Improve saving and offer more choices

[kernelb00t]

A lot of users are confused about autosave and "Scan & start fresh". I do think resorting to "classic" designs will help users as they are used to a "edit then save" method. To keep things fast for power users, keyboard shortcuts can be kept, so power users can still have a ctrl+enter shortcut to save > start a new doc > scan, ctrl+s to save, ctrl+space to add a new page > scan.

Also, directly saving at the save location is not the greatest idea: it can cause problems on slow network shares by blocking the screen for too long. It can also cause problems on DMSs (Document Management System) used by some companies : users save directly to the network share, the server consumes the file after the first save, but it will finish consuming before the second page is added to the file!
But if the computer crashes and we did not save the scans, we lose our work. To remediate, a temp file can be built on the local drive, then saved on "save" action. This is more aligned with a traditional way to do, but this fast save feature can be put behind a toggle, allowing power users to use this.

What do you think about this?

Still, you are doing an amazing work and its the best utility app for Windows I have ever seen! I would put this app on the same level, if not above, 7Zip. Seriously. I am also waiting eagerly for the v4, I cannot imagine what can be enhanced.

[simon-knuth]

Thank you for your feedback! A project system along with the ability to scan first and save after is a core feature of v4 (although each project is temporary and you can't return to it once it's been closed). The project system improves some of the wordings and hopefully makes the app a easier to understand.
As it stands now, "Fixed location" will remain the default mode based on all of the feedback I've gotten, but users will be able to switch to the familiar "Ask every time" (either ask for every image file or for every new project), or the new mode, letting you scan and edit before having to commit to actually saving. I still need to decide how exactly I'm going to expose this and whether the setting will be part of the setup, but the implementation is done.
Additionally, closing the app with unsaved changes will require a confirmation to prevent accidental data loss. And last but not least, auto save will finally be an optional feature and you can also continue editing while saving to reduce friction.

[GermanKiwi]

Hi Simon, I just discovered this app today and it's amazing! This is how Microsoft's own Scan app (in the Microsoft Store) ought to have looked and functioned - they need to hire you! ;)

I'd like to add my vote to the idea of being able to make a scan and do stuff with it (crop/rotate/copy/share etc) without it automatically being saved to a file on my drive. In other words, the scan would stay in the app's memory I guess - or as a temp file somewhere - but would only be saved as a final JPG/PNG/PDF or whatever, when I click a "Save" button.

For me, I just want to be able to quickly scan a doc and share it to Outlook, then close the app and everything is "gone", without having new files being saved and stored on my drive for each scan.

So I'd envision this being available as a new setting like "Don't automatically save the scan". And then a new "Save" button in the toolbar at the top. Perhaps optionally also prompting me if I want to save it, if I try to close the app without having already saved it.

What do you think? Is this basically what you're describing above?

[simon-knuth]

Thank you @GermanKiwi ! Everything you've listed is definitely coming, the new backend is much more flexible than before, so you can just scan and edit before having to commit to actually saving anything. And yes, there will also be a warning, if you attempt to close the app with unsaved changes.

[simon-knuth]

This can now be tested in the v4 preview.

• The new default mode is "Choose a location" (this replaces "Ask every time"), which boils down to showing a save dialog the first time a project is saved
• Attempting to close the app with unsaved changes shows a warning
• "Fixed location" is still available as an alternative mode
• Auto-save is enabled by default and can be disabled

https://github.com/simon-knuth/scanner/releases/tag/4.0.1.0