Cloud document sharing
Documents madesmarter to access.
Docu.Center is a cloud-based document-sharing platform built for appraisers. Awonsa developed custom features to help protect sensitive information in document viewing and make location-based document searches more intuitive.
Documents / Property file
Property appraisal report.pdf
Client information
Lender details
Illustrative interface concept
Platform
Cloud document sharing
CMS
Umbraco
Custom feature
PDF visual masking
Search experience
Draw-to-search maps
Purpose-built features for a specialized workflow.
Appraisers often need to review property documents while keeping certain client and lender details out of view. Docu.Center needed a practical way to support that workflow without replacing the original document.
Awonsa customized the platform with a Python API that uses PyMuPDF to apply visual shading to sensitive areas in a viewing copy. We also developed a map-based search experience that lets appraisers draw an area on Google Maps to define where they want to search.
The result is a combination of tailored document handling and geographic discovery built around the needs of appraisal work.
Solving practical problems without adding unnecessary complexity.
The project called for more than standard document sharing. It needed custom functionality that fit the existing platform and supported how appraisers review and find documents.
Challenge A
Sensitive information in PDF documents
Client names, lender names, and contact details needed to be visually obscured when appraisers viewed documents, while the original file remained available as a separate copy.
Custom Python API using PyMuPDF
Challenge B
Searching documents by geographic area
Appraisers needed a more visual way to find relevant documents based on an area of interest instead of relying only on conventional search inputs.
Interactive Google Maps area selection
Custom PDF processing
A tailored approach to privacy-focused document viewing.
Instead of relying on a paid third-party .NET add-on, Awonsa developed a custom Python API with PyMuPDF to shade designated information areas in the PDF viewing copy.
Process the viewing copy
Apply visual masks to designated sensitive areas.
Keep the original separate
Preserve the original document instead of replacing it with the viewing copy.
Integrate with the platform
Use a custom API to support the document-viewing workflow.
Implementation note: Visual masking is not necessarily secure PDF redaction. The underlying text, metadata, and other content must be tested to confirm whether sensitive information can still be extracted.
Documents / Property file
Property appraisal report.pdf
Client information
Lender details
Illustrative interface concept
Search by drawing, not just typing.
The customized map-search experience gives appraisers a visual way to define their area of interest. By drawing a boundary directly on Google Maps, they can search for documents associated with the selected geography.
Choose an area visually
Use the map to define a geographic boundary.
Draw a custom shape
Select the area relevant to the search.
Explore matching documents
Use the selected area as the basis for document discovery.
Define a geographic boundary on the map to explore matching appraisal documents.
Illustrative map interface concept, not a live map.
Existing platform. Purpose-built capabilities.
The implementation combines the existing CMS with specialized services for document processing and geographic search.
Umbraco CMS
The content management foundation for the platform.
Python API
Custom backend endpoint for document-processing logic.
PyMuPDF
PDF processing used to apply visual masks to viewing copies.
Google Maps API
Map-based interaction for drawing geographic search areas.
Docu.Center
Umbraco CMS
Custom services
Python API and integrations
Appraiser workflows
Document and area-based search
Custom development shaped around real user needs.
Docu.Center demonstrates how targeted software development can extend an existing platform with functionality designed for a specific industry and workflow.
Created a custom PDF visual-masking workflow.
Kept the original document separate from its viewing copy.
Used an open-source Python PDF library instead of a paid .NET add-on.
Added a map-based way to define geographic search areas.
Have a complex workflow?
Let’s build software that solves the right problem.
From custom API development to platform integrations, Awonsa helps turn specific business requirements into practical software solutions.