An improved method manages the storage of document images so as to minimize the average access time while minimizing overall storage costs, consistent with the probable usage of the documents for a particular application. Document images can be selectively stored on high speed, low capacity magnetic DASD or alternately on low speed, high capacity optical storage. DASD storage is more expensive than optical storage for a document image. By characterizing the probable use of a document image in association with a case processing work flow within which the document image is to participate, optimum document storage can be achieved. When a case has a predefined plurality of document image types, and a particular document image type is missing, the case can be placed in a pending state while awaiting the receipt of the missing document image. In the pending state, the documents which are members of the pended case can be removed from the DASD and retained on the optical storage device. A notation as to the missing document type is associated with the pended case. When the missing document type is received, the case of which it is to be a member, is reactivated by accessing the existing documents for the case from the optical storage and transferring them to the DASD, along with storing the newly received missing document. The case with its full complement of documents is then made available to the user. Provision is made for prohibiting the deletion of a document image from the DASD when other active cases have that document as a member.

Methods and systems for optimal access of data are disclosed. A system for optimally updating data is described wherein a central database transmits a location table to a remote terminal having an access time variant (ATV) storage medium wherein a first set of data items is stored. The data on the ATV medium can be displayed visually upon a user's accessing a particular piece of data from the ATV medium. The user's data access habits are indexed on a location table by the central database where the location table is optimized and updated according to the number of accesses the user makes to particular data items. A second set of data is then transmitted to the remote terminal along with the updated location table and stored on the ATV database in optimized form, thereby reducing the access time to the second set of data on all the remote terminals since each particular user's individual habits govern the optimization process.

An integrated system for image processing of documents generated in shipping transactions includes a central transaction processing facility, which receives images of shipping transaction documents. The document images may be captured by scanners at a plurality of remote stations or they may be telefaxed directly to the processing facility by the individual shippers. A central shipping transaction database is maintained on a host computer, for example, along with appropriate applications for processing the transaction data and invoicing the transactions. The system includes a plurality of image processing stations, at which key operators may view the images of shipping documents according to predetermined workflow queues and, based on the images of the documents, enter transaction data into the shipping transaction database. The system allows for printing of transaction invoices from the data in the database along with a hard copy of any shipping document images which are to accompany the invoices.

A central control apparatus and a plurality of terminal apparatuses are connected through a line. In the central control apparatus, a plurality of images are stored in an optical disk in accordance with a hierarchical structure having four hierarchical levels of cabinet, binder, document, and page, and retrieval information constituted by a plurality of keys each for retrieving a corresponding image is stored in a magnetic disk with different title structures (key structures) in units of binders. A desired image is retrieved from the optical disk in accordance with designation of the retrieval information stored in the magnetic disk. A metabinder having a plurality of binders having the same title structure of the retrieval information has a level higher than that of the cabinet. In the central control apparatus, a title table group of the metabinders is stored in the magnetic disk independently of the binders. When an image is to be retrieved in the central control apparatus or a terminal apparatus, the title table group of the metabinders stored in the magnetic disk is retrieved.

A layered document services architecture facilitating operation and interconnection of electronic printing systems with both resident and non-resident work inputs.