Scanner Support in AnzioWin

Utilizing AnzioWin's new "superfile" (see the Superfile and AnzioWin document), AnzioWin has the beginnings of a very novel feature, scanner support. With TWAIN support included, AnzioWin can now incorporate scanned documents and pictures in a variety of ways.

The scanner is treated as an input file with the name "SCAN://". There are several different uses for this as an input option and several different ways in which to initiate the scan.

Local Scanning Through The Menu System

Starting with version 16 of AnzioWin, it is possible to scan an image and either print it, save it to disk, send it to the host system or view the image.

The File menu now has a Scan submenu, with the following submenu items:

• Scan and Print
  Brings up the Printer Setup screen to let you choose your printer or other output, prompts for a scan operation, then prints it as configured.
   
• Scan and Save
  Presents a "Save As" dialog for you to select your output filename, prompts for a scan, and saves the scan to the file. The extension of the filename determines the format the file will be saved in.
   
• Scan and Send
  Prompts for a scan, then uploads it to the server using the "default protocol" selected in Transfer Options. The filename used for the file on the server is as configured manually in the settings file under"scanfile-name". The extension determines the file format that will be created.
   
• Scan and View
  Prompts for a scan, then opens it in the imagebox window.

Local Scanning Through Macros

The scanner can also be addressed from within a macro or AnzioWin script with a superfile name starting with"SCAN://", and optionally containing parameters to control the scan.

As an example, a possibility is in file transfer. Within AnzioWin, you can specify a scan:// as the input file name for part of your file transfer string when ran from a macro, such as

zsend scan://

FTPPUT SCAN://

SFTPPUT SCAN://

and when you run the macro a scanned image will be moved to the host.

There are many other possibilities for the scan:// "superfile" interface. You can pretty much use it where ever you would open an input file.

It is also possible to specify several different commands with the superfile designation for scan://. The general format is that each parameter follows the double slashes and the file name, separated by question marks. Here is a partial list of what is available:

scan://?

?pages=

?resolution=

?format=mono/gray/color

?show=true/false

?duplex=off/manual/reverse/auto

?feeder=true/false

?bottom=

?right=

?top=

?left=

Host Scanning Through Commands

In a similar fashion, you could easily send commands from the host to initiate a scan to a local file or a scan and transfer to the host. As an example, you could define a menu item within your own host menu system to initiate the scan and transfer:

Commands specifically for Anzio are sent through the Anzio session by bracketing the commands in a hex-1C (octal 34) and hex-1D (octal 35). Your host program or shell script simply needs to be able to display the string to the screen. Anzio will intercept the information and interpret it.

An example, to start a scan and transfer you could do

printf "\034zsend scan:// \035 "

For more information, see our support page on Scripting Anzio from the host.

Scanning and Printing in AnzioWin

We expect that one of the most common uses of scanned input will be in printing. This is possible from the menu item Scan and Print, from a user-defined macro, from a host command, or by embedding the scan option inside a Print Wizard parameter for AnzioWin.

From the Scan and Print Menu Item

This menu item will do just what it says. It scans an image and then prints it.

From a User-defined Macro

With the use of macros, you can scan an image and print it, just as you would print any local file from a macro:

printfile scan://

From a Host Command

As with other host commands, you could script this or have a host menu item that sends AnzioWin a command to scan and print:

printf "\034printfile scan:// \035 "

From Print Wizard in AnzioWin

This is possible when using the Print Wizard feature in AnzioWin, as follows:

When you specify an OVERLAY, in a tag, just use

OVERLAY=scan://

The scanner will be activated at the time the first page is printed. As with other OVERLAY operations, Print Wizard assumes the image is scanned as a full page, edge to edge, and will stretch the image to the edged of the paper, including outside the printable region of the printer. b) You can embed a scanned image, such as a photograph or a signature, into a document being printed, by using a tag of the form

The scanner will be activated each time the tag is encountered. Print Wizard will apply its standard rules for sizing and placing images.

See the Print Wizard and AnzioWin documentation for more information on using Print Wizard's mark-up language.