Document & metadata formats
Every export format Scanix can produce, plus metadata sidecars and high-compression PDFs.
Pick how each output is written: a Document Format for the page images, a Metadata Format for the index data, or both. This page is the full reference — every value you can choose on a template output, plus the one-off formats in the Viewer's Export Document dialog.
A template output sets these two formats independently. You can produce a document and a metadata sidecar from the same output, just one of them, or — for metadata-only and document-only setups — leave the other set to None.
Screenshot
The template Output section showing the Document Format and Metadata Format dropdowns on a single output destination. — shot export-formats-01
Document Format
The Document Format dropdown controls how the page images are written.
| Label | What it produces |
|---|---|
| Searchable PDF | A PDF with an invisible OCR text layer, so the document is full-text searchable. The default. Supports multi-document filing and high-compression (see below). |
| Original File | Writes the source file back out unchanged. |
| TIFF | Page images as a TIFF. |
| JPEG | Page images as JPEG. |
| PNG | Page images as PNG. |
| None (metadata only) | No document is written — only the metadata sidecar. Use this when an output exists purely to produce an index file. |
Searchable PDF is the only format with extra options
The Filing and Compression controls described below appear only when Document Format is Searchable PDF.
Filing (multi-document imports)
When Document Format is Searchable PDF, the Filing (multi-document imports) dropdown decides how a batch of several documents is written.
| Option | Result |
|---|---|
| One file per document (standard) | Each imported document exports as its own PDF, named per the pattern. |
| Combine all into a single file | All imported documents merge into one PDF, in order. If the output also has a metadata format set, you get one aggregate index alongside it (one record per document/page). |
See File naming patterns for how the resulting filenames are built.
Metadata Format
The Metadata Format dropdown controls the sidecar index file written next to the document.
| Label | Format |
|---|---|
| XML Metadata | Full structured XML. |
| Simplified XML | A flatter, reduced XML layout. |
| XML Template | XML built from your own template string (see below). |
| CSV | Comma/character-separated values. |
| TSV | Tab-separated values. |
| TXT | Plain-text index. |
| JSON | Structured JSON. |
| None (document only) | No metadata sidecar — only the document is written. |
XML Template
Choosing XML Template reveals a XML Template editor where you write the exact XML you want. Use these placeholders:
| Placeholder | Resolves to |
|---|---|
${fieldLabel} or ${fieldKey} | The value of an index field, by its label or key. |
${date} | The current date. |
${filename} | The source file name. |
${templateName} | The template's name. |
${documentId} | The document's id. |
Metadata Scope
For CSV, TSV, and TXT, a Metadata Scope dropdown controls how many index files are written across a batch.
| Option | Result |
|---|---|
| One file per document | A separate index file beside each document. |
| One file per batch | A single index file for the whole batch. |
| Append to single file | Rows are appended to one running file. |
CSV / TSV options
For CSV and TSV, three extra controls appear.
Encoding
| Option |
|---|
| UTF-8 with BOM |
| UTF-8 |
| ASCII |
Delimiter
| Option |
|---|
| Comma (,) |
| Semicolon (;) |
| Tab |
Include header row — a checkbox that writes a header row of column names. On by default.
TSV defaults to Tab
A TSV output defaults its Delimiter to Tab; a CSV output defaults to Comma (,). You can override either.
High-compression (MRC) PDFs
When you turn on Enable high-compression document output (MRC) in Settings → General, a Compression dropdown appears on each Searchable PDF output. Higher levels produce smaller files.
| Level | Effect |
|---|---|
| Off — no compression | Full-resolution pages. Largest files. |
| Low | Light compression; images stay crisp. |
| Medium | Balanced file size and quality. |
| High (recommended) | Strong compression for everyday documents — roughly 5–10× smaller than a plain JPEG PDF. |
| Extra High | Smallest files. May soften photos/backgrounds — not recommended for legal originals. |
| Archival — lossless text | Lossless text mask. Best fidelity; larger than High. |
Compression controls are hidden by default
The per-output Compression dropdown only appears after you tick Enable high-compression document output (MRC) in Settings → General. Until then, Searchable PDFs export at full resolution.
For how the text layer and compression work together, see Searchable PDF & compression.
Viewer one-off exports
The Viewer's Export Document dialog exports the open document on demand. These formats are independent of template outputs and every one requires OCR results first — run OCR before exporting.
| Format | Extension | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| Searchable PDF | .pdf | PDF with an invisible text layer for search. |
| Plain Text | .txt | Index fields + raw extracted text, one page per section. |
| JSON | .json | Structured data with index fields, regions and coordinates. |
| XML | .xml | Structured XML with index fields and OCR text. |
| hOCR | .hocr | HTML-based OCR format with bounding boxes and field meta tags. |
| CSV | .csv | Spreadsheet export with index field columns and OCR regions. |
| PDF + XML | — | PDF with a sidecar XML metadata file. |
Run OCR first
Every format in the Export Document dialog needs OCR results. Formats are greyed out and read Run OCR first to enable this format until the document has been OCR'd.
Screenshot
The Viewer Export Document dialog with the format grid — Searchable PDF, Plain Text, JSON, XML, hOCR, CSV, and PDF + XML — above the destination and filename fields. — shot export-formats-02
Next steps
Searchable PDF & compression
How the invisible text layer is built and how MRC compression shrinks the file.
File naming patterns
Build dynamic output filenames from fields, dates, and counters.
Destinations
Where outputs are written — folders, email, and connectors.