simple-scan

simple-scan [GTK options]

--version
    Displays the version information of Simple Scan and exits.

[GTK options]
    Simple Scan, being a GTK-based application, accepts standard GTK+ command-line options (e.g., --display, --screen) to control its graphical interface and environment. It does not provide many unique application-specific command-line parameters; most functionality is accessed via its graphical user interface.

Simple Scan is a straightforward and user-friendly scanning utility primarily developed for the GNOME desktop environment. It provides an intuitive interface for scanning documents, photos, and other physical media directly into digital formats like PDF, JPEG, PNG, and TIFF. Designed for simplicity, it automates many common scanning tasks, such as detecting document feeder presence, auto-cropping, and basic image enhancements.

Users can quickly choose between document or photo scanning modes, select resolution, color mode, and brightness/contrast settings. It supports both flatbed and automatic document feeder (ADF) scanners, making it suitable for a wide range of scanning needs, from single pages to multi-page documents. Its focus is on making scanning accessible without complex configurations, aiming for a "just work" experience for the average user.

Limited Command-Line Control: Simple Scan is primarily a GUI application and offers very few unique command-line options, making it less suitable for scripting or headless operations compared to tools like scanimage.
SANE Dependency: It relies entirely on the SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy) framework for scanner communication. If your scanner is not supported by SANE or requires specific proprietary drivers/firmware, Simple Scan will not function.
Basic Features: While user-friendly, it lacks advanced features found in more professional scanning software, such as integrated OCR (Optical Character Recognition), sophisticated image processing filters, or complex workflow automation.

Simple Scan functions as a graphical front-end for the SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy) framework. This means its ability to detect and operate scanners is entirely dependent on the underlying SANE backend having proper support for a specific scanner model. Users may need to ensure the correct SANE packages or proprietary drivers for their scanner are installed on their system.

The application supports popular output formats including PDF (for documents), and JPEG, PNG, TIFF (for images). It offers basic scanning modes (document, photo), resolution and color depth selection, and often includes convenient automatic features like auto-detection of document feeders for multi-page scanning, auto-cropping, and basic image enhancement capabilities (e.g., brightness/contrast adjustments).

Simple Scan was developed with the goal of creating a more user-friendly and straightforward scanning application for Linux, particularly for the GNOME desktop environment. It emerged as a simpler alternative to existing, often more complex, scanner front-ends like XSane. Its development aimed to abstract away the complexities of the SANE backend, providing a "just work" experience for end-users. It has become a default or popular choice in many distributions, including Ubuntu, due to its ease of use and minimalist approach to scanning.

scanimage(1), xsane(1), gscan2pdf(1)