Abstract: A document is read by a scanner, the document type is detected, and a specific block in the document, for which character recognition is to be performed, is determined. The character recognition is performed for the specific block, the obtained character strings are analyzed, and in accordance with the analysis results, document objectives, such as the extraction of data, filing, transmission to a printer or notification of transmission, are attained. A process corresponding to the attained objectives is performed for the document that has been read.