What are NuGet Packages?

NuGet is the package manager for the Microsoft development platform that includes .NET. NuGet packages make it easy to add, remove, and update libraries and tools in Visual Studio projects that use the .NET Framework.

To read more about NuGet, please visit nuget.org.

Installing NuGet

The NuGet package manager is installed with Visual Studio, since version 2012.

Windows NuGet command line instruction for installation can be found at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/install-nuget-client-tools

SmartZone NuGet Packages

Package dependencies are automatically handled.

SmartZone .Net NuGet packages are self-sufficient and provide all the necessary functionality for the package they describe. However, if you want to extend the package capabilities with functionality from other packages, you need to install those corresponding packages, too. 

Adding SmartZone NuGet Packages

All of our packages can be found at nuget.org, which is the central package repository used by all package authors and consumers. The NuGet Package Manager is configured, by default, to use nuget.org for packages' sources.

From Visual Studio

1. Open the NuGet Package Manager in Visual Studio by right-clicking on the project or solution in the Solution Explorer, and choose Manage NuGet packages.
2. In the opened window make sure that Package source is set to nuget.org.
3. Select Browse at the top-left of the page, and type Accusoft.SmartZone.Net into the search bar to find the package.
4. Select the package on the left and then click the Install button on the right.
   After installing the required package, you should see the newly added Accusoft.SmartZoneICR.Net and Accusoft.SmartZoneOCR.Net assemblies (and their dependencies) in your application's References folder.
5. SmartZone OCR Asian Language Recognition requires installing the package Accusoft.SmartZone.Runtime.Asian.Win. If your app does not use SmartZone to recognize Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai or Vietnamese languages, this optional dependency can be omitted.
6. Add the SmartZone ICR (or SmartZone OCR) namespace to any C# or VB.NET source file where you want to reference its classes:
   • ICR

   using Accusoft.SmartZoneICRSdk;

   • OCR

   using Accusoft.SmartZoneOCRSdk;

   Native binaries and additional resources are copied to your app's output directory after building your project.

To learn more, we also recommend following the official tutorials available at nuget.org: https://docs.nuget.org/consume/package-manager-dialog

Customizing SmartZone NuGet Packages

Accusoft.SmartZone.Runtime.Win & Accusoft.SmartZone.Runtime.Asian.Win

The required OCR language resource files are copied to folder $(OutDir)assets after the MSBuild Target "Build" completes. By default, this directory is expected to be adjacent to the Accusoft.SmartZoneOCR.Net.dll assembly at runtime.

To change this location to a different directory:

1. Override the MSBuild property Accusoft_SmartZone_OCRDataPath in your project.
   • Example: To target a different directory name, such as $(OutDir)my_app

   <PropertyGroup>
       <Accusoft_SmartZone_OCRDataPath>$(OutDir)my_app</Accusoft_SmartZone_OCRDataPath>
   </PropertyGroup>

2. Provide this new location to SmartZone OCR with its OCRDataPath property before recognition is performed.

Troubleshooting

The troubleshooting section covers some common issues you may encounter and how to resolve them.

NuGet Package Restore Failed: (The Specified Path, File Name or Both are too long.)

To remedy, do one of the following:

• Enable long path support. See article Long Path Support (NuGet CLI).
• Override the location in which to install NuGet packages using a nuget.config file with a repositoryPath (packages.config only) or globalPackagesFolder (projects using PackageReference only) to provide a shorter path. See article nuget-config-file reference.
• Relocate your project to a directory with a shorter path.

The Specified Path, File Name, or Both are Too Long. (Accusoft.SmartZone.Runtime.Win Only)

During a build, Target "CopyAccusoftSmartZoneRuntimeWin" can fail copying OCR language resources:

To remedy, do one of the following:

• Relocate your project to a directory with a shorter path.
• Change the location where OCR language resources are unpacked. See preceding section, Customizing SmartZone NuGet Packages.
• Enable long path support. See article Long Path Support (NuGet CLI).

Internal Error: Remote OCR engine initialization error. The provided search location for SmartZone.OCRDataPath may be invalid.

At runtime, an exception can result when SmartZoneOCR Reader.AnalyzeField is called and OCR language files are not found:

This issue may be the result of misconfiguration or an incomplete build after NuGet packages are restored.

To remedy, try the following:

• Set OCRDataPath to the expected folder containing OCR language resource files before AnalyzeField is called. By default, this location is expected to be $(OutDir)assets, but can be overridden with MSBuild property $(Accusoft_SmartZone_OCRDataPath).
• Add the package Accusoft.SmartZone.Runtime.Win (and optionally Accusoft.SmartZone.Runtime.Asian.Win) to the Visual Studio project and rebuild.