Recent changes to feature-requests

Add created files to Recents list

FeRD — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 03:54:24 -0000

What should be a fairly uncomplicated suggestion.

I'd try to implement it myself and send a patch, but the way the code is organized saving is extremely indirect (especially with the export threads), and I wasn't sure the best place to add something like this.

Adding files to the Recent Files list in GTK code is remarkably easy, you just request the Recent Manager handle and call its add_item(). For example, in JavaScript, if I have a GFile handle:

import Gio from 'gi://Gio?version=2.0';
import Gtk from 'gi://Gtk?version=3.0';

const new_file = Gio.File.new_for_path('/place/I/wrote/name.ext');
// (...write some data to it...)
let gtk_recent_manager = Gtk.RecentManager.get_default();
gtk_recent_manager.add_item(new_file.get_uri());

And that's it.

#139 Scan dialog: Bring together options currently split across pages/panels

Jeffrey Ratcliffe — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 16:30:12 -0000

Originally, there were no tabs on the scan dialog, and all the scan options in one pane. That was a problem for those backends with loads of options, e.g. some from fujitsu and the test backend.

I don't think there is going to be a single UI that suits everyone.

I could add something in preferences to use frames (or something else) rather than tabs for the SANE groups.

#139 Scan dialog: Bring together options currently split across pages/panels

FeRD — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:59:57 -0000

I realize, BTW, that the different pages in the scan dialog are defined by the scanner backend — running scanimage -d <device> -A will show a list of all of the available options, broken into categories.

But nothing says those categories have to be displayed as separate pages in the dialog. They could be separate sections on the same page, for example. Or, they could be ignored entirely for the "standard" options. That's what xsane does, for example — things like --mode, --resolution, --source are part of the same basic scanning control window that's also used to configure things like save path and file numbering. Even though the backends can actually define those in different sections.

(Actually, backends have a lot of control over the options grouping, IMHO too much for gscan2pdf to follow it blindly. For example, my HP all-in-one I mentioned has two available scan interfaces. Depending which I choose, the organization of the options is completely different:

$ scanimage -d 'hpaio:/net/ENVY_Pro_6400_series?ip=192.168.12.40' -n -A
Output format is not set, using pnm as a default.

All options specific to device `hpaio:/net/ENVY_Pro_6400_series?ip=192.168.12.40':
  Scan mode:
    --mode Lineart|Gray|Color [Color]
        Selects the scan mode (e.g., lineart, monochrome, or color).
    --resolution 75|100|150|200|300dpi [75]
        Sets the resolution of the scanned image.
    --source Flatbed|ADF [Flatbed]
        Selects the scan source (such as a document-feeder).
  Advanced:
    --compression JPEG [JPEG] [advanced]
        Selects the scanner compression method for faster scans, possibly at
        the expense of image quality.
    --jpeg-quality 0..100 [inactive]
        Sets the scanner JPEG compression factor. Larger numbers mean better
        compression, and smaller numbers mean better image quality.
  Geometry:
    -l 0..215.9mm [0]
        Top-left x position of scan area.
    -t 0..297.011mm [0]
        Top-left y position of scan area.
    -x 0..215.9mm [215.9]
        Width of scan-area.
    -y 0..297.011mm [297.011]
        Height of scan-area.
    --multi-pick 0..1 [0] [advanced]
        Select multipick option for ESCL protocal based devices

$ scanimage -d 'airscan:e0:HP ENVY Pro 6400 series [9E66B7]' -n -A     
Output format is not set, using pnm as a default.

All options specific to device `airscan:e0:HP ENVY Pro 6400 series [9E66B7]':
  Standard:
    --resolution 75|100|150|200|300|400|600|1200dpi [300]
        Sets the resolution of the scanned image.
    --mode Color|Gray [Color]
        Selects the scan mode (e.g., lineart, monochrome, or color).
    --scan-intent *unset* [*unset*]
        Optimize scan for Text/Photo/etc.
    --source Flatbed|ADF [Flatbed]
        Selects the scan source (such as a document-feeder).
  Geometry:
    -l 0..215.9mm [0]
        Top-left x position of scan area.
    -t 0..297.011mm [0]
        Top-left y position of scan area.
    -x 0..215.9mm [215.9]
        Width of scan-area.
    -y 0..297.011mm [297.011]
        Height of scan-area.
  Enhancement:
    --brightness -100..100% (in steps of 1) [0]
        Controls the brightness of the acquired image.
    --contrast -100..100% (in steps of 1) [0]
        Controls the contrast of the acquired image.
    --shadow 0..100% (in steps of 1) [0]
        Selects what radiance level should be considered "black".
    --highlight 0..100% (in steps of 1) [100]
        Selects what radiance level should be considered "white".
    --analog-gamma 0.0999908..4 [1]
        Analog gamma-correction
    --negative[=(yes|no)] [no]
        Swap black and white
    --adf-justification-x <string> [inactive]
        ADF width justification (left/right/center)
    --adf-justification-y <string> [inactive]
        ADF height justification (top/bottom/center)

With the HPAIO interface, xsane shows the "Advanced" and "Geometry" settings in its "Advanced options" window, and the "Standard options" window is empty. (Because, like I said, it pulls essential options like mode and source into the main dialog.)

With the eSCL/airscan interface, xsane shows a "Standard" section containing only "Scan intent", plus "Geometry" and "Enhancement", in the "Standard options" window. The "Advanced options" window is empty, this time around.

I suspect its logic is that every category that follows a category named "Standard" is part of "Standard options", and every category that follows a category titled "Advanced" is part of "Advanced options". Which doesn't 100% make sense either, but meh.

#139 Scan dialog: Bring together options currently split across pages/panels

FeRD — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:18:53 -0000

Also, the gscan2pdf profile system has nearly the same problem as GIMP's tool preferences, IMHO — it's really easy to create a profile, but very very hard to modify one.

If you want to save the current settings, no problem. Just hit Save and type a name.

If you want to remove some items from that profile, the Edit button helps, although the disconnect between options as they're displayed and as they're stored can be confusing. (Setting Geometry in a profile, for instance, adds the "Bottom-right x" and "Bottom-right y" items to the stored profile.)

But if you want to update an existing profile, you have to load it, make your changes, hit Save, and then remember the exact name of the profile, retype it exactly the same way, and confirm the overwrite. Otherwise, you've just confusingly created an additional profile (with a probably easily-confused name), and now you have to figure out which is which if you want to delete the older version.

#139 Scan dialog: Bring together options currently split across pages/panels

FeRD — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 23:08:39 -0000

(Does the "Scan profiles" feature solve this? In theory yes, but in practice not really. The problem with profiles is that there isn't enough that's configurable on my scanner, to make them really worth using¹... and since there's no indication beyond the name exactly how they're configured, usually even if I load a profile, I end up flipping through the dialog pages ANYWAY to confirm the settings.)

Notes

(Meaning, it's not like there are very many settings to change/store — more of the work in applying different configurations is created by the settings being scattered across separate pages, than by the number of actual settings. So, eliminating the page-separation would pretty much eliminate the need for profiles entirely. I recognize that it may be different for users of more advanced scanners with a more complex array of configuration options.)

Scan dialog: Bring together options currently split across pages/panels

FeRD — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 22:51:07 -0000

While I understand the idea of organizing scan options into logical groupings (hence, the Page Options / PostProcessing / Scan mode / Advanced / Geometry sections of the current dialog, it becomes something of an annoyance when the groupings ultimately prove to not be logical.

Imagine I'd last scanned a single-sided photo on the flatbed, and I now want to scan a 4-page, double-sided document on the ADF. I have to:
1. open the dialog
2. switch to "Scan mode"
3. select "Scan source: ADF"
4. go back to "Page Options"
5. configure for double-sided scanning. ("Scan source: Flatbed" causes the Page Options to reset to single-sided.)

It's worse if the photo was a smaller size than the standard A4/Letter document — then, I also have to remember to:

go to "Geometry"
reset the page size back to US Letter.

Basically, IMHO this demonstrates that Scan source and Geometry ARE page options — they're part of configuring the scanner to capture page(s). So, arguably, are things like resolution and color/grayscale mode.

I don't object to Postprocessing being in a separate tab, as there's a lot there. Nor Advanced settings like compression. (Although for my scanner there are only two options, and neither is actually configurable anyway.)

But having the Page Options, Scan mode, and Geometry settings all displayed together would eliminate a lot of page-flipping, and feels like it would be a major quality-of-life improvement. At least for my HP all-in-one printer's scanning options, they're all short enough to easily fit together without the dialog getting unreasonably tall.

Or if nothing else, at least having the "Scan source" preference duplicated at the top of the Page Options panel would help a lot. (Along with, maybe, a display of the currently-selected Paper size — even if it required going to Geometry to actually change it.)

#138 Remove previous scan's metadata for new scans

Jeffrey Ratcliffe — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 21:33:35 -0000

I tend to scan and save in batches, which is why I find the current settings useful. However, I see that other people might have different workflows. I could add an option to blank the metadata when a new scan is made.

#137 Add open existing pdf

Jeffrey Ratcliffe — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 21:31:26 -0000

gscan2pdf should already import a scanned PDF from a fax service. Please try.

#120 Increase PDF standard version

Jeffrey Ratcliffe — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 21:29:56 -0000

gscan2pdf currently uses PDF::Builder, not PDF::CREATE. It used to use PDF::API2, but I switched to PDF:Builder to improve the TIFF compression options.

I am currently in the middle of a complete rewrite in Python. This should offer lots of advantages, including PDF/A support.

Remove previous scan's metadata for new scans

Ted — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 14:22:59 -0000

It would be good to blank out the previous scan's metadata (Author, Title, etc) when a new scan is made, or require a click to say "use previous metadata" Subsequent scans to different PDF files often have no relation to each other, and a unaccepted unaccepted default can produce confusion.