Symptom

There is an unprocessed input file with error 'Scan older than reservation'.  There is also a pending reservation with the same ID.

Background

Symphony Profiler will not fulfill a reservation if it detects that the scan was performed before the reservation was made.  This situation should never happen unless something has gone wrong, and this check prevents a number of difficult to troubleshoot issues that can arise if the reservation was allowed to fulfill.

Resolution

If this error happens on a single document, there is a chance that the cover sheet was re-used before the previous scan was fulfilled.  Check carefully to make sure that the pending reservation and the pending input file are indeed matches for each other.

IMPORTANT: Under no circumstances should you change the modified date of the scanned document to try to "get around" this condition.  If Symphony detects that the scan is older than the reservation, it almost certainly means that something is wrong and you do not want to fulfill the reservation using that scan.

If this error happens on all scanned documents, it may indicate a time synchronization problem.  Check the clock on:

• Your server
• The workstation making the reservation
• The computer running Symphony Profiler Processor
• The Scanner (either the computer doing the scanning, or the scanner itself if using an MFC/network scanner).

to ensure that the date and time match within a few seconds of one another.

Note: If your workflow calls for performing scans before making reservations (we strongly, strongly discourage this type of workflow - it will open you up to all sorts of potential problems), see the following article on how to disable this error check: Disable Scan is Older than Reservation error checking

Research

You can research the individual Reservation ID by selecting Help->Research and entering the Reservation ID.  This will open Notepad with a history of that reservation. 

The pattern we want to see is this:

• Create
• Split
• Fulfill
• <Lather, rinse, repeat>

The actual data will look something like this:

01/16/14@09:35:37 :: UserX_history.log :: - UserX,3X7RH,W:\Docvault\client\TEST\PLAN\00087688.XPF,COVER
01/16/14@10:43:14 :: split.log :: X:\Scans\FILE_NAME.pdf,[Y9FMY,RWEFP,3X7RH],01/16/2014@10:40:21,\\Server\Trumpet\SymphonyProfiler\Server\working\splits_backup\20140116@10-40-21 FILE_NAME.pdf
01/16/14@10:43:16 :: fulfilledreservations.log ::  3X7RH, UserX, W:\Docvault\client\TEST\PLAN\00087688.pdf, 2490687 bytes

If you see something like this, then you have a problem:

• Create
• Split
• Fulfill
• Split   <--- whoops!  Scan was made *after* fulfill and before Create!!!
• Create
• ERROR: * Scan is older than the reservation *

Again, the actual data will look like this:

10/01/13@17:27:40 :: UserX_history.log :: - UserX,EWW9R,X:\Docvault\Client\TEST2\PLAN2\00004862.XPF,COVER
10/01/13@17:27:53 :: split.log :: X:\Scans\DOC.pdf,[EWW9R],10/01/2013@17:26:53,X:\Trumpet\SymphonyProfiler\Server\working\splits_backup\20131001@17-26-53 DOC.pdf
10/01/13@17:28:35 :: fulfilledreservations.log ::  EWW9R, UserX, X:\Docvault\Client\TEST2\PLAN2\00004862.pdf
10/01/13@17:29:36 :: split.log :: X:\Scans\DOC.pdf,[EWW9R],10/02/2013@15:46:58,X:\Trumpet\SymphonyProfiler\Server\working\splits_backup\20131002@15-46-58 DOC.pdf
10/02/13@15:51:59 :: UserX_history.log :: - UserX,EWW9R,X:\Docvault\Client\TEST3\PLAN3\00004878.XPF,COVER

If you see that a reservation was created, split, then fulfilled, followed by a split operation without a reservation having been created first, then it's very possible that the document was scanned twice.