File Stream FAQs

Re-building of SQL Indexes and truncation of log files will improve performance especially speed of searching. Filestream Ltd can provide a document which provides guidance on what needs to be done.

Please refer to our guide on backing up File Stream and SQL by clicking here.

If you have version 4.0.6.30 or higher then these details are shown in the log-in panel. If you place the mouse over the selected database drop down in the login panel on the fully installed pc the details will be revealed.
If you have an earlier version, the details can be found in an xml file on another pc that already has access to the database:
Go to the folder “C:\Documents and Settings\<<>>\Local Settings\Application Data\FILEstream Ltd\FILEstream 4.x”  and view the file called “settings.xml”

Shut the SQL server down and detach all the database files and move them to the new server.

If also moving the images folder to this or another server, copy the entire File Stream images folder across the network to the new server.

Install SQL on the new server and then attach the database files and make sure that the relevant users can still access them.

Share the entire File Stream folder again and set permissions.

Log in to File Stream as admin and change route box locations and also the images location as this will be pointing to the old server which will cause issues.

If moving the File Stream software, you will also need to set up the msi folder so all computers will be looking at the new location for the updates as and when they are released.

On the “Standard” tab there is an icon called “Database Range”. This is used to control the time period used for document searches. For example, if it’s set to “Current Calendar Year” it only searches through records created since the 1st January of the current year. The longer the time span the longer searches take. Equally a shorter time span speeds up the search, but ensure that it is wide enough to find the documents you are looking for.
Note that Last Calendar Years option will suddenly remove access to 12 months of data on 1st January unless range is changed.
Also note another reason why you might not be seeing all the documents expected is shown in DOCUMENTS below.

As well as all the usual diary / calendar functions such as managing meetings, repeating appointments, holidays etc.you can link each diary entry to any document in File Stream. To do this all you have to do is highlight any linked documents and click on “link Documents” button when creating the diary entry.

When attempting to OCR a document you may get this error message. This may have been caused by a recent Windows 10 update, you will need to delete a registry key in the Registry Editor.

On the pc(s) experiencing the problem follow these steps…
1. Go into ‘Services’ and stop the ‘Nuance Licensing Manager Service’
2. Open the Registry Editor (regedit). In the Registry Editor browse to the following path \HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-18\Software\Nuance\Licensing
3. Here there should be a key called LastCheck. Delete this key
4. Restart the ‘Nuance Licensing Manager Service’
5. Log back into File Stream and try OCR’ing something

At any point click on the round blue question mark icon for available context sensitive help.

Click on the” Help Tab” and then on the “Licensing” icon. Click on “Get License” and browse to the location where the license file is held. Click on the license and then OK.

To find information on your licence click on the “Help Tab” and then on the Licensing icon. This will show you when your licence expires, what features you are licensed for and if you click on “Get Licence” it will tell you where your licence is held.

1. It could be visible on the bottom LHS of your screen. Also…
2. Clicking on the “Help Tab” followed by clicking on the “About” icon displays the version of File Stream you have installed.

File Stream Version 4 onwards has a single licence file that is usually held in the File Stream Technical Folder on the server in the case of a network system. This .LIC file is used to “switch on” additional features that have been bought as well as the number of users that can log on at any one time. It also contains a list of all the PCs by name that are licensed to use the software. This means that as PCs are removed and added this list needs to be edited accordingly using Licence Manager.

When scanning in the web module, users are not aware that they have to select the scanned pages and press the “Import” button to transfer them to the in-tray. Users are simply scanning and then they close the scan window but they don’t see any documents in their in-tray. Scans are not lost, the system remembers scanned pages locally on the machine so you can always go back to the scanning window on that PC and transfer them later, but they need to be told about how to do scanning in the web module.

If your screen resolution is set to below 1280 x 1024 the “Scan” button is effectively off the bottom of your screen. In the first instance see if your resolution can be increased by right clicking on your “Desktop” and selecting “Properties / Settings”.

If your resolution is already at its highest setting you can minimise the ribbon menus in File Stream as follows:

1. Click on the Red / Yellow / Blue triangle in the top LH corner of your File Stream screen
2. Right click anywhere in the small panel that appears and select the “Minimise Ribbon” option.
3. You should now see the scan button.
4. To Maximise the Ribbon Menus again repeat 1 & 2 above but select “Maximize Ribbon” option.

If you have a later version of File Stream (no RYB triangle) then all you have to do to minimise the ribbon is double click on the Ribbon Menu label e.g. double click on the word “Standard” if you are in the Standard ribbon menu. Double clicking on it again maximizes the Ribbon Menu.

Scan profiles are saved in xml files in the following folder…

“C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\FILEstream Ltd\FILEstream 4.x\ScanProfiles”

where ‘username’ is the user’s log on profile folder.

If you want scan profiles to be seen by another user on the same machine or if you want them visible on other machines, you need to copy the xml files across to the correct user’s folder as above.

If a large number of documents are scanned in together it is difficult & time consuming to group the scanned images together to re-create the documents that were scanned in.
If all the documents have the same number of pages, this grouping can be done automatically via one of the scanning settings. But if they are different,then a “separator” can be used to achieve this. This can be a blank sheet, or even better a distinct mark such as a small black sticker placed at the point of separation. This can be removed afterwards if required.This method works for directly connected scanners and for network multi-function devices. Please contact us on 0118 989 3771 for further information.

If it is a Multi Function Printer (MFP) it should have the ability to scan documents and create TIF or PDF image files.
You might need to contact your MFP / copier support company to set this up so that each user can scan directly into their own in-tray.

Users require permissions to access drives to allow them to read / create / edit documents and databases used by File Stream. Where an user does not have the requisite Windows access rights to carry out the File Stream tasks their role requires a Windows error message will appear that indicates this. This is not a File Stream error.

This is done through “User Maintenance” by the Systems Administrator. Click on “Administration” tab and select “Users”. Then select the user’s name and edit the record to set up a new password.

This is done through “User Maintenance” by the Systems Administrator. Click on the Administration tab and select “Users / New”. Click on the “Help” icon (round blue icon with ? on it) to see a short Help video.

This can occur if the Administrator password has been entered incorrectly 3 or more times. At this stage the Administrator needs to contact Filestream Ltd on 0118 989 3771 who can then access the PC via TeamViewer and resolve the problem.

When you create a new user account, that user needs to log-in in the main system at least once before they can log into the web module. The user’s main in-tray, deleted items folder and other bits and pieces get created when they log into the main system for the first time. Administrators should be asked to log in as the new user once before giving them access to the web module. ( the same applies to logging in to the outlook add-ins or using the API or other scripts to log in, each user has to log in once in the main system before they can work in the other modules )

The web service is designed to automatically log out inactive sessions after 20 minutes of inactivity.
When this happens it is necessary for the user to log in again.

The web version of File Stream does not have the same functionality as the network version. Please see this document for a summary of what is available: FS4 Web Functionality

The web version performance is constrained by the available bandwidth. Some operations will be slower than when carried out on a local network. If for example you are using annotations as a method of approving documents, there is already a document approval process in File Stream which should be quicker. See DOCUMENTS section above for further details.