› Index Setup Tab › Configuring an Index Field

Configuring an Index Field

Use the settings in the Define Index Fields group on the Index Setup tab to configure an index field. Before you configure an index field, do the following:

  • Create the index field.

  • If you intend to include bar codes in your index fields, make sure that you have configured the appropriate bar codes on the Bar Code Setup tab.

  • If you intend to fill index fields with information from an existing database, set up a data source using the ODBC Data Source Administrator.

  • If you intend to fill index field values with values recognized within zones drawn on an image, see Drawing Recognition Zones.

  1. On the Index Setup tab, in the Index Fields group, create and select the index field you want to configure.
  2. In the Define Index Fields group, in the Label field, accept the default label, or type another text label that describes the purpose of the field.

    By default, the index field labels are sequentially numbered (Field 1, Field 2, etc.). The label that you enter replaces the default index field label.

    Example: If you assign the label "Patient Name," it replaces the default name "Field 1" for the first index field.

  3. On Page: Set the page from which the index data should be retrieved. If the index data is linked to a bar code, set the page on which the bar code appears.

    The specified page appears automatically in the viewer when the document is indexed. For example, if you enter page 2, the second page of the document appears automatically in the viewer during indexing when the operator selects this index field. You can associate each index field with a unique page.

  4. Type: Set one of the following to indicate how you want the index field value to be entered when indexing is in progress:

    • Single line: One line is provided for the index field value, which can be manually typed or automatically filled with a default value such as a bar code.

    • Choice list: Index field value is selected from a predefined list of choices. Click the setup tool to open the Choice List Setup window to configure the choice list.

    • Database lookup: Index field value is selected from a list retrieved from an existing database. You can set only one index field type as "Database lookup" per job. Once the lookup field is in place, related values in the database can be used for other index field types in your job.

      Click the setup tool to open the Database Lookup Setup window to configure the database lookup field.

  5. Default: Set the value that fills the index field by default. Click the setup tool to select from a list of predefined values.

    When setting the default value, be aware of the following:

    • If you leave the entry blank, a default value is not assigned to the index field.

    • If you select <AllBarCodes>, each detected bar code value is separated by a semicolon.

    • If you have one index field type set to "Database lookup," the list of predefined default values for other index field types includes values from the database. During indexing, the values for the other fields can be filled automatically when you select a value for the "Database lookup" field. For example, suppose that you select "GB" as the value in the "Database lookup" field, which contains a list of country codes. If you have a "Single line" index field with the default value set to <ODBC_Country>, it would be filled automatically with the value "Great Britain" as soon as you enter GB in the "Database lookup" field.

  6. Sticky Value: Set a "sticky" value to automatically apply the value used for the same index field in the previous document. Available only if no default value is set for the index field or if the default value contains bar codes.
  7. Validation: Set the required mask for the index field value. Click the setup tool to select from the list of predefined validation masks.

    Index field values must match the validation mask you specify. If the index operator attempts to enter a value that does not match the specified mask, the value is not accepted.

    This entry is optional. To accept any value for the index field, leave the entry empty.

  8. Show in Document Title: Select the check box to make the index field value visible during indexing on the title bar of each document in the image viewer. This option gives the operator the ability to check the accuracy of index values without exiting the image viewer.

    If the index field value text does not fit in the width of the document title in the viewer, an ellipsis (...) is placed in the title bar. In this case, point to the ellipsis to view the complete document title.

  9. Read Only: Select the check box to specify that the index field value cannot be changed manually by an operator while indexing is in progress.
  10. Minimum Length: Set the minimum length for the index field value.

    If the value does not meet the minimum length, the index value is not accepted. This entry is optional, so the default value of 0 (zero) indicates that no minimum length is required.

  11. If you intend to fill index field values with values recognized within zones drawn on an image, complete the index field configuration by following the procedure in Drawing Recognition Zones.
  12. Required: Select the check box to specify that the index field value entry is required.

    The Minimum Length and Required settings affect indexing results. For example, if the Minimum Length is set to 3 and the Required setting is not selected for an index field value, an empty value is considered valid. If you select Required for the same field, an empty value is considered invalid.