• The program allows shared access to the scanner over the network. TWAIN@Web - Scan documents over a network

    The task of how to scan over a network using a USB scanner is not as difficult and complicated as it seems to many users of office equipment at first glance. First, you will need to select a router and flash its firmware. Find out how to set up a network scanner or multifunction printer with scanning capabilities in more detail below.

    First of all, download the “OpenWrt Backfire 10.03.1-rc5” firmware from any reliable web resource.

    • Start installing the firmware using a special recovery utility for your router model - usually Firmware Restoration.
    • Organize a connection between the router and your computer using any LAN port.
    • Put your router into recovery mode. To do this, turn off its power and press Restore or Reset (depending on what is written on the button of your device).
    • After that, turn on this device and hold the button until the power indicator starts blinking.
    • Settings related to IP addresses should not be made. You can only assign your personal computer an address that will be different from the standard “192.168.1.1”.
    • Open the firmware recovery program and first disable the firewall - if you do not do this, the utility will still urgently ask you to do so.
    • Select the previously downloaded firmware file, which has a .txt extension. After this, wait a few minutes until the installation comes to its final end and the router appears at the IP address “192.168.1.1”.

    First steps to set up

    • At the first stage, change the router password in the corresponding tab.
    • Configure access to the World Wide Web and DNCP servers. If you are not satisfied with “192.168.1.1”, then you can safely change it. In the future, you will need to configure the device with this IP address.
    • The next step is to configure the packages. Click on “Update package lists” and use “Filter” to find packages nano, sane-backends, sane-frontends, xinetd, kmod-usb-printer, and then install them. Once this process is complete, be sure to reboot the router.

    Setting up scanning

    • To successfully solve the question of how to scan over a network using a USB scanner, connect to your router via SSH.
    • After that, you can either be lucky or not. In the second case, you will have to make additional settings.
    • Now you have to start editing “/etc/sane.d/xerox_mfp.conf”. Add these two lines to this file: “usb 0x04e8 0x341b” and “usb libusb:001:004”.
    • Save your changes, and then check if the configured scanner is detected.
    • At this stage, you need to start setting it up locally. Add this line “192.168.11.0/24” to the file “nano /etc/sane.d/saned.conf” - in this case you need to specify the subnet of your router.
    • A small change will also have to be made in the “nano /etc/xinetd.conf” file. To do this, you need to add “service saned” to it, then between the opening and closing brackets “(…..), enter this code (without quotes):

    "socket_type = stream
    server = /usr/sbin/saned
    protocol = tcp
    user = root
    group = root
    wait = no
    disable = no"

    • Finally, start xinetd in a mode called output. debug information. After this, you must verify that the service is actually running. If this does not happen, then open the file “/etc/services” and if the line “saned 6566” is missing, be sure to add it.

    Install SaneTwain

    • Download SaneTwain and install it. To do this, you need to run the file “scanimage.exe”.
    • After this, indicate the address of your router in the settings window that opens and restart the program.
    • Most likely, after restarting SaneTwain, you will encounter a server connection error. To solve this, pay attention to the “syslog” entry, which is located in the web interface. Then add to "host" an entry with the name for the device's IP address "root@OpenWrt:~# nano /etc/hosts".
    • Add the line “192.168.11.1 OpenWrt” there, and then restart the xinetd add-on.
    • Reboot SaneTwain - maybe this time everything will work as it should.
    • Open your router's web interface again and enable xinetd autostart there.
    • Copy the second file from the SaneTwain archive, which is called “sanetwain.ds” and send it to the twain_32 folder, which is located at this path: C:\Windows.

    Setting up printing

    • To configure printing, install the package called “luci-app-p910nd”.
    • Then go to the web interface and check the boxes next to Enable and Bidirectional mode. In the Device field enter /dev/usb/lg0, and in Port simply put 0.
    • Then make sure that after rebooting the device the server starts normally.
    • Now set up the printer itself by filling in the fields with the port name and IP address. In addition, you will also need to enter the port number.
    • At the end, you can do a test print to make sure that all of the above steps were performed truly and correctly.

    If necessary, you can clear space on your router for other software applications. The idea is to remove all those backends that are no longer useful to you. To do this, connect via ssh. You can find backends here: “/usr/lib/sane/”. The most important thing in this matter is not to get carried away with cleaning and thus not to destroy the files that are really necessary for the normal operation of the equipment.

    Thus, setting up a scanner via USB so that it can be used over a network is not so difficult. Of course, the average user may encounter a number of names that are incomprehensible to them, so it is very important to follow the instructions and strictly move step by step towards solving the problem.

    The Internet is replete with articles on the topic of setting up shared access to printers, but finding good instructions on the topic “How to set up shared access to a scanner on a local network” is quite difficult, which is why novice users encounter problems when solving the problem on their own.

    The main feature in setting up shared access to a scanner is its drivers, which control the operation of the device. The user and the operating system interact with the scanner through drivers, therefore they must contain a mechanism to support shared access to the scanner for remote use.

    To make sure that interaction occurs at the driver level, try launching a scan from a third-party application, be it the operating system's Fax and Scan tool or a graphics editor. Be sure to get into the proprietary utility from the scanner developers. Therefore, if this point was not taken into account at the stage of writing software for the scanner, which is important for older devices that are not supported by the manufacturer, then public access to such a scanner cannot be organized.

    The technical documentation for the MFP should contain all the necessary information regarding the use of the peripheral device, including over a local network. If there is no such data or it is difficult for the user to understand it, this instruction will come to the rescue. It shows, using an example, how to connect and configure a scanner in the Windows operating system in order to scan documents over a network.

    In our case, we used a PC with Windows 7 and an HP scanner. XnView and Blind Scanner were used as accompanying software to open public access to the scanner.

    What is a network scanner?

    Note that there are two methods to “share” the scanner on the network. The first is to connect the device to one of the computers on the network and configure it accordingly. The second is to connect the scanner to the network as an independent device and make the appropriate settings. The connection methods differ in that in the first case the device will not have its own identification number (IP address) by which other network users will access it. Requests will occur through the mediation of the computer to which the scanner is connected. We will focus on this switching method due to its prevalence and ease of implementation. The second case requires a special device that is equipped with an integrated network card for individual operation on a computer network, or a hybrid scanner. It can work either separately from a PC on a local network or connect to a computer via USB or Bluetooth.


    The ability to use the scanner over a network requires that the computer controlling it be turned on and connected to the network.

    Let's start setting up public access on the server

    First of all, you should connect the multifunction device or scanner to the computer via USB and supply power to it, provided that the drivers are installed in the system. Otherwise, download them from the developer or device support website and install them. Then you should restart your computer and scanner.


    Now you should install a utility with the option of scanning documents, if the system does not have one. You can use, for example, XnView.


    Installing the application is very simple, so any beginner can follow all the instructions.

    Client machine configuration

    Then we switch to the computer from which we will perform network scanning and install the BlindScanner program on it, taking into account one point: in the component selection window, move the checkbox to the “BlindScanner Pro TWAIN driver (Client)” position.

    Using the scanner over a network



    As a result, we will receive a digitized document.

    The scanner usually comes with cords (power and USB cable), an update disk, instructions in electronic form, and sometimes software. All this will be useful to you to connect the device to your computer. In addition, the instructions below will help.

    Connecting the scanner directly

    To connect the scanner you need:


    When the scanner is still not found by the computer, you should simply move the cable to another connector. If this does not help, you will have to turn off all the wires, remove all updates for the scanner from the PC and start the project again from the second point.

    Scanner that works on multiple computers

    If there are many personal computers on your network, to connect you need:
    • Check the presence of the “Ethernet” connector on the scanner and insert the required wire there.
    • Organize your workspace so that the wireless network covers all the necessary computers.
    • Connect the router and place it next to the scanner (the closer, the brighter, clearer and faster it will work).
    • On your computer, follow the operating system recommendations.
    • Connect your PC to the network scanner.
    The last item in the list can be described in more detail:
    • Go to “Start”, go to “Control Panel” and then click “Devices and Printers”.
    • Now click on “Add a printer” and “Add network, wireless or ...”.
    A search will be made for all nearby devices, from which you will need to select the one you need.

    Add a Printer Window

    Failed to install scanner

    There can be many reasons. For example, you did everything according to the instructions, but the scanner does not want to perform its direct duty just because the transport switch is set to “Closed”. And this is the easiest case to solve. If you bought this scanner secondhand, it is quite possible that the previous owners had a power failure and the electronic elements could not stand it.

    The problem may be related to the drivers. It's worth trying to install them again. And it’s best to contact a specialist who will tell you what condition the equipment is in. If the equipment is new and has not been negatively affected, the product may be defective. It's worth going to the store and exchanging the scanner for a new one.

    Video setup of the scanner driver on a PC with Windows 8

    After installing the scanner on a computer running Windows 8, you may see an error - “The scanner cannot be connected.” In the following video, the wizard will tell you which driver you need to install to solve the problem:

    Today we'll talk about network scanning. Is it possible, of course it is possible. As you know, most MFPs do not have network scanning capabilities. That is, the scanner can only be used by one user sitting at the computer to which the MFP is connected. To be honest, in my practice, I have not seen an MFP that has the ability to scan over a network. But in large organizations network scanner or it would be more correct to say that a network scanner is simply necessary.

    I came across networked MFPs that connect to the network, but they do not have the ability to use the scanner from several computers. And using standard means it will not be possible to achieve the ability to scan documents from several computers, and this is sometimes very necessary. Let's consider this situation: in some department where there are, say, three or four computers and MFPs. Setting up printing for all computers is not difficult.

    But to do it network scanner so that every computer has the ability to scan documents will not work. Installing a scanner for each user is not very convenient, and it is also a costly affair. I myself came across a situation where I needed to make a scanner accessible over the network. I scoured the entire Internet and tried a bunch of programs. Most of them are paid, but they did not give money for purchase. After a long search I came across the BlindScannerPro program. With this program you can make a network scanner.

    In order to configure the scanner to work on the network, you will need to download the BlindScannerPro program. The installation process should not cause you any problems, but just in case I took a few screenshots.

    We agree to the terms of the license agreement and click next

    Selecting disk space for the program

    Here we choose whether to install a server or a client; we install the server on the machine where the scanner is connected.

    After launching the program, you will need an activation key; you can download it at the end of the article. The client needs to be installed on those machines where the scanner is not connected. Next, we need to install the server, everything is the same, we just select the server and install it on the computer to which the scanner is directly connected. There are no special settings there, so I won’t write anything. Now you have network scanner. After you have installed the server and client, go to the computer with the client and launch ABBYY FineReader. There we click Service - Options, then go to the Scan/Open tab and select the BlindScannerPro driver and click OK. Next, click scan as usual. The BlindScannerPro Client window appears. Click on the plus sign and write the IP address of the server, that is, the computer to which the scanner is connected. A little lower from the drop-down menu, select the scanner that is installed on the server and click Scan.

    Types of scanners and their compatibility with Windows

    Consider setting up a regular scanner and using the WSD service. To do this, connect the equipment to networks, make sure that scanner included. Click "Start" and go to the "Network" tab. Find the icon scanner and by right-clicking on it, select “Install”. In the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue. Click on the line “Your device is ready to use”, check the settings and click “Close”.

    Now click on “Start” again, find the “Control Panel” option, go to “Devices and Printers”. Make sure you have a network connection scanner A. Now perform a scan using the WSD service. Network name scanner and will be displayed on all computers participating in the local connection networks.

    Please note

    The WSD service is available on Windows Vista systems.

    Useful advice

    The network scanner icon will be displayed with the name of the hardware being used.

    Sources:

    • connecting the scanner to the network

    Tip 4: How to install and configure a local web server

    Here we describe one of the ways to configure a local web server to create a test environment for web developers and web site testers. This server does not require Internet access and can be used to easily work with several projects at once. The Web server works stably and does not require special knowledge in system administration when setting up.

    You will need

    • You will need a Windows operating system of any version, a free version of the Endels_setup web server installation package, which can be downloaded from the website of the developer of this product.

    Instructions

    Run the local web server installation program Endels_setup.exe. Click the "Next" button.

    Specify the location where you want to place the local web server itself and the files of your future projects. It is best to choose the drive with the most free space.
    Click the "Next" button.

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