Fujitsu — Rack2Filer
408-746-7000www.us.fujitsu.com/fcpa
Jul. 28, 2007
From
the August 2007 Review of Document Storage Systems
Rack2-Filer is a document storage system that was developed by Fujitsu, one
of the leading manufacturers of high performance scanners, to accompany its
ScanSnap “one-touch” document scanner.
Usability — 5 Stars
Rack2Filer offers a unique approach to the user interface. The primary interface
is a file cabinet with a series of animated binders that represent collections
of related documents. The binders have color-coded tabs for quick reference,
and, when a binder is selected, it opens into a notebook format where users
click the page tabs to move through the documents, or to turn individual pages.
The control buttons for navigating through the pages/documents in a binder are
very intuitive and easy to use. The first page in each binder displays a list
of the documents in the binder with hyperlinks that allow users to jump directly
to specific documents.
Document Organization — 4 Stars
The methodology used to store documents and files is based on libraries (six
maximum) that contain up to 20 cabinets each. The cabinets can each contain
up to 21 binders. Each binder can contain up to 1,000 pages of information.
The pages can be divided into chapters for more granular organization.
Annotation — 4 Stars
The Rack2Filer viewer offers built-in proprietary annotation tools that are
very easy to use and include free form text notes and highlighting. Additional
annotations are managed in the native applications.
Integration — 3 Stars
Rack2Filer is designed as a horizontal document storage application and therefore
has no direct integration with any tax or accounting software programs. You
can import files from native applications and view them within the document
binder. The system integrates with Outlook and other e-mail systems, and you
can e-mail a document with a right-click of the mouse.
Records Management — N/A
No security, audit trail or automatic document retention features are included
with the system. However, this is not all that important for this particular
system because it is designed primarily to be a desktop application to help
individual users manage the organization of their files.
Relative Value — 4 Stars
The bottom line on Rack2Filer is that it is a handy utility for organizing documents
at the individual user level. In that regard, it is extremely easy to use and
very intuitive. The ability to view multiple types of documents from within
a virtual binder is very effective. The system is not robust enough to deploy
in a multi-user function, in my opinion. Rack2Filer is priced at $249.
2007 Overall Rating: 4 Stars