When an A2iA Zone Locator is added to a project and CheckReader as used as the A2iA Reader, several predefined custom subfields are included. If you need to extract data that is not available through a predefined custom subfield, you can create your own custom subfield. Each custom subfield has one or more output paths that provide a map to the data you need.

To define an output path, you select the nodes containing the extraction results, location, and confidence values. The values for output paths, location, and confidence correspond with the paths specified in the A2iA Configuration Editor. You can also modify the prefix and regular expressions used to format data that was extracted from the output path.

A custom subfield can contain more than one output path so that you can combine extracted data. The output paths are concatenated in the order you list them, and each path is separated by the delimiter you specify. For example, suppose there are different output paths for the three components that make up a date: the day, the month, and the year. When the date custom subfield returns a value, the three different output paths are concatenated together and separated by the specified delimiter. The end result is a single string made up of three different output paths.

Subfields

Use this group to create and manage custom subfields. This group contains the following fields and buttons.

Name

This field contains predefined custom subfields, and you can add custom subfields to the list. You can select a subfield to rename or delete it, and to assign output paths, locations, and confidence values in the Properties group.

Add

Click to add a subfield. It is given a default name, SF_ with a number appended to provide a unique identifier. The best practice is to rename the subfield using this naming convention, SF_<Descriptive Name>.

Delete

Click to remove the currently selected subfield.

Rename

Click to change the name of the selected subfield.

Properties

Use this group to add and configure output paths for the selected subfield.

Properties Table

Use this table to configure the output paths and their associated settings.

A2iA Output Path

The output paths defined for the selected subfield appear in this table. To change an output path, double-click it. The A2iA Output Path window appears, which displays a tree view of the node. Select or enter the output path.

Prefix

Enter any characters to append to the beginning of the output string before it is processed by the regular expressions. For example, you can use this column to add leading zeroes to a number.

To change the prefix used for the selected output path, click the field.

Regex Match

This field, along with Regex Replace, enables the data retrieved from an output path to be modified. For example, if the data retrieved from an account subfield is 123456789, and you want to format it as 123-456-789, use the following regular expressions:

• Regex Match: (\w{3})(\w{3})(\w{3})

• Regex Replace: $1-$2-$3

If a subfield already has a regular expression in the Regex Match field, click the field to edit it. If this field does not have a value, click the field and enter the regular expression.

Regex Replace

This field takes the data matched with Regex Match and formats it by using a replacement string.

If a subfield already has a replacement string in the Regex Replace field, click the field to edit it. If this field is empty, click the field and enter the replacement string.

Use the following to manage and edit the output paths in the Properties Table:

Add

Click to add an output path.

The A2iA Output Path for Custom Subfield window appears where you select or enter the output path.

Delete

Click to remove the currently selected output path, along with its associated values.

Move Up

Move the selected output path up the list. Output paths are concatenated in the order they are listed.

Move Down

Move the selected output path down the list. Output paths are concatenated in the order they are listed.

Delimiter

Enter the characters used as a delimiter when more than one output path is specified.

The following fields set properties for the overall output path.

Location

Click Browse to open the Location for Custom Subfield window where you select or enter the location of the subfield data. A location node must contain the following child nodes: x_tl, x_br, y_tl, y_br, and pageIndex. If the node is invalid, an icon appears. Mouse over the icon for more information.

Confidence

Click Browse to open the Confidence for Custom Subfield window where you select or enter the path for the confidence value of the subfield data. If the node is invalid or does not contain the expected value, an icon appears. Mouse over the icon for more information.

Definitions for the buttons at the bottom of this window can be found in Common Transformation Designer Buttons.