Falcon/DMS, the product suite's 'core' component, comprises the user (DocMan) and administrative interfaces.

• While providing a powerful and comprehensive solution, Falcon/DMS remains remarkably easy to implement, administer, & use.
• DocMan is Falcon's File Explorer-like user interface — fast, rock-solid, and with a very small footprint.
• The Administrator is a browser-based application that allows for reliable remote administration of Falcon/DMS and Falcon/WebSuite.
• Designed for tight integration with all Windows-based applications.
• Optimized for AutoCAD & MicroStation, particulary with regard to the external reference file capabilities of each.
• Possesses robust searching tools with extensive and highly configurable Keyword Searching.
• Supports Multiple Environments | Revision Control | Document Notes
• Provides Location Checkout / Check In & Archive tools
• Legacy data can be brought into the Falcon database quickly and with little or no re-formatting.

The Falcon/WebSuite is a set of applications that make information controlled by Falcon/DMS available over intranets, extranets, and the Internet, using standard Web browsers and related technologies.

WebSuite is fully integrated with core Falcon/DMS — Web security and the user interface components (search forms, search results, document properties, etc.) are designed and maintained with the Falcon Administrator.

The Falcon/WebSuite is comprised of three Microsoft IIS-based applications:

• Falcon/SVP (Search-View-Print) is the foundation product and requires only a Web browser and an account defined in Falcon/DMS to access. SVP allows users to view and print documents listed in a search result.

• Falcon/Enterprise extends SVP to allow for document checkout and check in, as well as the ability to add new documents to the Falcon database.

• Falcon/PDF Publisher is the output extension [see next panel].

Falcon/PDF Publisher is a Falcon/WebSuite extension designed to dynamically publish most file types in the Adobe PDF format, allowing users to view, on-demand, virtually any document available through SVP and Enterprise with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Publisher is so versatile, however, that its application extends beyond just WebSuite:

• Publisher can be paired with Falcon/Deliver (see next panel). Converting every document type contained in a Deliver! package to PDF makes them viewable with a single, free-of-charge application.
• Publisher can also be implemented support the View function in core Falcon/DMS by allowing users to view documents in PDF format. This can eliminate the need for a document's native application to be installed on what might be just viewing seats.

Why Falcon/PDF Publisher?

The View function in SVP and Enterprise relies on browser plug-ins to display documents ‘pushed’ from a Web server to the client’s workstation. When the plug-in for a specific file format is not present, the browser offers to save the requested document to the client’s hard drive, a result which defeats the purpose as a user naturally expects to view the document in what should be a seamless process—Falcon/Publisher insures the process is seamless.

Why Adobe PDF?

Because many 'dynamic' documents are subject to ongoing modification, a static version of any document is merely a snapshot of a moment in time. It's vital that users see the most current version when any dynamic, in-process document is viewed. This is an 'on-demand' publishing task for which PDF, the de facto standard for document representation, excels.

Falcon/Deliver! is a document ‘packaging’ application that overlays standard Falcon/DMS and is used to define document sets, capture database information for those documents, and create customized searching and viewing interfaces. The complete ‘package’ is then transferred to a CD or DVD for distribution or archiving.

The Deliver! Package

The unique aspect of Falcon/Deliver! is the package itself. Each Deliver! package includes an integrated searching and viewing interface designed specifically for the target user.

Robust Searching Capabilities

The search component allows the packaged documents to be accessed through a database search function or from folders that replicate the original directory structure. (You can also opt to copy all documents into a single folder, something that is especially useful when distributing MicroStation or AutoCAD files to which reference files are attached.) Searches are performed from a customized search panel and document metadata is viewed from similarly customized property tabs.

Falcon/Indexer streamlines the process of creating database records for electronic documents with easy-to-use indexing and management tools. Designed to facilitate ‘heads up’ indexing, the Falcon/Indexer interface integrates an image viewing area with data entry tabs, thereby enabling a user to examine images as closely as required while entering metadata from the same application window.

• Optimized for Plugin Technology—Falcon/Indexer is designed to use a web browser plugin as its viewing engine, allowing the application to employ the latest raster viewing technology without imposing limits on your choices. This means an organization can leverage its existing investment in viewing technology, while its users continue to work with familiar tools.
• Comprehensive Tool Set—Because Falcon/Indexer recognizes both local and mapped drives, image files can be located anywhere on the network—files can even be accessed directly from the file repository if they were originally scanned or moved to their final locations before they are added to the database. Files located on local or mapped drives are moved to their target locations on the data repository as they are indexed. Falcon/Indexer also provides the ability to rename ‘auto-named’ scanned images as they are added to the database, customizable database tabs and entry fields, and a direct link to the Administrator’s Master ‘Project’ Table, where you can create new project directories on a data repository.

Full Content Search is a DocMan V7 and WebSuite extension that enables you to index the text in files controlled by Falcon, and then make that index database available as a search field in DocMan and WebSuite.

Workflow is a toolbox that aids in creating workflow tasks that overlay the standard DocMan processes.

The Falcon/API is WebSuite's customization platform. Falcon/API expands the communication power of Falcon/WebSuite with tools that integrate Falcon’s document management functions with systems that range from Google Maps to the most advanced GIS applications. For example, with minimal coding Falcon/API facilitates the retrieval of Falcon-controlled documents that are associated with geographical features generated in real-time from the GIS search criteria.