Scanners are one of those pieces of hardware that a busy practice relies on constantly to ensure their day runs efficiently for staff, patients, and doctors alike. So it can throw a real spanner in the works when your scanner isn’t working the way you want! But don’t worry; once you’ve read through this article, you’ll have your scanning configured so you can hit the ground running.
Before you begin
There are some considerations you will want to make about the scanner(s) you are purchasing for use with Genie.
Just like you did when you were first configuring Genie or at any point if you have bought new computers, it is important to ensure the hardware you are considering for purchase is compatible with Genie. Although Genie Solutions is not able to endorse any particular brand of computer hardware, printers, or scanners, the most important recommendations of scanners to use with Genie are listed below:
- Fully TWAIN compliant scanner driver
- Up to 40 pages per minute (simplex), 20 pages per minute duplex
- Resolution 150 - 1200 dpi
- Recommended file size 30Kb – 100Kb per page
- Feeder Holds 50 sheets, A5 & A4 size, Duplex and colour capable
- USB or network connection (where supported)
A scanner may not work with Genie if the scanner software changes or is not TWAIN compliant. In the event that the scanner is not accessible from within Genie, the recommendation is to scan outside of Genie and batch process the scanned documents. Please refer to the batch processing section of the Scanning article for detail on this process.
Please also keep in mind that:
- Scanners are to be used with machines running Genie Client and/or Solo applications, not the Genie Server machine.
- When you scan documents into Genie, these files are stored on your Server, requiring greater storage capacity on this machine.
Some users prefer to have their IT support to configure their scanners for them, particularly if they are going to have a complex scanning system or operate in an unconventional environment such as using Genie remotely. Once you have your scanner installed, you will be ready to configure scanning in Genie. It is a good rule of thumb that if your scanner is not working outside of Genie, it will also not work in Genie.
It is also useful to make note of where your scanner is configured to store images after scanning, as this will come into play when you’re configuring scanning in Genie, depending on the methods of scanning in Genie you will be using.
The bottom part of the ImagePro Control window (Special > ImagePro Control) contains your preferences. These settings are unique for each computer on the network, and the tickboxes shown in the window will depend on your Genie version and your operating system. Each of these is detailed below:
- Acquire multiple images allows Genie to process multi-page documents.
- Hide Device GUI will hide the scanner's user interface window when scanning a document. If this option is ticked, the Enable ADF and Enable Duplex Scanning options will become available.
- Enable ADF will use the auto document feeder on your scanner if it has this option.
- Enable Duplex scanning will scan documents that have been printed on both sides.
- Less Capability Negotiation simplifies the language Genie and the scanner use to communicate with each other and is generally recommended to be ticked.
- Save scans and photos as: allows you to select the default format that scans are saved as in Genie. Generally, JPEG is the best format for colour scans and photos.
- Use In-Process Acquisition alters the way Genie interacts with ExactScan when ticked. This tickbox only appears when using Genie on a Mac computer.
- Use System GUI, like Hide Device GUI, prevents Genie from using the scanner's user interface when scanning; in this case it prompts Genie to use the operating system's interface, which is often simpler for Genie to interact with.
- The Options button allows you to set the quality of the images being scanned. The easiest way to set the quality is to specify the maximum file size in the Target Size field. It is recommended that images stay at 100 Kilobytes or less as larger, higher quality images will be slower to copy back and forth over a network. Below is an example of the JPEG options:
- The Save scans as PDF checkbox allows you to save scans as PDF documents. If this option is ticked, it will override what is selected in the Save scans and photos as drop-down menu and will save all files as PDF documents.
- If the Use Patient's Subfolders When Importing Scans and Photos option is selected, the window below will appear when scanning or adding an attachment, allowing you to select which of the patients sub folders you would like the attachment to go into (e.g. Op Photos, Referrals etc.):
If you have multiple documents for multiple patients to scan, you will want to configure Genie for batch scanning as it will save you considerable time. While this section has been written with scanning in mind, the procedure applies for other types of documents such as photos, electronic faxes, PDFs etc. Pretty handy, right?
Note: Each client machine that will be scanning or processing (uploading) documents needs to complete these configuration steps:
- Create a holding folder called something like 'Scanning' on a client machine. This can be anywhere on your hard drive. The Desktop is usually a convenient location.
- In the scanner's software, ensure images are deposited in this holding folder.
- In Genie, open ImagePro Control by going into Special > ImagePro Control.
- Click on the Blue folder button in ImagePro Control, and select your holding folder. This directs Genie to your newly scanned documents.
Once a bundle of documents have been scanned to the holding folder, the next step is importing them into Genie so they can be accessed in the Clinical Window. Further information about linking scans can be found in the Scanning article.
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