Scan Again
A GUI front-end for SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy).
Links
Download the program from this link . (1.8MB)
Download the source code, if you want to make your own modifications from this link . (154KB)
If you have an older or used scanner that you want to use, and the manufacturer doesn’t have drivers for your operating system, one solution is to use the open-source SANE routines. These were originally developed for Linux, but work on other operating systems, including Mac OS X.
I had this problem with an HP scanner I picked up at a rummage sale, and was able to get it to work using SANE. The trouble was that the SANE utilities are all command-line, and I got tired of typing.
I decided to make a GUI shell to interface with the command-line utilities, and I did this using RealBasic .
The resulting program runs the command-line utilities for you. It searches for scanners, putting the results into a pop-up at the top of the window ( see screen shot ). It then interrogates the selected scanner for available options, and populates the spinners and pop-ups with the options available for the given scanner.
The “Preview” button causes a low-resolution scan to be made and displayed in the window. It is possible to limit the detailed scan to a selected area of the image, to save time and file size, by drag-clicking a selection rectangle across the preview image.
The “Scan” button causes a detailed scan to be made, after you have a chance to choose the file name and location for the result. The only file type that is supported currently is TIFF. This scanned result will be opened in another application if you have that checkbox checked. The default application is Preview, but you can choose others with the “Choose” button.
You can also use the program as a “copier”, by pressing the “Copy” button. This will scan the image, and send the result to a printer.
The name comes from the fact that with this program and SANE, the scanner I bought was able to scan again. I was going to call it Lazarus, but that seemed too pretentious!
The program is distributed AS IS, under the GPL , which means that you can also get the source code and modify it as you wish, but any such modified code must also be made available freely to others.
If you do make changes or improvements, I would appreciate hearing about it and receiving a copy of your modifications at dtlinker@mac.com .
In order to use Scan Again, you must have SANE installed and working on your computer. You can get the source code and compile it yourself here , or alternatively, do as I did, and install a pre-compiled package containing it from Mattias Ellert’s page here .
If you want too make changes to the program, you will need the RealBasic compiler, which can be obtained here . RealBasic is a commercial product, but there is a time-limited trial version.
Virtually no error checking
Sometimes doesn’t establish connection (SANE issue?)
Not tested on other scanners
Doesn’t implement all available options
Not tried on other operating systems
Screenshot of Scan Again after pressing the “Preview” button.
Contact
I cannot promise to provide support for this free program, but if you have found a solution to a problem or have improvements to the program, I would appreciate hearing about it and receiving a copy at dtlinker@mac.com .
Enjoy!
David Linker
February 10, 2007