subject: Document Management Software - Keeping Your Digital Copies Accessible [print this page] Document management software is a computer program designed to store and to keep track of just about every type of digital document or image that an individual has in their computer or external storage device. This type of software is all the more important now days since more and more documents are kept in a digital form rather than a traditional filing cabinet. This type of software is also highly useful in the home environment as well as offices. Since more and more individuals are utilizing a scanner to make the digital copy of everything from invoices and receipts to family photographs, keeping them organized and well managed is extremely important.
Before purchasing any type of document management software it is necessary for an individual or business to carefully consider what it is exactly that they need the software to do for them and as well as what kind of options might not be necessary. A good program and will not only index your documents; it will also provide metadata as well as capabilities for retrieving your documents. The metadata assigned to each document will include the date the document was created or stored as well as the name of the individual that initially stored it.
The type of program that you choose for your document management software needs should also make it possible to search and extract text from your electronic documents and may make them searchable using keywords or text. Generally, documents are captured using scanners or printers but may also come from digital photographs or e-mail documents. One of the most important aspects of this type of software should be in providing an easy and user friendly the way of retrieving the documents when they are needed. Anyone can stuff tons of electronic documents into a folder, but organizing and searching them without the proper software can be a real chore.
Document management software has gotten more and more advanced as the number of documents stored has grown. A high quality scanner is an extremely useful tool if you are considering making the switch from paper to digital copies. These types of devices can easily transfer paper documents into a digital form that can be quickly indexed and stored either on your home computer or external storage device of some type. There is nothing worse than losing an important document, but by using the right type of equipment and software, that will be a thing of the past.