Scanner support

[John Rostron]

Affinity has explained why it does not offer inbuilt scanner support (lack of 64-bit drivers). I have been looking at other software to see if it will support scanners.  I have PS CS5 which used to work until I re-installed Windows 10 on a SSD. It now tells me it cannot find any WIA hardware, although it does detect my Slide Scanner software (Silverfast). I have been trying Corel Products. I have an old Corel PhotoPaint X7 which I have managed to re-activate after my re-install. I have also been trying Corel PaintShop Pro 2019 32-bit. These both seem to work on the principle that they look for TWAIN drivers (rather than WIA). They both find that I have VueScan and activate that.  VueScan loads and will scan from my flatbed scanner (Canon MP630). However, it will not load into the graphics software. If I save the image from VueScan, it will load into Affinity Photo.

This approach seems to be a possibility for Affinity Photo. Could File > Import it be set to detect any available scanner  and activate it; then, when the scanner has done, and the image saved, it will automatically load into Affinity Photo?

John

 

[emmrecs01]

@John Rostron

As you say, the lack of 64 bit drivers for scanners is what prevents Affinity apps from directly accessing them.  Your workaround, perfectly reasonable, requires the use of 32 bit TWAIN drivers rather than 64 bit WIA.  But how is a 64 bit app (Affinity) able to work with 32 bit scanner drivers?

I do understand what you are asking for; however, I think it cannot be made to work because of the different bit depths.

Jeff

[John Rostron]

@emmrecs01, thanks for your comment. What I am suggesting is that Photo asks the Operating System to load the scanner program. Doing it this way should mean it should work even if the target program is 32-bit. The scanner program saves the  image in whatever bit depth you specify. Note that the image bit depth (8/16) is not at all the same as the program bit depth (32/64). Given that you have asked the operating system to open image files in Photo, then the scanned and saved image will load into Photo.

John

[walt.farrell]

9 minutes ago, John Rostron said:

 What I am suggesting is that Photo asks the Operating System to load the scanner program.

As far as I know Windows does not know anything about "the scanner program". 

Edit: What Affinity could do is create and invoke a small 32-bit program that would in turn invoke the Twain driver, and then pass the returned data back to the 64-bit Affinity application.

They do something like this for Exiftool, I believe.

[John Rostron]

1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

As far as I know Windows does not know anything about "the scanner program". 

  Edit: What Affinity could do is create and invoke a small 32-bit program that would in turn invoke the Twain driver, and then pass the returned data back to the 64-bit Affinity application.

They do something like this for Exiftool, I believe.

The Corel programs must do something like I suggest. I get a list of TWAIN-compliant programs from which I select VueScan. I would guess that VueScan and SilverFast install some information in the Windows registry that other programs can access.

It is many years since I did anything like that sort of programming. I leave it to the experts now.

John

[Dewey]

Does Affinity photo not link to Apple's Image Capture ?  That is a system level utility that while it looks like a standalone app is used by a lot of image apps in the background. For instance,  I use Nikon Transfer 2  to download direct from my DSLR cameras  to the folder of my choice. Activity Monitor shows the Image Capture extension is doing  the work. Surprisingly,  Nikon's software is the default for getting photos off my iPod Touch tablet , too . Image Capture has ways to set preferences for handling incoming images and devices. I learned that when I needed to utterly blackball Apple Photos from ever showing up on my Macs for any reason.  Image Capture is suprisingly adaptable.  Dunno why it couldn't be a bridge between Affinity Photo and most scanners. It's worked with everything I've tried. ( But there are better choices. My Epson Perfection 600 flatbed scanner does not play well with anything but EpsonScan except for the most basic quickie scan jobs )

I've heard that Image Capture is not unique to Apple or even created by them . It's generic or even open source, and Apple just appropriated it. There may even be a Windows version , but I'm illiterate and antagonistic to Microsoft

[Jaymen]

I started using VueScan to couple w/my HP 4850. When I tried it out, the image opened in Corel PaintShop Pro 2018. The toolbar icons on the left have all been pushed down below a set of 2 arrows and replaced w/a set I've never seen before. I would like to know how to get them back to the original position ?  Examples are sent in attachments.

Jay

[Old Bruce]

Hi @Jaymen,

I think you are asking in the wrong Company's forums. This is for Serif's Affinity software. Not Corel or Vuescan.