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Paperless-ngx and seeking suggestions for getting into a decent workflow (discuss.online)
submitted 5 months ago by to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
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cross-posted from: https://discuss.online/post/40125235

Picked up an ix500 scansnap and wondering about suggested workflows for going paperless. My intention is to scan a bunch of documents, but haven't delved deeply into how this will actually flow on the software level. I know I'll need to OCR the scanned documents, and my base setup is:

  • Pi with SSD storage running compose version of Paperless-ngx to filesystem mounted folders.
    • Folders can also be accessed over Samba
  • ix500 statically assigned over wifi as network scanner.
  • A literal filing cabinet, for things I should keep physically.
  • Ubuntu computer for browsing

I feel a bit overwhelmed, but am excited to get started. Will be scanning personal document, work docs, whatever else I need to digitize and recycle. All suggestions appreciated!

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[–] 14 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (4 children)

And file away your scanned papers separately,

I'd recommend using ASN (archive serial numbers) for documents you store a physical copy of, following the recommended flow

I printed ASN QR code stickers, using the smallest Avery labels I could find (Avery 5267 in the USA, L4731REV-25 in Europe) along with their free online design app.

For documents I want to keep, I stick a QR code sticker on them before scanning. Paperless-ngx automatically detects the QR code and sets the ASN. I then file it away in a folder that's sorted by ASN. When I need to find the physical copy again, I first look in Paperless to find the ASN, then find the document in the folder (pretty quick since all documents are sorted).

You'll need to set the following settings:

PAPERLESS_CONSUMER_ENABLE_BARCODES=true
PAPERLESS_CONSUMER_ENABLE_ASN_BARCODE=true
PAPERLESS_CONSUMER_BARCODE_SCANNER=zxing

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago* (3 children)

    I still like my offline documents to be organized into different binders. Is there a way to have separate binder-specific ASNs?

    Edit: Turns out there's no built-in way to do that. https://github.com/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx/discussions/1841

    I guess ASNs are not for me.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    I have achieved this by having several number rows for different binders. E.g.. :

    • ASN0xxxxxx family stuff
    • ASN1xxxxxx wife's stuff
    • ASN3xxxxxx kid' stuff
    • ASN4xxxxxx...

    Downside is, paperless treats it as a single ASN number row and reports the highest used.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago* (1 child)

    paperless treats it as a single ASN number row and reports the highest used.

    This is OK as long as you consistently use the QR codes to assign ASNs.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago

    Yeah, I'm totally fine with it. If the QR is read (sometimes it fails) I just type it in manually, usually the number next to the QR is readable on the scan. Not totally ideal, but closest way to have separate binders I think.

    I just have to carefully count the zeros... 😅

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