediculously weak, and email is billable. The forums are the only free option for support and I have not been able to get a login setup for the forums.
I am a huge fan of OmniPage Pro 14 and I use it all the time. PaperPort will be part of my new routine for the time being. If I find a better product, I will fly quickly away since PaperPort cannot maintain indexes very well.
Indexing: 1 Star
Document Acquiring: 5 Stars
Application Functionality: 3.5 Stars
Support: 2 Stars
Conclusion: If you are interested in electronic document management and your volume is reasonably modest, this product is an excellent value. If you want a "professional" tool, don't be fooled by the word "professional" in the title of this product. This is not a professional solution.
Click Here to see more reviews about: ScanSoft PaperPort Professional 10
PaperPort Professional 10 is the most productive and cost effective way for everyone in your office to organize, find and share paper and PDF documents. PaperPort Professional combines the efficiency of document management, the convenience of network scanning and the power of creating PDF files, to bring a new level of operational proficiency to your organization.All-in-One Search quickly finds important documents, and the visual document desktop allows you to browse and assemble documents with drag & drop ease. Millions of people – including office workers, lawyers, insurance and real estate agents, doctors and business professionals - rely on PaperPort to eliminate paper and streamline the way they work.
Click here for more information about ScanSoft PaperPort Professional 10
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