2.80:Batch (Object)

This article is about an older version of Grooper. Information may be out of date and UI elements may have changed.
2025	2023.1	2023	2.80

inventory_2 Batch objects are fundamental in Grooper's architecture as they are the containers of documents that get moved through Grooper's workflow mechanisms known as settings Batch Processes.

Batch objects in Grooper house two child objects.

1. The root Batch Folder, containing a hierarchy of Batch Folders and Batch Pages.
2. A read-only Batch Process, containing the list of processing instructions for the Batch Folders and Batch Pages

About

There are three components to a batch:

1. The Batch itself
2. Batch Folders
3. Batch Pages

Below is an extremely simple Batch.  We are viewing it Grooper Dashboard, using the "Batch Viewer" tab. Multiple folder levels can be created in a batch depending on how complicated your documents are.

At the top level is the Batch, named here "Simple Batch".	Contained inside are Batch Folders and Batch Pages.  Here, it is just a collection of .TIFF Batch Page images of invoices.	We create can create a hierarchical structure by separating pages into folders.  In the example below, one Batch Folder was created for every Batch Page.

A Batch can have one or more levels of Batch Folders. A Batch may even start out having no folder levels. Batch Pages can exist at any level in the batch, but will most often be bottom-most level.

Documents are represented as Batch Folders with Batch Pages inside. So, a two-page document would be a Batch Folder with two Batch Pages inside, one for the first and one for the last. Part of Grooper's document processing workflow is (usually) separating documents from loose pages by setting up logical points to create new Batch Folders and put Batch Pages inside.

However, all Batch Processing Activities in Grooper are performed at some level within the Batch, either at the Batch Page, at a certain Batch Folder level, or at the top level, the Batch itself.

For example, OCR text is obtained from images by running a Recognize activity at the Page level. Document classification is done by running a Classify activity at the Folder level. Exporting is done by running a Document Export activity at the Batch level.

Production vs Test Batches

Batches exist in two environments:  

• Production
  • Stored in the Batches > Production branch of the Grooper node tree.
• Test
  • Stored in the Batches > Test branch of the Grooper node tree.

Test Batches are only visible to Grooper Design users.  Production Batches are visible to all users who have appropriate access rights.

• Typically, production Batches are created and processed using the "/Grooper/Batches" page.
  • However, be aware, production Batches can be created and processed both from the "/Grooper/Design" page and the "/Grooper/Batches" page, meaning multiple users at multiple access levels can affect Batch workflow.  
• Test Batches, however, will only be seen by "Design" users.