First of all, ensure that the Layout Builder feature is activated. This can be done by navigating to Settings → Document Processing → Module → Document Type and ensure that the Layout Builder slider is set too active as shown below.
After this is done you can access the Layout Builder via Settings → Document Types, once on this page, you can select from the various document types you have created and either select “Edit Layout” as shown below
or if you have sub-document types within a created document type you can select “Document Sub Types” and select “Edit Layout” for the sub document type layout you wish to edit as shown below.
After following the previous steps you will reach a page like the one shown below.
In order to upload a document to the layout builder, simply navigate to the right on the screen
Click on the “Upload Documents” button or drag and drop your desired document into the provided area
Groups can be created by selecting the following icon.
Groups allow you to create different sections on a layout, this makes it easier to separate different groups of data or information to make a layout easier to follow. You can create a title for each group so that a user can know what information they will find in that group.
These are a set of default fields that can be dragged and dropped into the layout builder and are available to you to create your desired layout. These include:
Text – This is a text box which creates a field in the layout that can have text entered into it once on the validation screen.
Label – This is a field that can be used to create uneditable text, this could be used to create sub-headings or any other desired uneditable text when on the validation screen.
Checkbox – This creates a boolean type field which can be checked or unchecked.
Multi Checkbox – This functions the same way as the “Checkbox” but can be used when the user knows they will be adding multiple checkboxes in one section.
Horizontal Separator – This creates a horizontal line on the layout that can be used to split up sections within a group on the layout.
Table of Checkboxes – This lets the user create a table of checkboxes consisting of custom x- and y-axis values, eg.
Button – This creates a clickable button on the validation screen within the layout that can be set to one of three functions, including: Export, Export mit Sonderwunsch or Reject.
Extracted Tables -This allows you to place an area on the document layout that illustrates the table that gets extracted from the document. For information click here.
Invoice Buttons – This element lets you drag and drop a set of buttons that are optimized for invoices. When on the validation screen, when you select the invoice type (either cost or purchase) the PO Matching or Auto Accounting will disappear accordingly.
QR Code Fields – This element allows you to drag and drop a block that will display all the extracted information from a document when a QR code is present.
The user is able to create their own custom groups and fields for a document type, this can be done when originally creating a document type but also by selecting “Fields” when on the Document Types page in Settings.
In order to create the above space on the layout, a “Label” from the Form Elements must be used in a special way. The reason for this is that the Layout Manager operates according to a 100 space per line system in that 1 space represents 1 percent of a line, this means that fields can only take up 100 spaces per line as show below.
This means that the user must build the layout line by line according to this rule. For example let's say you would like to add the fields “Name” and “Date” in the same line but would like the “Name” field to be larger. This can be done by dragging and dropping the “Text” field from the Field Elements drop down and naming each field “Name” and “Date” as shown.
The problem now exists that they are both the same size of 33 (this is the default size of all dragged and dropped fields) but you would like the “Name” field to be larger than the “Date” field and both fields should take up the entire line on the layout. Therefore, by following the 100 percent rule, you can set the “Name” and “Date” fields to any combination of 100 that you would desire. This of course depends on how large you would like each individual field but for the purpose of this example we will set the “Name” field to 70 and the “Date” field to 30, the results are:
This same rule applies to all fields in the Layout Builder.
Now that this rule has been explained, creating blank spaces will make more sense. As previously mentioned, in order to create a blank space you have to use a “Label” from the Form Elements.
For example, let’s say that you would like to create a blank space between these two fields.
Step one is to drag and drop a “Label” between these two fields, once added you can click on the “Label” field you just added and on the left you will be presented with the properties of the field. Now, in the same way you would create or change the name of a field as shown previously, you will remove any name from the “Label” property like so
The result from doing this will then be
There is now a gap between the two fields. This gap can be extended or shortened according to the 100 percent rule discussed earlier, and with these functions you can create any desired layout.
DocBits excels in adapting document layouts according to their geographical origins while standardizing elements like currency formats based on user browser settings. Let’s explore how you can leverage the Layout Builder to customize layouts for different origins, such as the U.S. and Germany.
Currency and Format Standardization: Regardless of the original document’s currency or format, DocBits converts these elements into a standardized ISO format on the server, in line with the user’s browser settings.
Geographical Layout Customization: The system allows customization of document layouts based on their geographical origin. This means you can define specific fields and formats for documents from different countries.
U.S. Layout: For a U.S. invoice, you might include fields for city tax, aligning with the common tax structure in the U.S.
Germany Layout: In contrast, a German invoice layout may omit the city tax field, as it’s not a standard charge in Germany.
Select Origin Layout: In the Layout Builder, choose the base layout corresponding to the document’s origin.
Customize Fields: Adapt the layout by adding or removing fields. For instance, include ‘City Tax’ for a U.S. layout.
Apply and Test: Once customized, apply the layout to your documents and test to ensure accuracy.
Understand Regional Differences: Familiarize yourself with the tax and format nuances of different regions.
Consistent Updates: Regularly update your layouts to reflect any changes in regional regulations.
User Feedback: Utilize feedback from users in different regions to refine layouts further.
This feature by DocBits gives you an alternative to model classification as it allows you to write searchable regular expressions for a document type for classification and other purposes.
Document Type: The Regex Manager allows you to write regular expressions and this regex will then be searched for in the document, if it finds a match to the regex of a defined document, it then classifies that document to the corresponding document type. For example, if you wrote a regular expression to find “Gutschrift”. If DocBits found this term in a document it would classify that document as a credit note.
Document Origin: This lets DocBits know the country of origin of a document through regular expressions. For example, if a regular expression for a Spanish document contains the term “Factura”. If DocBits searches a document and finds this term then it would know that the document is of Spanish origin and classify it as such.
To find this feature in DocBits, from your Dashboard, navigate to Settings → Global Settings → Document Types. Within each of the created document types, there is a “Regex” option.
By clicking on “Regex” you will be taken to this menu, which displays the existing regex models that have been created as well as an “ADD” button for you to create new regex models.
Format: JSON
Purpose: This step involves defining the structure of the EDI data. It includes specifying segments such as SAC, N1, and PO1, and details the fields contained within each segment. For segments that contain nested structures, loops are defined to properly organize the data hierarchy.
Format: XSLT
Purpose: This step involves transforming the structured JSON data into a structured XML format, specifically tailoring the output to meet the requirements for further processing or integration. This transformation helps in extracting precise information like acknowledgement types, order details, and conditional elements based on specific values.
Format: XSLT (outputting HTML)
Purpose: Converts the XML data from Step 2 into an HTML format for previewing the transformed data in a readable and visually appealing format. The HTML layout includes styles for presentation and structures data like purchase orders, supplier details, and order terms for easy viewing.
Format: JSON
Purpose: Specifies JSON paths for extracting key values from the XML data produced in Step 2. These paths are used to retrieve specific data points such as purchase orders and currency, which are crucial for downstream processing and integration into other systems.
This updated sequence ensures a thorough process, transforming raw EDI data into structured, actionable information using JSON for data structuring, XSLT for transformation and HTML preview, followed by JSON paths for data extraction and integration.
If a customer requires a new document type or additional fields to be added to an existing document type layout, this section will go through all the information required to do so.
In DocBits you will find the SETTINGS menu in the upper bar on the DASHBOARD.
If you are logged in to DocBits as an admin, you will find all fields of a document that can be extracted under the respective document type.
Open the menu for Document Types.
In the following overview you will find all standard document types available for you
Activate/Extraction Type
To the right of each document type, you will see Activate and Extraction Type sliders.
Activate: This document type is active in your DocBits environment.
Extraction Type: This slider allows you to enable or disable a set of predefined rules for the document type when it is processed by DocBits. By selecting the gear icon to the right of the slider, the following menu will appear.
To see which fields can be extracted, for example from an invoice, click on FIELDS for this document type.
Field Settings
Here you will find all the fields that can be extracted
You can also CREATE FIELDS like freight, postage or any field with an amount you want to extract from your invoices.
For each field you can check the boxes if they are:
REQUIRED: Here you can define if the field must contain a value to continue.
READ ONLY: Here you can define if a field can only be displayed but not edited.
HIDDEN: Here you can define whether a field should be hidden or displayed in the extraction view.
FORCE VALIDATION: Here you can define whether a field must always be validated manually, even if it has been read 100% by DocBits.
OCR and MATCH SCORE: Setting as described below, per field.
FORMULA: Creation of a formula per field.
If all settings are made and should be saved, please confirm this with the SAVE SETTINGS button at the bottom of the page, otherwise the settings will not be applied.
Recognition Settings
OCR
Here you can set the sensitivity of the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) function for all fields at once. This value determines the sensitivity with which a field is marked in red if it could not be extracted with 100% certainty (OCR related!).
Match Score
This is where you can set the sensitivity of the MATCH SCORE function for all fields at once. This value determines when a field is marked in red if DocBits has not extracted the field with 100% probability. In this case the field needs to be validated manually.
The button RESTORE DEFAULTS will set back both values to “50”.
Profile
Here you can define the profile that shall be used. Either Default or ZUGFeRD. In profile ZUGFeRD there are predefined fields that are mandatory for this type of invoice. If you do not explicitly use ZUGFeRD, please select “Default”.
