Simplify Scanning Features There are many improvements to Simplify Scanning -­‐ both “under the hood” and visible changes that you can’t help but notice. The largest single change in Simplify Scanning is that we install a virtual TWAIN Data Source (DS) on the server instead of a virtual WIA driver. This allows direct communication between TWAIN applications and our DS without going through a virtual WIA driver. By eliminating the WIA driver on the server, we have simplified installation during logins and improved performance and reliability. Some of the “under the hood” changes: Streamlined communications between client and server. No prerequisite for Desktop Experience on Server 2008 and above. Because a TWAIN DS is not a typical “driver”, there are no signing issues or OS restrictions. We set Virtual Channel permissions for the “Remote Desktop Users” group instead of the “LOCAL SERVICE” group during the server install. We assume that all Simplify Scanning Users are members of the “Remote Desktop Users” group. If they are not members of this group, their groups virtual channel permissions will have to be adjusted manually by the Administrator. We now support unlimited licenses. Some of the visible changes: We do not start a tray application anymore so you will not see the Simplify Scanning icon in the system tray. The features of the tray application have been integrated into the new UI below. There is a new UI that combines scanner switching, profile selection and scanner properties in one dialog: Simplify Scanning UI The UI is the most noticeable change in the Simplify Scanning product. We are no longer forced to use the limited Microsoft WIA UI and we think you’ll like the flexibility our new UI provides. • If there are multiple client scanners, use the Change button to switch between them. Once the change is complete, the status of the scanner will be displayed in the area to the left of the Change button. • If there are multiple profiles defined, use the Profile drop-­‐down to switch between them. • For duplex scans, use the Source drop-­‐down and choose Duplex which implies that the document feeder is in duplex mode, if its supported by your client scanner driver. • All scans are multiple page scans if the document feeder is loaded and set as the Source. • Under Picture Options, you can adjust image color, dpi, brightness and contrast. These options reflect the actual properties of the client scanner after the profile restrictions have been applied. Each time the scanner is changed or a different profile is selected, these properties are updated to reflect actual values of the scanner/profile combination. • When first started, the UI presents 3 main buttons: The Preview button initiates a scan on the client and then allows you to see multiple page scans and review/change them before sending to the application. You can edit the page area, brightness and contrast and even delete and add more pages. You can re-­‐load a page or pages in the scanner and hit Preview as many times as desired. Click the thumbnail below the preview area to review the different pages before using the Done button to send to the application. Double-­‐click a thumbnail to open the page in a larger dialog to see the image clearly, adjust the page area or adjust brightness or contrast. The Scan button initiates a scan on the client and then sends the resulting pages directly to the application with no possibilities for page editing. The Cancel button cancels the current scan request. Some pages may have already transferred from the client but they will not be sent to the application in a Preview scan. If Scan was selected, we will notify the application of the cancel request but some pages may have already been transferred. What the application chooses to do with the already sent pages is application specific. Example of multiple pages scanned using the Preview buton twices: In this case, the scanner only has a flatbed for scanning. I placed a book cover on the flatbed and chose the Preview button. When that scan was complete, I placed another book on the flatbed and chose Preview again. The result simulates a multipage scan from a flatbed scanner. I can see the different scanned pages in the preview area by clicking the different thumbnail images. I can adjust the scan area by clicking and dragging any of the resize handles in the preview area. I can also right-­‐click a thumbnail for more options. Just double-­‐click the thumbnail to bring up the Edit dialog. Example of right-­‐click context menu from thumbnail: Choosing Edit will display a larger dialog for page editing. Choosing Delete will delete the image and it will not be sent to the application. If deleted, the page can be un-­‐deleted by right-­‐clicking again and choosing Undo. Example of choosing Edit from the second thumbnail and adjusting the scan area:
You can adjust Brightness, Contrast and the scan area as desired. Here the scan area was adjusted to eliminate the un-­‐ needed area outside of the actual book size since it was smaller than the letter page size. Choose OK to accept your edits or Cancel to ignore them. Either button returns you back to the main dialog. You can edit a page as many times as you like. Future versions of Simplify Scanning will present more options on this edit dialog for rotation, de-­‐skewing, etc.. Example of choosing Delete for the first thumbnail: Hitting the Done button will only send the second page to the application. Notice that the thumbnail is not removed, it is just overlaid with the deleted red slashed circle to indicate its deleted status. Right-­‐click again on the thumbnail and choose Undo to restore the page.