I would like to suggest a feature to facilitate use of selected Project Pier project filing directories as filing folders in a paperless office.
This would work by allowing Project Pier to receive emails from the many scan to email PDF/photo/Tiff scanners available nowadays, and store them as files in a specified project file directory. The idea would be to provide a set of project email addresses (eg. K1345.invoices@projectpier.mycompany.com) and a general email address (eg. filing@projectpier.mycompany.com) on a ProjectPier server, where "K1345" is the ProjectPier project number/project name, and "invoices" is the name of the project directory. The reason for the filing@projectpier.mycompany.com format is that on many scanners, the number of send preset email address buttons that can be saved in the scanner are limited, hence the filing@projectpier.mycompany.com format would be used for projects with infrequent document scanning.
On receiving a scanned document by email, the ProjectPier mailserver would read the email and match the sender's email domain, check the SPF lookup to verify sender is genuine; match user specified patterns in the subject, body of the email and attachment names so as to that validate the source as being from a specific scanner or set of scanners from a domain. Having done this, it can either save the attachment in the appropriate project folder using the original attachment filename, or rename, append or prepend the attachment with a user defined pattern found in the email before saving (to allow choice of alternative filenames to be specified for the file other than the sequential auto numbered filenaming used by the scanner).
If sent to filing@projectpier.mycompany.com, then ProjectPier would try to determine the project and file using user specified pattern matches in the email. If no pattern match for project or folder is found, then the email is bounced back to the sender and also copied to a specified email for rejected scanned attachments.
The K1345.invoices@projectpier.mycompany.com format from permitted users could also be used to send email attachments to a project file, as an alternative to uploading.
Each project should be able to be archived onto CD complete with the files and directories on completion and removed from the server on a project by project basis, just as physical filing would be.
This way PP really starts to save people time.
I am already working on the 'save email as document' solution. I will make sure that this feature is supported.
If sent to filing@projectpier.mycompany.com, then ProjectPier would try to determine the project and file using user specified pattern matches in the email. If no pattern match for project or folder is found, then the email is bounced back to the sender and also copied to a specified email for rejected scanned attachments.If a project id is present and the folder is incorrect I would rather save the file in project folder 'inbox'. If somehow the scanner could not be changed than we won't get bouncing emails but can simply assign the files manually.
This is exactly what I came on here hunting for, although I personally would be quite happy with a single inbox & the ability to then 'send' an attachment or task to the right project and destination.
For reference purposes, the reason I'm looking for this is that I often meet clients at cafes or their homes, where I don't have internet access, so to be able to create emails with to-do items means I can log those tasks immediately even though I'm not online, and don't need to remember them or keep them on bits of paper or in a different to-do list manager until I am online again.