Automatic or semi-automatic capture can use Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), which is a structured transmission of data or Extensible Markup Language (XML) documents. Both EDI and XML can use many existing application systems as sources such as database extracts with index information. 

Indexing refers to the manual assignment of index attributes used in the database of a manage component for administration and access. 

Barcodes on mailed forms allow for the automatic recognition and filing of returns. They also allow for the check-in / check-out functionality for paper records. 

Both automatic and manual attributing can be made easier and better with preset profiles; these can describe document classes that limit the number of possible index values, or automatically assign certain criteria; input designs also include entry masks and their logic in manual indexing. 

The capture category contains functionalities and components for generating, capturing, preparing, and processing electronic information. There are several levels and technologies, from simple information capture to complex information preparation using automatic classification. 

ICR is a further development of OCR and HCR that uses comparison, logical connections, and checks against reference lists and existing master data to improve results. 

Based on the information contained in electronic information objects, whether OCR-converted faxes, office files, or output files, automatic classification programs can extract index, category, and transfer data autonomously. These systems can evaluate information based on predefined criteria or in a self-learning process. 

Manual capture can involve multiple forms of information, from paper documents to electronic office documents, emails, forms, multimedia objects, digitized speech, video, and microfilm. There are multiple software solutions available that allow for scanning of paper documents. Some have direct integrations into ECM. This integration simplifies the capture of documents. 

Enterprise Content Management is technology used to scan, store, organize, preserve, access, comply, and distribute documents digitally for greater efficiency of organizational processes. ECM covers the management of information within the entire scope of an enterprise whether that information is in the form of a paper document, an electronic file, a database print stream, or even an email. 

This technology converts paper media with typed or printed characters into electronic characters. 

Enterprise Content Services refers to the set of services, either in an all-in-one package or multiple and various applications that share info, to used to gather various types of content to be available to multiple groups and used for multiple solutions in an organization. 

OMR, as used for check boxes, for example, reads special markings in predefined fields with very high accuracy; it has proven its value in questionnaires and other forms. 

Automatic processing can be used to capture electronic forms as long as the layout, structure, logic, and contents are known to the capture system. 

Forms processing means the capture of industrially or individually printed forms via scanning; recognition technologies are often used since well-designed forms enable largely automatic processing. 

This refinement of OCR converts handwriting or lettering into machine characters, but does not yet give satisfactory results for running text; however, for defined field content, it has become very reliable. 

The five components and technologies of the ECM model are Capture, Manage, Store, Preserve, and Deliver