General settings
Startup, the OCR overlay style, auto-save corrections, high-compression output, theme, and locale.
The General tab is the first tab in Scanix Desktop's Settings page. It holds app-startup preferences, the document-viewer overlay style, how text corrections are saved, the high-compression output switch, the app theme, and the Locale & Formats block that controls how Scanix reads numbers, currency, and dates. To get there, open Settings and stay on the first tab, General.
Most controls here save the moment you click them. A few are staged — they only take effect when you click the Apply button in the bottom action bar — and the table below marks which is which.
General options
| Option | Type | Default | What it does | When it saves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start Scanix Desktop when you sign in to your computer | Checkbox | Off | Preference for launching Scanix automatically when you sign in to your computer. | See the note below |
| Open Scanix Dashboard when Scanix Desktop starts | Checkbox | On | Preference for opening the dashboard each time Scanix launches. | See the note below |
| Use the enterprise OCR overlay (recommended) | Checkbox | On | Shows recognized text and field regions as modern, semantically coloured boxes with rounded corners and externally anchored labels. Turn it off for the older, plainer overlay. | Instantly |
| Auto-save OCR corrections (recommended) | Checkbox | On | Persists your edits to the recognized text layer and any moved or resized region box as you make them, and hides the Viewer's Save button. Turn it off to keep an explicit Save button for the searchable-text layer. | Instantly |
| Enable high-compression document output (MRC) | Checkbox | Off | Adds a per-template Compression level to a template's Output settings, producing much smaller searchable PDFs. | On Apply |
| Choose theme for Scanix Desktop | Radio: Light / Dark / Use system settings | Dark | Sets the app's colour theme. Use system settings follows your computer's light/dark preference. | Instantly |
| Display Language | Dropdown | English (disabled) | Reserved for an upcoming user-interface translation. Disabled in this release. | — |
Both the overlay and the auto-save toggles save the instant you click them. The enterprise overlay's new look takes effect the next time you open a page that uses it (the Viewer or the template designer); an already-open Viewer picks up an auto-save change without a reload.
Two startup checkboxes
The Start Scanix Desktop when you sign in to your computer and Open Scanix Dashboard when Scanix Desktop starts checkboxes set a startup preference. Confirm the behaviour you want after the next launch rather than relying on the checkbox alone.
Display Language is coming soon
The Display Language dropdown carries a Coming soon badge and is disabled in this release. It controls only the app's interface language and is separate from your OCR languages and the Locale & Formats settings below.
Auto-save OCR corrections, in detail
This setting governs only the searchable-text layer — the recognized text and the region boxes you can drag or resize. It does not affect index field values, which always save on their own.
| Setting | Viewer behaviour | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| On (default) | Text-layer and region-box edits persist instantly; the Save button is hidden. | Most operators who want hands-off correcting. |
| Off | A Save button stays visible so you choose when to commit text-layer edits. | QA operators who want an explicit save step. |
High-compression output (MRC)
Turning on Enable high-compression document output (MRC) only exposes the compression control — it doesn't compress anything on its own. With it on, each template's Output settings gain a Compression level you set per template. The level applies to searchable-PDF output.
| Compression level | What it does |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| Extra High | Smallest files. May soften photos and backgrounds — not recommended for legal originals. |
| Archival — lossless text | Lossless text mask, best fidelity; larger files than High. |
Because this switch is staged, click Apply to keep it. For how compression and searchable PDFs fit together, see Searchable PDF & compression.
Locale & Formats
The Locale & Formats block controls how Scanix parses and stores numbers, currency, and dates that it reads from your documents. The General tab shows a summary row; click Edit… to open the Locale & Formats dialog. Changes here are staged — click Apply after closing the dialog to keep them.
Screenshot
The General tab of Settings with the enterprise OCR overlay and auto-save checkboxes visible, the theme radios, and the Locale & Formats summary row with its Edit… button. — shot settings-general-01
| Field | Control | Default | What it sets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Locale | Dropdown (16 presets) + Custom… | Detected from your system | The language/region used to interpret read values. Custom… lets you type a code such as en-IE or fr-CA. |
| Default currency | Dropdown (ISO 4217 codes) + free-text box | Guessed from the chosen locale | The currency assumed for amounts read from documents. |
| Date format | Radios (see below) | Auto from locale | How dates are read and stored. A live Preview shows the result. |
Screenshot
The Locale & Formats dialog open over the General tab, showing the Locale dropdown, the Default currency picker, the Date format radios, and the live Preview. — shot settings-general-02
Date format options
| Option | Example |
|---|---|
| Auto from locale (default) | Matches the chosen locale |
| ISO 8601 | 2026-04-26 |
| US | 04/26/2026 |
| EU | 26/04/2026 |
| Custom… | A pattern you type, e.g. dd-MMM-yyyy |
The dialog footer has Cancel and Save. Saving the dialog only stages the change; click the main Apply button to persist it.
Locale changes apply everywhere, no reload
Once applied, your locale choice is picked up by every later type-aware read — drawing a zone, correcting a value, or running a batch — without restarting Scanix.
Saving your changes
| Save style | Controls on this tab |
|---|---|
| Saved instantly | Enterprise OCR overlay, Auto-save OCR corrections, theme |
| Staged — needs Apply | High-compression output (MRC), Locale & Formats |
When you make a staged change, the Apply button in the bottom action bar lights up; after you click it, a brief Settings applied confirmation appears.
No accidental dismiss
The Locale & Formats dialog closes only via Cancel, the ✕, the Escape key, or its Save button — clicking outside it won't close it.
Next steps
Searchable PDF & compression
What the MRC switch enables, and how compression levels affect your output PDFs.
Edit & correct text
How the Save button and auto-save corrections shape the way you fix recognized text.
Settings overview
A map of every Settings tab and what each one controls.