Coding with regions is a simple process of adding active fields to the survey. It means that in the specified field the system will take an action. In the regions with white icons, it will look for specific data in user’s handwritten pen inputs (e.g. numbers, letters, ticks, signatures). Inputs found in the specified regions may be digitized from handwriting. In the regions with black icons the system will do an action by its own while printing the form (i.e. print a logo on the page or leave an indicated space unmodified).

The most commonly used regions are: Open Answer, Checkbox, Number, Text, Send by Phone, Inquiry Individual Number and Anoto functionality. Available regions are located in the upper right corner.

To place a region in the questionnaire simply drag and drop the one you choose to the form and adjust its size to fit the field on the background below it. When creating the form, note that fields should not be placed too close to the edge of the page since they might be missed by the pen (try to keep at least a 1 cm margin).

The program communicates with the user through colors. Region can be marked with one the following colors:

• blue when it’s properly coded,
• yellow when it’s properly coded and currently selected,
• red when it’s improperly coded,
• violet when it’s improperly coded and currently selected.

Incorrect coding of regions may be an effect of the following issues:

• the region doesn’t have a Field name / Group name,
• another region with the same Field name / Group name already exists
• different Default value within a group of checkboxes,
• the same Value if checked for more than one checkbox within a group,
• two or more regions are too close to each other or overlap (see the picture below).

Types of regions:

Open Answer region allows for a very efficient conversion of handwriting to digital text. Specifying the number of allowed characters is not required for this region. The user can write anything, not necessarily in capital letters, and the system will convert it into digital text. Region options:

• Field name / Group name* – field name is a unique name that will be used in all of the reports based on this form (including Excel export).
• Default it is a value assigned to the field (in exporting) if nothing is written in it.
• Font – this font will be used in the preview in the client application and/or if this region is used for data series import. In normal case you can leave this default.
• Font size – font size that will be used in the preview in the client application and/or if this region is used for data series import.
• Dictionary – use this field to indicate what kind of data will most likely be written in this field. The recognition engine will try to adjust its understanding of words to these choices. For example, if you choose the City dictionary and the system reads user’s handwriting as “Uarsau”, it will know that the user most likely meant “Warsaw”.
• Additional dictionary – it is also possible to assign an additional user dictionary on top of pre-existing ones. Creating and managing user dictionaries are described in point 3 of this manual.
• Region mandatory to fill – an additional option that causes the region to be highlighted in red (in both the IC Pen Client application and Excel report) in case the region isn’t filled by the user

ABC text region is used for a text recognition input. Text written in this area will be converted into digital characters. In this region, the letters written on the page have to fall exactly in the boxes shown in the preview. It is highly recommended to include corresponding lines in the background. Region options:

• Field name / Group name* – field name is a unique name that will be used in all of the reports based on this form (including Excel export).
• Default it is a value assigned to the field (in exporting) if nothing is written in it.
• Font – this font will be used in the preview in the client application and/or if this region is used for data series import. In normal case you can leave this default.
• Font size – font size that will be used in the preview in the client application and/or if this region is used for data series import.
• Number of characters – choose the maximum number of characters that can be written. This will impact the lines dividing the characters so make sure they correspond to the background.
• Dictionary – it is possible to assign a user dictionary to this type of field. Creating and managing user dictionaries are described in point 3 of this manual
• Region mandatory to fill – an additional option that causes the region to be highlighted in red (in both the IC Pen Client application and Excel report) in case the region isn’t filled by the user

The Number region is used for numerical data. In this region, the digits written on the page have to fall exactly in the boxes shown in the preview. It is highly recommended to include corresponding lines in the background. Region options:

• Field name / Group name* – field name is a unique name that will be used in all of the reports based on this form (including Excel export).
• Default it is a value assigned to the field (in exporting) if nothing is written in it.
• Font – this font will be used in the preview in the client application and/or if this region is used for data series import. In normal case you can leave this default.
• Font size – font size that will be used in the preview in the client application and/or if this region is used for data series import.
• Number of characters – choose the maximum number of characters that can be written. This will impact the lines dividing the characters so make sure they correspond to the background.
• Region mandatory to fill – an additional option that causes the region to be highlighted in red (in both the IC Pen Client application and Excel report) in case the region isn’t filled by the user

Checkbox regions are normally linked in groups which are their most natural use. It is also possible to have only one checkbox in a group (e.g. for data protection consents). Editor option described in points 3 and 4 of this document are especially useful when creating checkbox questions. Region options:

• Field name / Group name* – group name will be used in all of the reports based on this form (including Excel export). In case of checkboxes it does not have to be unique.
• Default – it is a value assigned to the group (in exporting) if no checkbox is selected.
• Value if checked* – this is the value that will be assigned to the group if this checkbox is selected. This must be unique for all checkboxes within a group.
• Region mandatory to fill – an additional option that causes the region to be highlighted in red (in both the IC Pen Client application and Excel report) in case the region isn’t filled by the user.

Send by Phone and Send by PC regions are used to specify the position on the form where the icons will be placed. Touching with the Digital Pan in this space will cause it to send all of the data from its internal memory to the paired phone or computer. This field will usually be placed at the end of the document or each page but is entirely up to you where to place it. The field is not needed when forms will be sent only using a USB docking station.

The provider’s logo region is used to specify the position in which information about the pattern supplier is to be printed. If you use Anoto technology, placing this field on each page of the form is a license requirement and without it the form will not be added to the system. Modification of the region size is not possible.

Signature region is similar to the Image region but holds additional capabilities. Apart from being shown and exported as an image, it also allows for the individual characteristics of the human signature to be recognized. This individual data can be seen in after exporting to Excel with proper options selected. While adding the region, define its name, size and position on the page.

Don’t recolor region is used to bypass the system’s color changing algorithm in the given area. The algorithm is used to improve Digital Pen’s operation some areas. It is recommended to use this region especially for color-sensitive graphics e.g. logos, but it should not be used in places where the user will write with the Digital Pen. This region can overlap with the regions that are non-active for the pen, but provide some information instead (i.e. inquiry individual number, logo etc.).

Remove dots from the background is used when we need a part of the form not to be covered in dots. It is useful when part of the survey will not be filled with the digital pen at all (i.e. pages containing only instructions). This region can cover part or even the whole page but it recommended not using it too often around areas filled in with the digital pen.

Inquiry individual number is a unique number of the specific form printout added while printing. Thanks to this number it possible to localize the copy of the print in the system or on paper. The region is used only to specify the position on the form where the number will be placed. It is not possible to change its size. In case the region is not specified in the survey, the number will be printed in the default position.

Data series field is used for printing additional data on each form automatically from the server or by hand in the Client application. Thanks to this function, data that is changing often from form to form (e.g. forms printed with the surname added from the database) does not have to be uploaded as separate surveys to the system. With the Survey Editor you can only define the position and size of the field, its name (which will be visible when exporting data) and font properties. The text displayed in the region is a demonstration of how the font will look in print.

Using this field and two fields of the data series (see above) it is possible to create a personal identifier. Touching such an identifier with a pen allows you to automatically change the user associated with the pen stored on the identifier. To create an identifier, put the identifier region on the loaded PDF (the size of typical identifiers is recommended). Then add two regions of the data series (one below the other) to this region, whose names will be: “Personality” and “Position”, respectively. The form prepared in this way should be added to the system by entering “badge” in the tags.

Image can be used for any handwritten user input that cannot be transformed into digital text e.g. pictures, graphs, curves etc. Those can be drawn using the digital pen and saved as a *.png file if the Image region was specified. While adding the region, define its name, size and position on the page.

Region options:

Field name / Group name – this is a unique name that will be used in reports based on this form. It is required for all regions.

Default value – it is added to a given field (in the Excel report) when the user leaves the field empty.

Font – the selected font will be used in the preview in the client application and / or when importing a series of data from an external source. You can leave this field with the default value.

Font size – the selected size will be set in the preview in the client application and / or when importing a data series from an external source. You can leave this field with the default value.

Number of characters – select the maximum number of characters allowed in this field. Changing this value will affect the distribution of lines separating individual blocks, so make sure they match the survey background (available only for checkered regions).

Dictionary – use this parameter to indicate which data types will most likely be entered in this field. The recognition algorithm will attempt to correct your understanding of the written text for selected dictionaries. For example, if you select the City dictionary and the system interprets the user’s entry as “Uarshau”, then they will know that the user probably meant “Warsaw”.

Additional dictionary / User dictionaries – in the text fields (ABC regions and Open Question) it is possible to specify which text will most likely be entered in a given field. This significantly improves the quality of handwriting recognition. To add your own dictionary next to the predefined ones, select Additional dictionary in the region options. Then create a new dictionary or open and edit an existing dictionary from your hard disk (* .iclex file). To define a new dictionary, enter one word per ruler and click Save after editing.

The value if selected will be assigned to the group if the checkbox is selected. This value must be unique within the group (only for checkboxes).

Mandatory region to be completed – an additional option that causes the region to be marked in red (both in the IC Pen Client application and in the Excel report) when the user leaves the field blank.