The list shows all TWAIN complaint scanners that are installed and connected to your computer. Run through this checklist:

• Is the scanner connected up to the computer? There should be a cable (normally USB or serial) connecting the scanner and the computer.
  
• Is the scanner connected to the power and turned on? Check for lights.
  
• Did you install the TWAIN software that came with the scanner? Most scanners are sold with one or more CD-ROMs of software. As a minimum you must install the TWAIN drivers for your scanner.
  
• Is your scanner TWAIN compliant? Check the box, manual or manufacturer's website. Most scanners are TWAIN complaint, but there are some special purpose scanners (notably Fujitsu ScanSnap models) which will only work with proprietary software.
  
• Does the USB or serial port on your computer work properly? Some computers have ports which are not connected, or need to be enabled in the computer BIOS. Try a different port if available. Try another device such as a USB memory stick or printer in the suspect port to see if that works.
  
• Does the scanner work with other software? Try scanning with the software that comes bundled with the scanner. Windows XP and later come with a Scanning Wizard; in Windows check Settings->Control panel->Scanners and camera. Look for you scanner; if it is not visible, then you will not be able to use it with DT ScanDoc.
  
• If you check all of the above, and the scanner is still not visible, try shutting down your computer, powering down your scanner and then power up and restart the scanner and computer and run DT ScanDoc again.

Make sure you scanner is TWAIN compliant (see above). If you have just used the other software to scan, close that application and if necessary restart your computer to ensure that the other application is not locking your scanner.

BAD SCAN QUALITY

This sometimes happen if you tell the scanner to trim (crop) the image automatically. Go to the DT ScanDoc preferences, Scanner setup tab, and make sure the box Automatically trim (crop) is unchecked.

On a flat-bed scanner it is important to put the document to be scanned in the correct place. The scanner will have markings to indicate where to place the document on the platen.

Deskewing will only work at small angles - up to about 15°. In some cases of small or faint documents like T-slips or receipts the scanner might not be able to recognize the correct angle. Always try to insert the documents straight and only rely on the deskewing for small adjustments.

The image quality is a trade-off against the files size of the DT ScanDoc file. The default in DT ScanDoc is to save the images in greyscale. This is normally a good choice for recording text with the smallest possible files sizes. If you would like better quality images, go to DT ScanDoc preferences->Scanner and image setup and experiment with different resolution, compression and colour mode.

FILE SIZES

If you make full use of DT ScanDoc your DT Max database will quickly take up a lot more disk space. It is prudent to keep your DT ScanDoc files as small as possible so that you can still use your data backup methods. See above about the trade-of between image quality and file size.

SCANDOC GENERAL

DT ScanDoc is only supported for tax year 2007 and later.

The files created by DT ScanDoc are industry standard .PDF files. Make sure you have a file association for the PDF file extension. The easiest and most common program for viewing and print PDF files is Adobe Reader, which can be obtained for free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html , or there are other excellent, but lesser-known PDF reading programs available. Check the software that came with your scanner; often Adobe Reader, or the more powerful Adobe Acrobat will be included.

Does the file exist? It is possible, especially if the DT ScanDoc files are not being stored in the DT Max database, that the file has been deleted or moved.

Check that you have specified the correct folder, and that it contains image files. DT ScanDoc will import image files with extensions TIF, TIFF, JPG, JPEG, GIF and PGN, including files that contain multiple images (where relevant). It is recommended to use TIF/TIFF files when possible.

Note that DT ScanDoc will only import PDF files that contain images, such as the output from scanners. It cannot import more complex PDF files that mix text and images, such as are generated from DT Max or MS Office, nor can it merge PDF files previously created with DT ScanDoc.

DT MAX INTEGRATION

The Extract and merge system in DT Max does not currently support DT ScanDoc files. The ScanDoc-File and related keywords will move with the rest of the client's keywords, but the actual DT ScanDoc files will not travel; they will always remain only in the database into which they were originally scanned.

By default the DT ScanDoc files are stored in the Attachments folder in each year of your DT Max database. However, you should never directly access files in your database.

To open a DT ScanDoc file, edit the data for a client and search (Alt-F7) for the keyword ScanDoc-File . This will show the name of the DT ScanDoc file. To open the file (in Adobe Reader, or another associated program) click the PDF icon to the right of the file name.