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Take the following steps to start a project and to add some code that creates a set of master forms and uses them to recognize and process a form using LEADTOOLS High Level Forms Interface:

1. Start Visual Studio .NET.
2. Choose File->New->Project... from the menu.
3. In the New Project dialog box, choose either "Visual C# Projects" or "Visual Basic Projects" in the Projects Type List, and choose "Windows Application" in the Templates List.
4. Type the project name as "Recognizing and Processing a Form" in the Project Name field, and then choose OK. If desired, type a new location for your project or select a directory using the Browse button, and then choose OK.
5. In the "Solution Explorer" window, right-click on the "References" folder, and select "Add Reference…" from the context menu. In the "Add Reference" dialog box, select the ".NET" tab, browse to the "<LEADTOOLS_INSTALLDIR>\Bin\Dotnet\Win32" folder, and select the following DLLs:
   • Leadtools.dll
   • Leadtools.Barcode.dll
   • Leadtools.Forms.Auto.dll
   • Leadtools.Forms.DocumentWriters.dll
   • Leadtools.Forms.Ocr.dll
   • Leadtools.Forms.Processing.dll
   • Leadtools.Forms.Recognition.dll
   • Leadtools.Codecs.dll
   • Leadtools.Codecs.Tif.dll
   • Leadtools.Codecs.Fax.dll
   • Leadtools.Forms.Ocr.Advantage.dll
6. Add the following lines at the top of the Form1.cs/Form1.vb file:

   [C#]

                using Leadtools;
                using Leadtools.Codecs;
                using Leadtools.Forms;
                using Leadtools.Forms.Ocr;
                using Leadtools.Forms.Processing;
                using Leadtools.Forms.Recognition;
                using Leadtools.Forms.Auto;
                using System.IO;
                
   

   [Visual Basic]

                Imports Leadtools
                Imports Leadtools.Codecs
                Imports Leadtools.Forms
                Imports Leadtools.Forms.Ocr
                Imports Leadtools.FOrms.Processing
                Imports Leadtools.Forms.Recognition
                Imports Leadtools.Forms.Auto
                Imports System.IO
                
   

7. Add the following members to the Form1 class:

   [C#]

                // Create the Auto Forms Engine
                AutoFormsEngine autoEngine;
                
                RasterCodecs formsCodec;
                // Create the OCR Engine
                IOcrEngine ocrEngine;
                
                // Create the repository of master forms
                DiskMasterFormsRepository formsRepository;
                
   

   [Visual Basic]

                ' Create the Auto Forms Engine
                Dim autoEngine As AutoFormsEngine
               
                Dim formsCodec As RasterCodecs
                ' Create the OCR Engine
                Dim ocrEngine As IOcrEngine
                
                ' Create the repository of master forms
                Dim formsRepository As DiskMasterFormsRepository            
                
   

8. Add the following code to the Load event of the form (Form1_Load()):

   NOTE: The developer key and the .LIC file are provided within the licensed toolkit.

   [C#]

                try
                {
                   string MY_LICENSE_FILE = "d:\\temp\\TestLic.lic";
                   // Unlock LEADTOOLS special Support
                   string MY_DEVELOPER_KEY = "abc123xyz";
                   RasterSupport.SetLicense(MY_LICENSE_FILE, MY_DEVELOPER_KEY);
                   
                   formsCodec = new RasterCodecs();
               
                   // Create an OCR Engine for each processor on the machine. This allows for optimal use of thread during recognition and processing.
                   ocrEngine = OcrEngineManager.CreateEngine(OcrEngineType.Advantage, false);
                   ocrEngine.Startup(formsCodec, null, null, @"C:\LEADTOOLS 19\Bin\Common\OcrAdvantageRuntime");
                   
                   //Point repository to directory with existing master forms
                   formsRepository = new DiskMasterFormsRepository(formsCodec, @"C:\Users\Public\Documents\LEADTOOLS Images\Forms\MasterForm Sets\OCR");
                   autoEngine = new AutoFormsEngine(formsRepository, ocrEngine, null, AutoFormsRecognitionManager.Default | AutoFormsRecognitionManager.Ocr, 30, 80, true);
                }
                catch (Exception ex)
                {
                   MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);
                }
                
   

   [Visual Basic]

                Try
                   Dim MY_LICENSE_FILE As String = "d:\temp\TestLic.lic"
                   ' Unlock LEADTOOLS special Support
                   Dim MY_DEVELOPER_KEY As String = "abc123xyz"
                   RasterSupport.SetLicense(MY_LICENSE_FILE, MY_DEVELOPER_KEY)
                   
                   formsCodec = New RasterCodecs()
                   ' Create an OCR Engine for each processor on the machine. This allows for optimal use of thread during recognition and processing.
                   ocrEngine = OcrEngineManager.CreateEngine(OcrEngineType.Advantage, False)
                   ocrEngine.Startup(formsCodec, Nothing, Nothing, "C:\LEADTOOLS 19\Bin\Common\OcrAdvantageRuntime")
                   
                   ' Point repository to directory with existing master forms
                   formsRepository = New DiskMasterFormsRepository(formsCodec, "C:\Users\Public\Documents\LEADTOOLS Images\Forms\MasterForm Sets\OCR")
                   autoEngine = New AutoFormsEngine(formsRepository, ocrEngine, Nothing, AutoFormsRecognitionManager.Default Or AutoFormsRecognitionManager.Ocr, 30, 80, True)
                Catch ex As Exception
                   MessageBox.Show(ex.Message)
                End Try
                
   

9. LEADTOOLS ships several sample master and filled forms which we will use for this tutorial. The path to the images is hard-coded to the default install location so if you chose another path, you will need to change it accordingly. Add a button to the form and set its Text property to "Recognize and Process Form" then double-click it and add the following code to its handler:

   [C#]

                try
                {
                   // For this tutorial, we will use the sample W9 sample filled form.
                   string resultMessage = "Form not recognized";
                   string formToRecognize = @"C:\Users\Public\Documents\LEADTOOLS Images\Forms\Images\W9_OCR_Filled.tif";
                   
                   //Run the recognition and processing
                   AutoFormsRunResult runResult = autoEngine.Run(formToRecognize, null);
                   if (runResult != null)
                   {
                      FormRecognitionResult recognitionResult = runResult.RecognitionResult.Result;
                      resultMessage = String.Format("This form has been recognized as a {0} with {1} confidence.", runResult.RecognitionResult.MasterForm.Name, recognitionResult.Confidence);
                   }
                   
                   MessageBox.Show(resultMessage, "Recognition Results");
                   ShowProcessedResults(runResult);
                }
                catch (Exception ex)
                {
                   MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);
                } 
                
   

   [Visual Basic]

                Try
                   ' For this tutorial, we will use the sample W9 sample filled form.
                   Dim resultMessage As String = "Form not recognized"
                   Dim formToRecognize As String = "C:\Users\Public\Documents\LEADTOOLS Images\Forms\Images\W9_OCR_Filled.tif"
                   
                   ' Run the recognition and processing
                   Dim runResult As AutoFormsRunResult = autoEngine.Run(formToRecognize, Nothing)
                   If Not runResult Is Nothing Then
                      Dim recognitionResult As FormRecognitionResult = runResult.RecognitionResult.Result
                      resultMessage = String.Format("This form has been recognized as a {0} with {1} confidence.", runResult.RecognitionResult.MasterForm.Name, recognitionResult.Confidence)
                   End If
                   
                   MessageBox.Show(resultMessage, "Recognition Results")
                   ShowProcessedResults(runResult)
                Catch ex As Exception
                   MessageBox.Show(ex.Message)
                End Try
                
   

10. Add the following function to the class:

    [C#]

                 private void ShowProcessedResults(AutoFormsRunResult runResult)
                 {
                    if (runResult == null)
                       return;
                       
                    string resultsMessage = String.Empty;
                    try
                    {
                       foreach (FormPage formPage in runResult.FormFields)
                       {
                          foreach (FormField field in formPage)
                          {
                             if (field != null)
                             {
                                resultsMessage = String.Format("{0}{1} = {2}{3}",
                                   resultsMessage,
                                   field.Name,
                                   (field.Result as TextFormFieldResult).Text,
                                   Environment.NewLine);
                             }
                          }
                       }
                    }
                    catch (Exception ex)
                    {
                       MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);
                    }
                    
                    if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(resultsMessage))
                       MessageBox.Show("No fields were processed", "Field ProcessingResults");
                    else
                       MessageBox.Show(resultsMessage, "Field ProcessingResults");
                 }
                 
    

    [Visual Basic]

                 Private Sub ShowProcessedResults(ByVal runResult As AutoFormsRunResult)
                    If runResult Is Nothing Then
                       Return
                    End If
                    
                    Dim resultsMessage As String = String.Empty
                    Try
                       For Each formPage As FormPage In runResult.FormFields
                          For Each field As FormField In formPage
                             If Not field Is Nothing Then
                                resultsMessage = String.Format("{0}{1} = {2}{3}", resultsMessage, field.Name, (CType(IIf(TypeOf field.Result Is TextFormFieldResult, field.Result, Nothing), TextFormFieldResult)).Text, Environment.NewLine)
                             End If
                          Next field
                       Next formPage
                    Catch ex As Exception
                       MessageBox.Show(ex.Message)
                    End Try
                    
                    If String.IsNullOrEmpty(resultsMessage) Then
                       MessageBox.Show("No fields were processed", "Field ProcessingResults")
                    Else
                       MessageBox.Show(resultsMessage, "Field ProcessingResults")
                    End If
                 End Sub
                 
    

11. Add the following clean-up code to the FormClosing event handler:

    [C#]

                 autoEngine.Dispose();
                 if (ocrEngine != null && ocrEngine.IsStarted)
                    ocrEngine.Shutdown();
                 
    

    [Visual Basic]

                 autoEngine.Dispose()
                 If Not ocrEngine Is Nothing AndAlso ocrEngine.IsStarted Then
                    ocrEngine.Shutdown()
                 End If
                 
    

12. Set the output folder of the project .exe to where LEADTOOLS .Net DLLs are installed. For example: <LEADTOOLS_INSTALLDIR>\Bin\Dotnet4\Win32.
13. Run the project and test it. Click the "Recognize and Process Form" button which will load a sample form image, recognize and process it, and display the results.

    NOTE: If you encounter an "Invalid File Format" or "Feature Not Supported" exception, please refer to the topic Invalid File Format/Feature Not Supported.