It’s perfect! Do you guys already do this?

I open a letter, I take it’s picture with FairScan. The FairScan-folder on my android device gets syncthinged to the ingest folder for Paperless-ngx on my “server”. Paperless imports it, deletes the file and sets the new documents tag to inbox. I decide if the document goes to the binder for important stuff, or if I just toss it in a binder with all the paper I most likely will never touch again. Next time I look at Paperless, I edit all documents with the inbox tag and remove the tag.

  • Feddinat0r@feddit.orgEnglish
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    29 days ago

    I use an hardware scanner which then puts the pdf via ftp on the inbox folder of paperless. So i can also all old stuff

  • MonkeMischief@lemmy.todayEnglish
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    29 days ago

    Heads up if your Paperless is installed via Docker: be VERY CAREFUL about your database version and do an export often!

    Mine has been down for a while because I did a pull and it doesn’t support my version of Postgresql anymore. So it’s kinda a huge mess trying to figure out how to safely migrate it in the container.

    I haven’t been able to fix it yet so I’ve just left it disabled and gone without for a while. It’s not fun.

    Allegedly if you export from within Paperless, you can just start with a fresh updated database container and import when this happens. Oof.

    • Damage@feddit.itEnglish
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      29 days ago

      your version of postgres meaning that you use a db external to the docker container?

    • aquovie@lemmy.cafeEnglish
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      29 days ago

      I don’t think Postgres shouldn’t be just left as :latest or anything. At least the way I handle it, DB upgrades require manual intervention.

      • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.caEnglish
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        29 days ago

        I just got burned by accidental latest tag on a pg container for Nextcloud. They moved some paths internally and it could no longer find the db.

    • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.caEnglish
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      29 days ago

      This is a reminder for self-hosters to put their apps (and their data) on snapshotting filesystems with automatic, regular snapahots turned on; and fix the app versions to at least the major version, across all containers. This should bring similar disruption to bare minimum and makes recovery always possible, without relying on specific app backup features.

  • airikr@lemmy.mlEnglish
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    29 days ago

    Purely awesome app if you scan a straight paper that are not cut in any way. I miss the ability to manually crop the images. Will still use the app, though.

    Thanks for recommending it 🙂 Have always used a flatbed scanner for my papers (receipts, bills, etc.), but now I can scan on the go 😊

  • IlllIlllIlllIlllIllIIIIll@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
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    29 days ago

    Honestly, phone scanning is a total trap for anything you actually care about. I tried this exact setup for months and the OCR quality was absolute trash because of bad lighting or a slight tilt. If a document is important enough to keep, it is worth getting a dedicated scanner with an auto-feeder. Taking photos of letters feels like a massive chore that you will eventually just stop doing after the novelty wears off.

    And let’s be real about that inbox tag. That is just a digital pile of shame. I have hundreds of documents in my own Paperless instance tagged for review that I havent touched in two years. You think you are staying organized, but you are really just moving the clutter from your desk to a database. Syncthing is the only part of this workflow that I actually trust to work every single time without failing.

  • eodur@piefed.socialEnglish
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    29 days ago

    I haven’t used FairScan (yet!), how does it compare to OSS Document Scanner? Other than having a much much better name, obviously.

    • Teppichbrand@feddit.orgOPEnglish
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      29 days ago

      I tried OSS Document Scanner a year ago but never really used it. It has way more features but I didn’t need any of them. With FairScan you just take one or more pictures, give them a name and save them either as one PDF or a couple PNGs. Repeat if necessary.

  • tofu@lemmy.nocturnal.gardenEnglish
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    29 days ago

    I’m using CamScanner, but I have to share every doc to paperless. Should have a look at an automatic ingest as well…

  • nathan@lemmy.permisuan.comEnglish
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    29 days ago

    Oh man I just set this up. I just changed to a high deductible health plan with an HSA and need to save all of my medical receipts. I already had paperless set up but i was dreading setting up some automated way of getting files over to paperless. Thank you so much!

  • silmarine@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
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    29 days ago

    Wait, this is genius. When paperless has processed it and moves the original, it’s also removed from your phone, right?

    • Feddinat0r@feddit.orgEnglish
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      29 days ago

      Yes, paperless deletes it from the import folder which is synced with syncthing, so on android the folder is also empty

  • IanTwenty@piefed.socialEnglish
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    29 days ago

    Thank you for introducing me to FairScan! Great app. I have a scanner but being able to snap stuff on the go is so much quicker.

  • diegantobass@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    29 days ago

    This is the transhumanism I like.

    Jokes aside, how did you deal with your papers from the past? I do this with all new incoming mail, but I can’t for the life of me find the time to scan the pile of taxes, bills, medical reports, etc. that has accumulated over 3 thousand years of family life.

    • Teppichbrand@feddit.orgOPEnglish
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      29 days ago

      I took my Very Important Documents!!-folder to a neighbour with a decent scanner. It’s not that big, we scanned for an hour or two. Older, less important stuff stays in binders I most likely will never touch. If I do have to look at something from there, I snap a quick FairScan before I put it back. So it’s not about perfection, I just try to make my live easier from now on. :)

    • HelloRoot@lemy.lolEnglish
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      29 days ago

      You could buy an automatic scanner that takes a stack of docs and dumps the files to a network share.

      • Diplomjodler@lemmy.worldEnglish
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        29 days ago

        Do you have any particular model in mind? What do you mean by “automatic scanner”? Any scanner I know needs quite a lot of manual preparation to scan a batch of documents.

        • HelloRoot@lemy.lolEnglish
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          29 days ago

          Epson WorkForce DS‑730N

          put 100 sheets on the tray, it scans them all and either puts them all into a single pdf or multiple pdfs. Then you split / merge them in software.

              • Diplomjodler@lemmy.worldEnglish
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                29 days ago

                You can use e.g. barcodes, patch codes or separator sheets (which usually carry the patch code). Sometimes you can also separate documents by recognising some feature on the first page, e.g. a logo or a barcode that’s already there. And of course it’s a good idea to put single page documents in a separate batch so you just separate them by page count. This of course also works if all documents are two or three pages long.

                • HelloRoot@lemy.lolEnglish
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                  29 days ago

                  afaik you just listed features that the printer I mentioned (or if I am wrong, other similar printers) supports

                  it’s my bad for not mentioning all possible workflows, I was just a bit lazy and thinking of my personal documents only, which do not work well with further smart automation, because my batches are highly irregular. So the more manual approach is the best for me currently. Maybe possible with some future AI integration.