Overview
The Image Supplement to DentaLab for
QuickBooks provides for capturing and storing images of the prescription,
photos, diagrams, and other documents associated with a case. The image(s)
stored for a case can be easily retrieved whenever needed by the same criteria
as cases. You may store multiple images
for each case.
This feature can provide great benefits
in a number of ways:
· time and expense for filing and retrieval
· prevent loss of vital documents due to misfiling or catastrophe
· greatly reduce physical space requirements
· easily make electronic or printed copies for archival or requests
Images in JPEG format can be obtained in one or more of these ways:
1. WIA or Twain-compatible scanner, flatbed or automatic feed
2. USB camera or webcam
3. Electronic transmission sent by the dental offices
Documents can be in a variety of industry-standard electronic formats.
Hardware Requirements
Scanner: Installation of a WIA or Twain-compatible scanner capable of capturing JPEG formats with availability to the case entry station. The JPEG graphics format is a widely used format for compressed images for high quality image resolution.
Various scanner types are available from a number of vendors with a variety of speed, image quality, scanning mechanisms and other features. With WIA compatibility, you can preserve your settings to achieve speedy one-click scanning.
Camera: USB camera or webcam, capable of capturing JPEG format. The IPEVO Point 2 View was used in the development of the camera feature due its affordability and features.
Electronic transmission: For communication from and to the dental offices, a broadband internet connection will be needed.
Licensing Requirements
The Image Supplement can be licensed as an addition to the DentaLab for QuickBooks Standard/Enterprise versions. It is not available for the Starter version.
Capture and Retrieval of Images
Once licensed, In Case Entry there will be a separate tab called Images. Click this to enter the screen for the images. Here you will be able to:
· scan case documents such as the prescription, work ticket charts, photographs
· capture photographs with a camera or webcam such as impressions, completed cases
· browse to locate images sent by the dental offices
· view, edit, crop, delete,or print already captured images
· adjust settings such as brightness, resolution
For Scanning In Options/Settings/Case Settings/Images tab, you can specify:
Page margins to use when printing images (entry) hundredths of an inch. If this is set on (checked), the program will use the specified margins when printing the images; if off, no setting will be applied so the default value will be used. This option is saved locally on each client station and therefore applies only to that client station.
Scanner Setup – this will be for the selected scanner
Auto Crop – With WIA compatibility, you will be able to select scanning options such as brightness, resolution, color, whether to scan from a flatbed or document feeder, auto- cropping, and then preserve your settings. The default or preserved scanning form automatically displays. (This will vary depending on which scanner model is chosen).
If you wish to use Twain rather than WIA, you can check the indicator on to use the previous scanning method.
The typical steps in scanning an image are:
1. Place the document on the scanner and click Scan Image at the bottom right.
2. A Select Source box will pop up listing any available scanners. Highlight the appropriate scanner and click Select.
3. Now click Scan and the image will automatically display.
4. The image will be named with the case number plus and underline character and the image sequence with a .JPG extension, e.g. 3045_1.JPG for case 3045, first image, JPEG format.
5. The image will be stored in:
Program Files\Mainstreet\DentaLab for QuickBooks in the DQBData\Scans
Capturing Photographs
Working with a USB camera or webcam, you can select the device and set its resolutions, then click Start Camera. The image in focus will be shown on the screen, you can adjust this as needed.
When ready, click Save Image.
The naming convention and location will be the same as described above for scanning.
Additional Actions
Once the image is stored and associated with the case, you can click the Images tab to perform additional actions.
To View/Edit,
double click the appropriate thumbnail image to enlarge it. You can also select from the toolbar icons to Print, Enlarge +, Decrease -, Fit to Screen, or show the Actual Size. The program will automatically determine whether to print in portrait or landscape mode, based on the width and height of the image.
To Delete, right-click on the image and choose Delete or select the image and click the Delete icon at the top of the screen.
To Crop
a selected image, use your mouse/pointer to draw a box around the area you want to retain, then click Crop. When ready, click
Save. You can choose to retain or delete the original image.
Document Center
If you have additional documents associated with a case that do not meet the
formatting requirements of the Image Supplement described above, these can be stored in the Document Center, available from the Documents tab in Case Entry..
This feature can provide great savings in time for filing and retrieval, prevent loss of vital documents due to misfiling or catastrophe, and greatly reduce physical space requirements.
In the Windows/Tools/Folder Options/File Types folder, there are the industry-standard extensions for the more commonly used formats such as .XLS for Excel, .DOC for Word documents. If the document you are adding to the document center has an extension not already in this folder, you may add it with its identification. Access to this folder can be found in the top toolbar of Windows, beginning with Tools.
Backup and Restoration of Images
You will need to add the DQBData\Scans folder described above to your daily backup procedures. You can restore either the entire folder or individual images as needed.
Import/Export of Images
The .JPG format is widely used, allowing the images to be used by a variety of graphics software systems. Individual images can also be sent as email attachments or copied to computer media such as zipdisks, CD's and removable disks.
You can add to each case images received from other sources such as email attachments or CD's provided they use the JPEG (extension .JPG) format. Use the Browse button to locate the image(s) that are stored on your disk or other media and then add these to the set for the case. Note that you can browse and select multiple images at the same time.
When you save these with the case, the system will automatically name them in the same convention used for images captured by a scanner or camera
Government Compliance
Government laws concerning the duration and physical requirements for paper prescriptions with the completed work tickets and store them by date. Should retrieval of the paper document become necessary, the case records can provide the appropriate date.
The number of government bodes accepting electronic facsimiles of paper documents continues to increase.
