Alchemy application development environment

Add Unstructured Data Management Functionality to Existing Apps or Develop Custom Apps for Managing Unstructured Data

With the Alchemy® Application Programming Interface (API), you can extend the power of the popular Alchemy product line into many other business applications. Use the Alchemy API to affordably add unstructured data management functionality to business applications, including managing large volumes of unstructured data such as images, computer report files (COLD), MS Office files, Adobe Acrobat PDF files, AutoCAD drawings and other common file formats. In addition, with Alchemy, users of your application can index, archive, query, retrieve, view, print and route this important unstructured data via e-mail. Alchemy gives your users fast, easy access to business data for better business decisions and improved customer service. Alchemy can also help your users solve IT problems such as compliance and security.

Your developers can easily leverage the software's COM-based objects and ActiveX interfaces to provide powerful information access to your company or clients. Alchemy has a component-based API with dual interfaces that are industry standard: COM and ActiveX. They combine with the existing ODBC interface to provide developers with endless flexibility.

• Integrate Alchemy into applications that need to manage unstructured data
• Control and customize the Alchemy user interface
• Automate common Alchemy tasks

Integrate Alchemy scanning, database services and viewers
into your own application.

Typical Applications for the Alchemy API
The API provides endless flexibility. There are a wide variety of uses, since you, as a developer, have access to 1) document repository files, 2) every dialog box, 3) the easy to navigate tree view and 4) highly-integrated document viewer panes. For example, the API allows developers to automatically open the search dialog in the Alchemy interface, or open the same search dialog within another application.

The Alchemy product line is very well known for its highly developed and award-winning user interfaces. Unlike other products that have their roots in UNIX, the Alchemy interfaces were originally designed for the Microsoft Windows desktop user and Alchemy processing was designed specifically for the Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Windows NT platforms. With the API, you can create a customized interface to simplify scanning, indexing, viewing and searching, where the standard Alchemy interface may provide other functions your end users don' t want or need. A developer using the Alchemy API can also block features from the end user. For example, users who index documents can be provided with that functionality explicitly, while other functions are disabled such as Build Database, Delete Database, Clear Database and the entire Design Menu. Below are other typical applications you can create using the Alchemy API:

• Document- or image-enable an existing business application by adding Alchemy data capture, indexing and retrieval services. Business applications that benefit from these features are endless, but include customer relationship management (CRM), patient records, and accounting
• Create a simple search client for an Alchemy repository
• Create multiple scan and index workstations for one Alchemy repository
• Log user activity in an Alchemy database by writing a check-out program. Track customer or user interaction with the Alchemy archive system. For example, by writing a check-out program, every time a user views a record or performs a search query, the details can be written to an audit log. End users may use this feature for regulatory compliance, security, billing purposes or to justify system growth based on usage
• Use Alchemy as an ODBC data source for SQL applications
• Add file types for indexing. Of course, Alchemy handles many, but not all file types
  

• COM (Component Object Model) object library
• ActiveX controls
• ODBC V2.0

Distribution or Deployment of Applications
When developing a custom application using the Alchemy API, you must have a valid licensed copy of Alchemy installed on the system where the custom application will be distributed or deployed.

Suitable Programming or Scripting Environments

• Alchemy version 6 Service Pack 2 or higher installed for both the development environment, and for deployment and distribution of the custom application
• A COM compliant development environment, which should provide an ActiveX container in order to site the Alchemy ActiveX controls. Examples of this type of environment include Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft Visual C++, Sybase PowerBuilder, and Inprise C Builder
• Users of the Alchemy API should be proficient in one of these languages and should have a good working knowledge of the Alchemy product

This application integrates a list view of multiple databases, a full text search box, a hit list of results and a document viewer window - all in the same interface.

System Requirements
You can use the Alchemy API by purchasing the Alchemy Application Developer Environment (ADE), a comprehensive product offering that includes all the software, documentation, and education and support services necessary to be a successful Alchemy developer.

With the Alchemy API, you create applications that run on a Microsoft Windows computer.

• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
• Microsoft Windows 98
• Microsoft Windows 95

Ordering Information & Memory / CPU Requirements
Contact DCS on 01753 616720 or click here to e-mail us.

View Alchemy API White Paper [PDF 366KB]