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.NET TWAIN image scanner

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12 May 2002Public Domain2 min read 7.1M   132.1K   421   996
Using TWAIN API to scan images

Sample Screenshot

Abstract

In Windows imaging applications, the most used API for scanning is TWAIN www.twain.org. Unfortunately, the new .NET Framework has no built-in support for TWAIN. So we have to work with the interop methods of .NET to access this API. This article doesn't explain this interop techniques, and good knowledge of the TWAIN 1.9 specifications is assumed! The sample code included doesn't present a finished library, only some essential steps for a minimal TWAIN adaption to .NET applications.

Details

First step was to port the most important parts of TWAIN.H, these are found in TwainDefs.cs. The real logic for calling TWAIN is coded in the class Twain, in file TwainLib.cs.. As the TWAIN API is exposed by the Windows DLL, twain_32.dll, we have to use the .NET DllImport mechanism for interop with legacy code. This DLL has the central DSM_Entry(), ordinal #1 function exported as the entry point to TWAIN. This call has numerous parameters, and the last one is of variable type! It was found to be best if we declare multiple variants of the call like:

C#
[DllImport("twain_32.dll", EntryPoint="#1")]
private static extern TwRC DSMparent(
    [In, Out] TwIdentity origin,
    IntPtr zeroptr,
    TwDG dg, TwDAT dat, TwMSG msg,
    ref IntPtr refptr );

The Twain class has a simple 5-step interface:

C#
class Twain
{
    Init();
    Select();
    Acquire();
    PassMessage();
    TransferPictures();
}

For some sort of 'callbacks', TWAIN uses special Windows messages, and these must be caught from the application-message-loop. In .NET, the only way found was IMessageFilter.PreFilterMessage(), and this filter has to be activated with a call like Application.AddMessageFilter(). Within the filter method, we have to forward each message to Twain.PassMessage(), and we get a hint (enum TwainCommand) back for how we have to react.

Sample App

The sample is a Windows Forms MDI-style application. It has the two TWAIN-related menu items Select Source... and Acquire... Once an image is scanned in, we can save it to a file in any of the GDI+ supported file formats (BMP, GIF, TIFF, JPEG...)

Limitations

All code was only tested on Windows 2000SP2, with an Epson Perfection USB scanner and an Olympus digital photo camera. The scanned picture is (by TWAIN spec) a Windows DIB, and the sample code has VERY little checking against error return codes and bitmap formats. Unfortunately, no direct method is available in .NET to convert a DIB to the managed Bitmap class... Some known problems may show up with color palettes and menus.

Note, TWAIN has it's root in 16-Bit Windows! For a more modern API supported on Windows ME/XP, have a look at Windows Image Acquisition (WIA).

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under A Public Domain dedication


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Comments and Discussions

 
AnswerRe: About disabling Scan Property form Pin
danajp_595-May-14 11:23
danajp_595-May-14 11:23 
QuestionGreat Pin
magicyangjay18-Mar-14 21:50
magicyangjay18-Mar-14 21:50 
QuestionGet supported capabilities Pin
M.Azadi9-Mar-14 22:15
M.Azadi9-Mar-14 22:15 
QuestionWindows 8 errors with TwainLib.Twain.DSMident Pin
pserrao5-Mar-14 3:57
pserrao5-Mar-14 3:57 
AnswerRe: Windows 8 errors with TwainLib.Twain.DSMident Pin
Ravishankar chinnur5-Mar-14 18:12
Ravishankar chinnur5-Mar-14 18:12 
GeneralRe: Windows 8 errors with TwainLib.Twain.DSMident Pin
pserrao6-Mar-14 9:37
pserrao6-Mar-14 9:37 
GeneralRe: Windows 8 errors with TwainLib.Twain.DSMident Pin
Ravishankar chinnur6-Mar-14 18:13
Ravishankar chinnur6-Mar-14 18:13 
GeneralRe: Windows 8 errors with TwainLib.Twain.DSMident Pin
smile869115-Dec-14 5:54
smile869115-Dec-14 5:54 
Questionscanning one after another is not posiible Pin
Ravishankar chinnur5-Mar-14 2:08
Ravishankar chinnur5-Mar-14 2:08 
AnswerRe: scanning one after another is not posiible Pin
malcolmxu21-Mar-14 5:54
malcolmxu21-Mar-14 5:54 
AnswerRe: scanning one after another is not posiible Pin
Antriksh Patel27-Jul-14 18:12
Antriksh Patel27-Jul-14 18:12 
BugInsufficient Memory Pin
keencoder20-Jan-14 22:42
keencoder20-Jan-14 22:42 
GeneralRe: Insufficient Memory Pin
Member 1035479622-Sep-14 22:13
Member 1035479622-Sep-14 22:13 
GeneralRe: Insufficient Memory Pin
王文鹏18-Aug-15 23:48
王文鹏18-Aug-15 23:48 
QuestionHow to scan on both sides of the document Pin
sandeep7587-Jan-14 21:58
sandeep7587-Jan-14 21:58 
Questionsave images Pin
ezelden.sahi12-Nov-13 21:30
ezelden.sahi12-Nov-13 21:30 
QuestionHow can i change the transfer mode to File Pin
Murugan Kolanji11-Nov-13 2:43
Murugan Kolanji11-Nov-13 2:43 
GeneralThank you so much~! Pin
Cheon sang10-Nov-13 22:03
Cheon sang10-Nov-13 22:03 
Question.NET TWAIN image scanner Convert to for VB 2010 Pin
Dibakar Mishra30-Oct-13 3:55
Dibakar Mishra30-Oct-13 3:55 
QuestionGdipSaveImageToStream brings back a empty stream Pin
Member 391328323-Oct-13 8:49
Member 391328323-Oct-13 8:49 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Lucas Lima Araujo27-Sep-13 6:37
Lucas Lima Araujo27-Sep-13 6:37 
QuestionWindows 8 Fails Pin
Lucas Lima Araujo27-Sep-13 4:39
Lucas Lima Araujo27-Sep-13 4:39 
AnswerRe: Windows 8 Fails Pin
blastnsmash10-Dec-13 6:59
blastnsmash10-Dec-13 6:59 
GeneralRe: Windows 8 Fails Pin
smile869128-Jan-14 7:37
smile869128-Jan-14 7:37 
AnswerRe: Windows 8 Fails Pin
blastnsmash10-Dec-13 9:10
blastnsmash10-Dec-13 9:10 

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