Document splitting

Split a multi-document scan into separate documents with separators, blank pages, or page counts.

When you feed Scanix one long stack — say twenty invoices scanned back to back — document splitting cuts it into the right number of separate documents so each one files and exports on its own. You set this up once on a template by choosing how the boundaries are marked: a barcode or patch code on a cover sheet, a blank page between documents, a fixed page count, a recurring piece of zonal OCR text, or a specific document marker. This page shows you how to turn splitting on and tune each method.

Before you start

Splitting is a template setting, so open the template you want to process the stack with. If you don't have one yet, build one first in the Designer.
Decide how the documents in your stack are separated before you scan — a barcode or patch-code cover sheet, a blank divider page, or a predictable page count all need to be in place at scan time.

When to split

Reach for splitting whenever one scan run holds many documents and you want each to become its own file with its own index values. Without a split rule, Scanix treats the whole import as a single document. With one, it walks the pages, finds each boundary you defined, and starts a new document there.

If instead you have a stack of different document types that each need a different template (invoices, IDs, and contracts mixed together), splitting alone isn't the tool — that's what a Job Group does. See How routing works for the difference, covered at the end of this page.

Turn on splitting

Open the Document Splitting section

Open your template in the Designer. In the section list down the left side, choose Document Splitting.

Add a rule and pick a method

Click Add Rule and choose how documents are separated:

Barcode — a barcode (or QR code) on a separator or cover page marks each new document.
Patch Code — a printed patch-code pattern marks the boundary, the classic scanner separator sheet.
Blank Page — an empty page between documents signals the split.
Fixed Pages — every document is the same number of pages (for example, a stack of two-page forms).
Zonal OCR — a piece of text read from a fixed region (a zone) marks or changes the document.
Specific Doc — split on a specific document marker.

Pick the one that matches how your stack is actually separated.

Configure the method, then Save

Fill in the method's settings (below), then Save the template. The next stack you run through it is split automatically.

Screenshot

The Document Splitting section of the Designer with the method tiles — Barcode, Patch Code, Blank Page, Fixed Pages, Zonal OCR, Specific Doc — and a Barcode rule selected. — shot templates-document-splitting-01

Split methods

A barcode or QR code on a cover or separator page tells Scanix where one document ends and the next begins. This is the most flexible method and the one with the richest controls.

Symbologies — tick which code types to look for: QR Code, Code 128, Code 39, EAN-13, Data Matrix, PDF417, Aztec. The default selection is QR Code.
Value contains — optional. Leave it empty to treat any matching code as a separator, or enter text so only codes carrying that value split the stack.
Match operator — how Value contains is compared: Exact match, Contains (default), Starts with, or Regex.
Remove separator page from output — drop the separator sheet from the finished documents so it never appears in the output.

An empty page between documents signals the split. Insert a blank divider sheet between each document in your stack before scanning, and Scanix starts a new document whenever it sees one. This needs no separator value — just the blank page itself.

Every document is the same length. Tell Scanix how many pages each document has and it cuts the stack into equal segments. Use this when your stack is uniform — for example, a run of two-page application forms — and no separator sheet is involved.

Scanix reads text from a fixed region on each page and uses it to mark document boundaries — for instance, splitting whenever a header or reference number appears or changes. Because this method reads a zone, it depends on clean OCR of that region; place the zone over text that's reliably present and legible.

A page without a matching separator is treated as an ordinary content page, not an error — so a stack where a separator is missing won't fail the run. With a barcode rule and Value contains left empty, any code of the chosen symbologies counts as a separator, so set a value if your documents carry incidental codes (shipping labels, product codes) you don't want mistaken for dividers.

Define a separator area

For methods that read a marker off the page — a Barcode rule is the common one — you tell Scanix where the separator sits and confirm it decodes. This is the separator area workflow.

Define the area

Click Define area and mark where the code sits on the page. You can Upload an existing separator sheet to read from, or Generate a fresh one (next step).

Generate a separator sheet (optional)

If you don't already have separator pages, click Generate. Scanix encodes your chosen value into a printable separator and emits a PNG + PDF you can print with Print sheet. You can choose the page size — A4 or Letter — and where the code sits on the sheet (positions run from Top left/centre/right through Center to Bottom left/centre/right; the default is Top centre). Print as many as you need and slip one in front of each document.

Test decode

Click Test decode to read the area live and confirm Scanix sees the value you expect. When it decodes correctly, click Save area.

Decide whether the separator stays

Toggle Remove separator page from output if the separator sheets shouldn't appear in your finished documents. Leave it off if you want them kept.

Screenshot

The separator-area panel for a Barcode rule: the Symbologies chips, Value contains and Match operator, the Define area / Upload / Generate buttons, a Test decode result showing the decoded value, and the Remove separator page from output toggle. — shot templates-document-splitting-02

Generate printable separators

The Generate option turns Scanix into your separator-sheet maker: pick a symbology and a value, and it prints sheets built to scan back cleanly. Pair this with Remove separator page from output so the dividers do their job and then vanish from the final files.

Split only on the codes you mean

A barcode separator can do more than treat every code as a boundary. Set a Value contains string with a Match operator, and only codes whose value matches your rule split the stack; pages carrying other codes stay with the current document. This lets you use one separator type while ignoring incidental codes on your pages.

Tip

Multiple codes on a single page are all considered — the page counts as a separator if any decoded code matches your rule. Set Value contains to keep incidental codes from triggering a split.

How this differs from Job Group routing

Splitting and routing solve different problems, and they're easy to confuse:

Document splitting (this page) decides where one document ends and the next begins inside a single stack. It's a template setting and it produces separate documents of the same kind.
Job Group routing decides which template handles each document when a stack holds different kinds — invoices, IDs, contracts — and each needs its own capture recipe. A Job Group classifies each document and sends it down the matching template's pipeline.

In practice you often use both: a Job Group splits and routes a mixed stack, while each member template can still carry its own splitting rule. For the full picture, see How routing works.

Troubleshooting

My stack came through as one big document. No boundary was found. Confirm the right method is selected and saved, and that the separators are actually present — a barcode/patch sheet in front of each document, a blank divider between them, or a correct page count for Fixed Pages. For a barcode rule, run Test decode on a sample to confirm Scanix reads the code.

Scanix split in the wrong places. With a barcode rule and Value contains empty, any matching code triggers a split — including incidental ones like shipping labels. Set a Value contains value (and a suitable Match operator) so only your real separators count.

The separator sheets show up in my finished documents. Turn on Remove separator page from output in the rule so the dividers are dropped from the output.

Test decode reads nothing. Make sure the code is inside the area you defined and is one of the ticked Symbologies. Re-mark the area with Define area if needed, then Test decode again. If you generated the sheet, reprint it crisply — a faint or skewed print can fail to decode.

A mixed pile of different document types isn't being handled right. Splitting keeps every document the same template. To send different documents to different templates, use a Job Group — see How routing works.

Barcodes & QR codes — capturing a code into a field, and the full list of supported symbologies.
How routing works — splitting versus classifying and routing a mixed stack.
The Designer — where you add and save a Document Splitting rule.