Micromaterial Viewing

Instructions for Operating Micromaterial Viewers

Instructions for Using the ScanPro 1000
in the Florida State University Libraries

Contents:
Loading Microforms
Getting Started
Advancing the Image
Frequently Used Controls
Saving a Scan as a PDF
Trouble Shooting
Burning Files to a CD
Printing

KPS - 5/2008

Loading Microforms:

Microfilm:

Pull the carrier forward until the glass plate in front lifts up. Next, with the film coming over the top of the reel and to the right, load the film onto the spindle on the left side of the carrier. Directly under the spindle, you should see two white plastic wheels. Run the film under the wheel on the outside, over the one on the inside, under the glass, then over the wheel on the inside and under the one on the outside. Use the illustration attached to the desk to assist you. Then place the film sideways into the slot of the take-up reel on the right and rotate the reel clockwise. Finally, push the carrier until its front lip is even with the front of the scanner. The film in now loaded. Microfiche: Pull the carrier forward until the glass plate in front lifts up. Next, place the fiche under the glass and push it back as far as it will go. It does not matter which way you load it (upside down or backwards), as the computer can rotate the image digitally. Push the carrier until its front lip is even with the front of the scanner. Microcard: Pull the carrier forward until the glass plate in front lifts up. Next, place the card, print side up, under the glass and push it back as far as it will go. If you are using a larger card, it is normal for it to “stick out” from the front of the glass. In this event, you may need to pull the card out and flip it around to make sure that the first half of the document is under the scanner. When you need to scan the second half, turn it around, then place it back under the glass.

Getting Started

Once the program loads, you will see an image of your material on the display, as well as several icons at the bottom of the page. Click the folder icon which has the label “Restore Settings” if you hover the mouse over it. A file directory will open where you should select the format you are using, but you can ask a staff member for assistance if you do not know what your item is called. After selecting the format, click “Open.” The scanner will need a minute to readjust, and then your item in the display should be fairly readable, though you may need to use the controls at the bottom (see page 3) to make adjustments to the image.

Advancing the Image

If you are viewing microfilm, you will need to use the Roll Film Control. To advance the film, click the button in the middle of the control and drag it to the right; the film should advance. The farther you drag the button, the faster the film will move. Additionally, clicking and holding the double arrow icon will fast forward the film. Rewinding works in the same way, but you will need to drag the button to the left. To move between pages of microfiche or microcard, simply slide the carrier back and forth.

Frequently Used Controls
Brightness- The “AB” button on this control is an “Auto Brightness” tool that will automatically adjust the brightness and contrast to what the scanner finds to be the most readable. To manually change these settings, click the “+” and “-“ buttons to brighten or dim the image.

Zoom- If the image you are viewing is too small to read or too large to fit on the screen, you can use the Zoom tool. The “+” and “-“ buttons are used to zoom in and out. Make sure that you click and hold the buttons to adjust the zoom, as just clicking them will not do anything.

Magnifier- This tool is separate from the Zoom and allows you to focus in on just one part of the image. After you click this icon, a new, smaller viewing box will appear in the top left corner. If you click on the top bar of this new window, you can drag it around the page. After you have moved it from the top corner, you should see a small blue box that is also now in the corner. If you click and drag this box around the image, you will see that whatever is contained inside it is now magnified in the separate viewing box. Additionally, you can adjust the size of this viewing box to adjust the proportions of the corresponding blue box. This tool is especially helpful for browsing through newspaper articles.

Rotate Digital- If the image you are trying to view is upside-down or sideways, click the “Rotate Digital” button to move the image 90°. If you need to make a smaller adjustment, please refer to the Manual Straighten instructions below.

Manual Straighten- If the image you are trying to view is slightly crooked (though not completely sideways), you can use the manual straighten tool to fix it. Select the control, then click two points in the image that should form a vertical line, such as the edge of a piece of paper. The scanner will then adjust the image to what you have selected.

Film Orientation- This tool allows you to switch between a half or full screen display. The control will automatically rotate and resize your image to either create or fill a large empty space at the bottom of the viewing area.

Saving a Scan as a PDF

These scanners have the ability to save whatever you are viewing on the screen as a high resolution PDF.
Regardless of the scanner’s settings, there will always be a green box on the display, which you can move around and resize by clicking and dragging its corners. Whatever is contained within this box is what will be scanned, allowing you to focus on single articles or images.

Once you have something outlined inside the green box which you would like to save, click on the “Scan to Drive #1” icon. This should open a “save as” directory where you can select a file name and choose the file type. Under the “Save as type” option, there are several formats listed, but the best options are “PDF” and “PDF (multipage).” The difference here is that selecting “PDF” will create a new file for each scan that you create, whereas the “multipage” option will allow you to create a single file with multiple scans.

When selecting the location for the file, make sure that you either save to a flash drive or the drive labeled Semester Storage (E:). Anything saved to the C: Drive will be deleted upon rebooting the computer. If you plan on scanning multiple pages to a single file, even if you have a flash drive, you should save your file to the E: Drive, then move it to your flash drive upon completion. Saving a large file directly to a flash drive can take as much as half an hour, but saving to the computer then moving it to the flash drive will take less than a minute.

In the case of a multipage scan, once you click “Save” from the “Save as” directory, you should see a small box in the corner that reads “Multipage” and will tell you how many scans you have saved. Advance to the next item you would like to scan, outline it with the green box, hit the “Scan to Drive #1” button again, and make sure that the “Scan Count” advances. Continue until you have everything you need, then hit the “Finish” button and wait for the box to disappear. The file is now saved and ready. Do not attempt to save another scan with the same file name, as the original file will be lost.

Trouble Shooting

Below is a list of quick solutions to common problems, but please remember that the library staff is always here to assist you, so let us know if you need help with anything.

-The scanner is not responding or the image is frozen on the screen, even after you moved the film and adjusted settings.

Sometimes the scanner gets a little overloaded. In this event, double click the “e” icon. An hourglass will pop-up for a moment, then the machine will beep and should start responding again.

-The image on the monitor is completely black.
This could be one of a few things. First, make sure that what you are viewing has an image under the scanner (for example, the first few feet of a reel of microfilm is all black; you will need to advance past that part). If that does not work, try clicking the “file type” icon. If the scanner is set for microcard, microfiche or film will appear as all black until you change this setting. If that does not work, try double clicking the “e” icon (pictured above). An hourglass will pop-up for a minute, then the machine will beep and the image should reappear.

-You clicked “finish” after creating a several page scan, and it is taking a very long time for the “Finish” box to disappear. This usually happens when large files are beings scanned to a flash drive. If you are waiting for the box to disappear, the file is being saved to your flash drive and you must not disconnect it. This saving process can take several minutes, and as much as half an hour. To prevent this from happening again, save to the E:Drive on the computer, then drag the files over to your flash drive after you have finished the file. -You scanned several pages, but only one page is showing up in the file. This happens if you scan several pages, hit finish, then try saving again (using the same file name) to make sure that you got everything. The scanner is saving each page as you go, and you do not need to save files again when you are finished. If this happens, you will need to rescan everything. -There are spots or smudges appearing on the scans. While occasionally there are imperfections on the item you are viewing, most spots and smudges that appear on the scanner are caused by dust or finger prints on the glass carrier. You can very easily pull it out and wipe off any dust that may have collected, or you can always ask staff for help with this as well.

Burning Files to a CD

After saving your scans to the E: Drive, you can burn them to a CD-R and take them home with you. You can get a blank CD-R from the Help Desk, then open the Novell window and click the Easy CD Creator Icon.
When the program loads, click the “Data” tab on the left side of the menu, then click the “Data Disc” option.

Next, click the “Add Data” button near the top, select your file(s) from the E: Drive, verify that everything is listed in the window, then click the red button in the bottom right hand corner to create the disc.

Printing

To print an image from a microform, use the green box to outline whatever you would like to scan. Next, click the print icon. You should see the button depress for a moment, then pop up again. The image is then ready to be picked up at Printer A, near the back stairs. You will need to repeat these steps for each image you wish to print.

At the printer, you will be asked to select your computer’s Identification Number. This is located on the Desktop of the computer you are using, and should start with the word “Film.” Each page costs 8¢ to print and needs to be paid by using the Gold Chip on your FSU Card. The image that you outlined will automatically be resized to best fit an 8 ½” by 11” sheet of paper.