Patent attributes
A technique is disclosed for selectively scanning or encoding a desired region of a document. The desired region is identified via scannable indicia on a control form. The region may be outlined by a border preprinted on the form or traced by a user. Preset selectable regions may be identified by codes or other textual descriptions on the form. The form is scanned and the instructions selected by the user are encoded. The selected region is identified and scanned. Only the selected region is scanned, or a larger region is scanned and extraneous data not corresponding to the selected region is eliminated from the resulting data set. The technique permits elimination of unwanted portions of a document automatically, the reduction in scanned file size, and straightforward handling of batch scanning tasks in which selected portions of documents are to be scanned and processed.
