CloudNine LAW: Is there a way to remove a pre-existing Page ID from an image?

How to remove an existing header/footer endorsement from an image in LAW

If your images already have a header or footer, such as a Bates number or confidentiality mark, you can have LAW mark the Endorsement as complete and then "un-endorse" to remove them.

Download a PDF version of this article here. 

Problem

I have images with existing PageIDs (Bates numbers) branded on them.  Is there a way to remove the existing Bates stamps with LAW?

Solution

 Yes, with scanned or imported images, you can fool LAW into thinking the Endorsement (branding) was completed in LAW, then “un-endorse” the image to remove an existing header or footer on the image 

Steps To Remove an Existing Header / Footer

The following steps are used to remove a pre-existing header and/or footer from an image. 

1. Enable the /su switch to unlock the Header and Footer Fields. 
2. Run a search, returning records at the page level. 
3. Unlock the Header/Footer field in the Search Results standalone grid. 
4. Edit / Replace the zero (0) value in the field with the header / footer size to remove  from the image.
5. Under Batch Process Options – select Header and Footer and remove existing values in the Header and Footer sections.
6. Run Endorse image in Batch Processing to remove the existing footer.

Enabling the SU Switch

The super user (/su) switch unlocks the header/footer fields that are populated during the Endorsement process in LAW.

1.  Right-click on the Law50.exe shortcut, then select Properties. 
2. In the exe – Shortcut Properties, the Target field shows the path to the executable. Add <space>/su to the end of the executable path.
   1. "C:\Program Files (x86)\LAW50\Law50.exe" /su
   
3. Click OK to make the change and close the window. 

Verify the Switch is Enabled

The /su switch enables the Unlock Path Field and Unlock Header/Footer menu options found under Tools in the standalone grid.

1. Launch LAW, then open the LAW case containing the images that need to have the PageIDs removed.
2. Select Tools-Display All Records or click the Globe icon to open the standalone grid.
3. In the Search Results grid, select Tools from the menu. Two menu items: Unlock Path Fields and Unlock Header/Footer are now available (previously grayed out).

Removing an Existing Footer

You have enabled the /su switch and verified Unlock Header/Footer is available for selection. You have a LAW case with either scanned or imported images using either the Load File or Raw Image option. After reviewing the images, you know that removing the existing Page ID will not alter the original image. You can now proceed with removing the existing footer.

Returning Page IDs

The Header/Footer fields are page-level fields in the LAW database. To see page-level fields, you must run a query at the page-level.

1. In the LAW database, select Tools – Query Builder or click the Binoculars icon. The Database Query Builder opens.
   
2.  Build the search by selecting the Field Name, Operator, and Value then clicking Add Condition. The search clause is added to the search window. Add any additional conditions for your search. 
3. Once the search is created, check the Return all Page IDs with query results option in the bottom left of the Query Builder.
4. Click Execute to run the search. The Search Results grid view opens.
5. In the Search Results, right-click on any column header to open the Field List and select page-level fields to add to the grid view. Select the Page ID, Header, and Footer fields to display. Then close the Field List.

Unlocking and Editing the Footer Field 

 Next, you will unlock the Footer field. This will allow you to edit/replace the existing Footer value of 0 to a value expressed in 1/100^th - 25 (1/4”), 50 (1/2”), 75 (3/4”), and 100 (1”). 

1. In the Search Results, select Tools – Unlock Header/Footer. You will receive a warning message. Read through the message, then click Yes to proceed.
2.  A second message indicates the Header/Footer fields have been unlocked. Click OK to close the window. 
   
3. Select Edit – Replace. The Replace window opens.
   1. In the Find What field, enter zero (0).
   2. In Replace With, enter a numeric value that indicates the footer size. In this example, 50 is used to remove ½ “ from the bottom of the image. 
   3. Under Search – Selected Field, select Footer.
   4. Click Replace All to update the Footer field for all page-level records returned in the Search Results grid.
      
4.  A Replace All message indicates the number of page-level records that will be updated. Verify the page count is correct, then click Yes to update the field. 
   
5. Once the update is complete, a Replace All – All matching were successfully replaced message appears. Click OK to close the message.
6. The Footer field is populated with the numeric value entered.

Endorse

The Footer size is set in the database; the next step is to run Batch Process – Endorse. In this process, you will be removing the footer. This will cut-off the footer by the designated size (¼”- 25, ½” - 50, ¾” - 75, 1” - 100, etc.) in the footer field.

Setting the Header/Footer Option

1. In LAW, run a search at the page-level to return only the document records and pages you wish to remove the pre-existing header/footer endorsement (branding).
2. In the Search Results grid menu, select Tools-Batch Process to open the Batch Processing window.
3. At the top-left corner, select Options-Header/Footer.
   
4. The Header/Footer window opens. Clear all values from the header and footer sections. All sections should be empty.
   
5. Click OK to close the Header/Footer window.

Endorse the Images

 You have updated the Footer field and cleared the header/footer sections. It is now time to run the endorsement process. When the Footer field contains a footer value and the sections in the Header/footer options are empty, LAW will cut the header/footer by the size inputted in the Footer field. 

1. In the Batch Process window, select Endorse image, then Begin.
   
2. A Batch Processing Status window appears indicating the process is running. Once complete, a Status window appears. Click OK to close and review the images.

The original branding on the image is removed, and the Footer field is updated to a zero (0) value. Review the images and verify the pre-existing endorsements are removed. 

Troubleshooting

If the un-endorse process doesn’t work, verify:

1. The /su switch was added to the LAW50.exe shortcut.
2. Images were scanned or imported using the Load File or Raw image import options.
3. Images are TIF/JPG. If the images are PDF, you may not be able to remove the pre-existing footer.
4. The Header/Footer fields were  unlocked and edited.
5. Verify Header / Footer (Batch Process-Options) sections are cleared and contain no values. 
6. Check if Resize Header/Footer was set to Automatic or Manual. If Automatic, try Manual with no margin; if Manual, try Automatic.
7. Was the Endorse image batch process run?