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Geek Stuff : Tutorials : Ubuntu : Scanning Documents to PDF with gscan2pdf
August 16, 2008
Scanning documents to PDF files is easy in Ubuntu Linux. I bought my HP Photosmart C4280 All-in-One printer/scanner, plugged it into a USB port, and it just worked. Didn't need to install any “drivers” or do anything complicated to get it to work with Ubuntu.
About gscan2pdf
gscan2pdf is a freely available program by Jeffrey Ratcliffe (copyrighted, non-GPL) for scanning documents. It is very easy to use and allows us to scan documents in full color, greyscale, and at various resolution (dpi) sizes. Saving to a PDF file is simple too.
Installing gscan2pdf
The easiest way to install would be to use the Synaptic Package Manager included in Ubuntu (under `System > Administration' menu). We can also install from the command line too using the following simple command.
~$ sudo apt-get install gscan2pdf
Type `sudo apt-get install gscan2pdf'. then press the [enter] key, and enter your password when prompted.
You can get to the command line by using the “Terminal” program under the `Applications > Accessories' menu.
Running gscan2pdf
After the install completes we can run gscan2pdf by simply by typing `gscan2pdf' at the command line, and hitting the [enter] key. Linux is “case sensitive”, so the program name must be entered in all lower case.
~$ gscan2pdf
We can also start the program by going to the `Applications > Graphics > gscan2pdf' menu.
Scanning a Document
We of course start by placing a document on the scanner.
Then click on the scanner icon in gscan2pdf (or through the `File > Scan' menu) to open the “Scan Document” window where we can set some preferences.
In the “Scan Document” window you should see the program has already detected your attached scanner in the “device” menu up top. I go with mostly default settings. The only items you may want to change would be mode (gray or color) and the resolution (I used 150dpi and grayscale for household records) on the “Scan Options” tab.
Once we have chosen our preferences we just click the `Scan' button to begin scanning our document.
Saving a PDF Document
Once the scan has completed we can see our document in the gscan2pdf document window.
Then we just need to click the `File > Scan PDF' menu to save our document to a PDF file.
After clicking on the `File > Scan PDF' menu the “Scan as PDF” window will open.
All of the fields in this window are optional, but I usually put my own name in the “Document author” field and some info in the “Title” field. The Title field will appear at the top of the PDF document window whenever it is opened. Although there are other options, I also usually leave the “Compression” as PNG.
Then we just click the `Save' button to save our document, with the settings we chose, to a PDF file.
After clicking the `Save' buttong we are presented with a standard save dialogue box where we name our PDF file and choose where on our computer to save it. Then click the `Save' button to complete the process.
Our document is now scanned and saved as a PDF file on our computer. Easy stuff, eh?
