Author: Devendra Pratap Singh

Co-Author: Paula Prusty

Understanding the SplitMultipageTiff Action

The Datacap Convert action library SplitMultipageTiff action is designed to:

·        Generate separate image files for each page in a multipage TIFF.

·        Return True upon successful conversion—applicable to both single and multipage TIFFs.

·        Return False if the current page is not a TIFF or if the conversion fails.

This action can be applied at either the Page or Document level. If the number of input files or pages exceeds the configured limit, or if a conversion error occurs, the batch is aborted.

For detailed usage and configuration, refer to the official IBM Datacap documentation.

Observed problem

If an image fails to adhere to the TIFF specifications, it may be rendered as a gray image, display incorrectly, or fail to open in windows file explorer.

This scenario is not uncommon. Certain third-party tools that generate TIFFs may not strictly adhere to the TIFF format standards. While some image viewers (e.g., Windows Photo Viewer) may still render these files correctly, others—including Datacap—may not.

In this case, the Datacap viewer displayed a gray background with no visible content, indicating that it could not interpret the image data properly.

Visual Comparison

·        Image 1: A standard TIFF file rendered correctly in Windows Viewer.

·        Image 2: A non-compliant TIFF file showing a blank or gray screen in Datacap.

                                                                                                                       Image 1

                                                                                                                        Image 2

Behavior in Datacap Navigator

When a non-standard TIFF file was ingested into Datacap Navigator, the SplitMultipageTiff action was unable to split it into individual pages. This incident pointed to a challenge in processing non-compliant TIFF files, which can affect downstream processing.

Conclusion

The latest Datacap 9.1.9 fix pack (IF007) addresses an improved handling of TIFF files, enhancing compatibility and workflow reliability. This update strengthens support for most TIFF images that do not fully conform to specification standards.

Note: While these improvements address a few common issues with malformed TIFFs, many edge cases may still fail to process correctly. Users are advised to validate workflows involving non-standard TIFF formats to ensure consistent performance.

For organizations relying on diverse document sources, this improvement ensures smoother ingestion and fewer interruptions in automated document processing pipelines.