Items at a status of Awaiting Scanning are ready to be scanned and posted to the Ares server. To access the Scanning form, double-click the Awaiting Scanning status in the Requests Group. Scan items immediately while processing using the Scan Now button on the Update Stacks Search form or the Scan Item button on the Item form. The Scanning form opens displaying the Item ID, Active and Inactive dates and citation information under the Details section. The Home ribbon holds the scanning and image manipulation buttons while the Document window is in the center of the form.
When you open the scanning form, if no scanner is attached to the computer where you are working you may see an error message. You can click the Ignore button to open the scanning form anyway because you have the option of importing electronic documents as if you scanned them.
Configuring Scanning Settings
You will need to configure your scanning settings before you can scan hard copy documents. Scanning settings for your system can be found under the Settings button. These settings display in the dropdown menu based on the capabilities of your installed scanner. Available options will be different for different types of scanners. These settings are saved on each client machine, so the system will retain any selected values until they are changed. You may want to edit settings such as resolution and color depending upon the document you are scanning.
- Quick Scan Key allows you to specify a "hotkey" to use for scanning. Select the key you are going to use for this purpose from the dropdown.
- Device allows you to specify a scanner to use for Electronic Delivery scanning. All installed scanners on the client machine being used should display in the dropdown.
- Color allows you to specify which of the possible color options you wish to use when scanning. Options display based on the capabilities of your installed scanner.
- The Resolution setting allows you to specify which of the possible resolution options you wish to use when scanning. Options display based on the capabilities of your installed scanner. Be aware that the higher the scanning resolution you elect to use, the bigger the image files will be and the longer it will take to scan, manipulate, and/or post your items.
- The ADF checkbox allows you to specify whether or not you wish to use an automatic document feeder when scanning.
- The Use Interface check box is normally left unchecked because you are using the Ares scanning interface and normally do not want to see your scanner's interface.
- Duplex allows you to specify whether or not you wish to scan in duplex mode (both sides at once). Not all scanners will have this capability.
- The Show TWAIN Dialog setting allows you to specify whether or not you wish to view the interaction between the scanner and the client machine.
- The Find New TWAIN Sources setting allows you to have the system search for newly installed scanners for use with Electronic Delivery.
Scanning Hardcopy Items
You can scan hard copy documents and submit them as electronic documents. Scanned documents are transmitted as TIF files and converted to PDF files before delivery to customers. Whether a hardcopy item is pulled from the shelves by staff or brought to the library by the Instructor, the scanning process for electronic delivery is the same.
During the Update Stacks Search process you have the following scanning options:
- Scan Now. This allows you to scan and post the item immediately.
- Scan Later. This allows you to route the item to a status of Awaiting Scanning. Scanning and posting the item may take place at some other time or on some other workstation.
Once you have made changes to your settings, such as resolution and color, you are ready to scan your document. Click the Scan button. Ares will scan the item and display it in the scanning form. Use the Scan button for one-page documents. Use the Scan button for multiple paged documents only if you are using an automatic document feeder. If you have multiple paged documents and are not using an automatic document feeder you will need to scan each page individually using the Scan & Insert button, as explained in Manual Scanning, below.
Automatic Document Feeders
If you are using an automatic document feeder for scanning, the basic scanning process will be handled for you by the ADF, although you will also be able to append to the scanned document if necessary.
Manual Scanning
After the first page of a document has been scanned, clicking the Scan & Insert button will scan and append a new page to the previously scanned document rather than overwriting it. You may scan and append as many pages as is necessary before clicking the Upload button to complete the process.
Importing Image Files
You can import an already scanned image and associate it with the selected item for posting on the web. This is done using the Import Image button. Clicking this button opens a search window that allows you grab the file from its location. Select the image you would like to import and click Open. The image appears in the Document window of the scanning form. You can import the following images types: JPEG files (jpg), TIFF files (tif), Bitmap images (bmp) and PNG images (png). Imported images are automatically converted to and transmitted as TIF files, and are converted to PDF files before delivery to customers.
Note that when you first open the scanning form and attempt to import an image, the File Name field is blank. Once you have imported an image the system "remembers" the location and name of the last successfully imported file. Thus, clicking the Import Image button will return you to the same location each time, displaying the last imported image.
Manipulating Image Files
Image files can be manipulated using the Crop, Rotate, Deskew and Delete editing options located on the scanning form.
Electronic Document Editing Options
Various viewing and editing tools are available on the scanning form. These tools allow you to work with and make changes to scanned documents and imported images prior to posting them to the web.
| Select |
This will allow you to select a specific portion of the page to be retained in order to crop any excess from the image. Your cursor will appear as a target when placed over the document. Move to the edge of the area to be cropped, click and hold the mouse button, and drag the cursor to outline a rectangular portion of the image that should be retained. Resize the selected area as needed by dragging the corners of the selected box. The image is not modified by these actions until the Crop icon is used. Once you have the selected area as you want it, use the Crop icon to edit the image. |
|---|---|
| Pan | The Pan icon allows you to grab the displayed page with your mouse and drag it within the display pane so that you can see other sections of the image without having to resize it. To use this, simply click the Pan icon. Click on the displayed page and your cursor appears as a hand icon on the image. Drag the image to the location within the pane. The image is not modified by this action. |
| Zoom |
This will zoom in or out and make the image appear larger or smaller. Choose Zoom and left-click on the document to zoom in. Choose Zoom and right-click on the document to zoom out. |
| Best Fit | The Best Fit icon resizes the image of the selected page within the display pane so that the entire page image is displayed. |
| Fit Height | Fit Height will resize the image to fit the height of the article to the display pane. |
| Fit Width | Fit Width will resize the image to fit the width of the article to the display pane. |
| Crop | The Crop icon allows you to remove excess from the page image. This is used in conjunction with the Select icon (see above). Once the section of the image that is to be retained has been selected, click the Crop icon to remove the portion of the image. |
| Rotate |
Because scanned documents often arrive with some (or all) pages oriented upside down or sideways, Ares allows you the option of rotating and/or flipping pages a variety of ways. Clicking the Rotate icon will rotate the image counter-clockwise. Clicking the arrow on the rotate icon brings up a menu of these options. To select the option, click on it. The specified action will be performed immediately. |
| Deskew | You have the option to Deskew (straighten) the selected page(s) of the document. The deskew icon corrects the alignment of pages that were scanned slightly off square. This action may be performed for the selected page(s) by clicking the Deskew icon. |
| Undo | The Undo icon allows you to undo your previous editing action(s). The image will return to its previous state. |
| Delete |
The Delete icon allows you to delete the selected page(s) of the document. Clicking the Delete icon deletes the entire document but will prompt you for confirmation first. Clicking the arrow below the Delete icon brings up a menu containing the following options:
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| Export | The Export button is effectively a "Save As" option. This allows you to save a copy of the electronic article as a tiff file to a location of your choice. The image is not modified by this action. |
Uploading the Electronic Document
Once the document is scanned and any notes are added, you are ready to post the item to the web. Click the Upload button to convert any TIF files to PDF format, add the electronic items to the file share and deliver them to the web server. The status of the item changes to Item Available on Electronic Reserves.==
For further information about the Upload button see Uploading Files to the Web.
Notification and Status Update
When the item is moved to Item Available on Electronic Reserves and available for viewing, an email is sent to the Instructor and students, if they have subscribed to receive email notifications.