ByteScout Blog

Getting images from scanner, web camera or from other still imaging devices using WIA

noreply@blogger.com (Eugene) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Lot of our customers asking us about a way to acquire images from scanner and other imaging devices.

There are 2 ways to acquire image in Windows:

via TWAIN interface (used since 1992);
via WIA (currently is recommended by Microsoft over TWAIN/STI because of better user experience)

To acquire images using TWAIN we have open-source SDK called Bytescout Scan SDK which is available for free download at http://bytescoutscansdk.codeplex.com/

Scan SDK is free for use in both commercial and non-commercial apps

What about WIA? In the latest version of BarCode Reader SDK we have implemented new WIAImageScanner class that allows to acquire images and works on Windows XP, Vista, 7, Windows 8 for both x86 and x64 platforms.

The latest evaluation version of BarCode Reader SDK is available for download here
Registered users should download using their "secret" link instead (to get full version)

How to use this new WIAImageScanner class:

C# code sample:

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using Bytescout.BarCodeReader;

// This example demonstrates camera image acquiring using Windows Image Acquisition (WIA).
// using built-in WIAImageScanner class from barCode Reader SDK

namespace BarcodeFromWebCam
{
 static class Program
 {
  static void Main()
  {
            // create WIA scanner object
            WIAImageScanner wiaScanner = new WIAImageScanner();

            wiaScanner.OutputFileNameTemplate = "BarCodeReader-scanned";
            wiaScanner.OutputImageFormat = WiaImageFormatType.PNG;
            wiaScanner.ImageQuality = WiaImageBias.MaximizeQuality;
            wiaScanner.ImageIntent = WiaImageIntent.UnspecifiedIntent;
            wiaScanner.ShowDeviceSelectionDialog = true;

            try
            {
                // run acquire and exit if canceled or zero images
                if (!wiaScanner.Acquire())
                    return;

            }
            catch (Exception E)
            {
                string message = E.Message;
                if (E.InnerException != null)
                    message = message + "\r\n\r\n" + E.InnerException.Message;
                MessageBox.Show("Error while acquiring images:\r\n\r\n" + message);
                return;
            }

            // Read barcode:
            Reader barcodeReader = new Reader();
            FoundBarcode[] barcodes = barcodeReader.ReadFrom(wiaScanner.OutputFiles[0]);

            if (barcodes.Length > 0)
            {
                StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder();

                foreach (FoundBarcode barcode in barcodes)
                    builder.AppendLine(String.Format("Found barcode with type '{0}' and value '{1}'", barcode.Type, barcode.Value));

                MessageBox.Show(builder.ToString());
            }
            else
            {
                MessageBox.Show(wiaScanner.OutputFiles[0] + "\r\n\r\nCould not find any barcode.");
            }


   }
 }
}

Visual Basic .NET sample code:

Imports System.IO
Imports System.Text
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports Bytescout.BarCodeReader

' This example demonstrates camera image acquiring using Windows Image Acquisition (WIA).
' using built-in WIAImageScanner class from barCode Reader SDK

NotInheritable Class Program
 Private Sub New()
 End Sub
    Friend Shared Sub Main()

        ' use WIA barcode reader scanner
        Dim wiaScanner As WIAImageScanner = New WIAImageScanner

        wiaScanner.OutputFileNameTemplate = "BarCodeReader-scanned"
        wiaScanner.OutputImageFormat = WiaImageFormatType.PNG
        wiaScanner.ImageQuality = WiaImageBias.MaximizeQuality
        wiaScanner.ImageIntent = WiaImageIntent.UnspecifiedIntent
        wiaScanner.ShowDeviceSelectionDialog = True

        Try
            ' run acquire and exit if canceled or zero images
            If Not wiaScanner.Acquire() Then
                Return
            End If

        Catch E As Exception
            Dim message As String = E.Message
            If E.InnerException IsNot Nothing Then
                message = message + "\r\n\r\n" + E.InnerException.Message
                MessageBox.Show("Error while acquiring images:\r\n\r\n" + message)
                Return
            End If
        End Try

        ' Read barcode:
        Dim barcodeReader As New Reader()
        Dim barcodes As FoundBarcode() = barcodeReader.ReadFrom(wiaScanner.OutputFiles(0))

        If barcodes.Length > 0 Then
            Dim builder As New StringBuilder()

            For Each barcode As FoundBarcode In barcodes
                builder.AppendLine([String].Format("Found barcode with type '{0}' and value '{1}'", barcode.Type, barcode.Value))
            Next

            MessageBox.Show(builder.ToString())
        Else
            MessageBox.Show(wiaScanner.OutputFiles(0) + "" & Chr(13) & "" & Chr(10) & "" & Chr(13) & "" & Chr(10) & "Could not find any barcode.")


        End If

    End Sub
End Class

New major version of BarCode Reader SDK

noreply@blogger.com (Eugene) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:30:00 +0000

We are happy to announce that ByteScout BarCode Reader SDK 3 is available on our web-site

New version brings faster processing and less memory consumption and improved support for noisy images especially for two-dimensional barcodes like QR Code and others.

Evaluation version is available from this page
Registered users please use your special link to download the latest full version

And..check out a short rap announcement from .NET Bear!

great course on working with data for a journalist, a data-nerd or working in human-rights abuses

noreply@blogger.com (Eugene) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Great open courses were started online: School Of Data Courses

Anyone who is interested in introduction and tutorials on working with data. School Of Data in their own words: "Whether you are a journalist, a data-nerd or working in human-rights abuses – we’ll show you how to utilize data to deliver your message."

Current version of these School Of Data provides the following modules:

Main page is here: http://schoolofdata.org/

The course mentions difficulties of scrapping data from PDF documents and if you are on Windows, ByteScout can help you with it! We have solutions for regular users and for software developers:

First tool is PDF Viewer desktop utility for Windows that is able to detect and extract tables from PDF as text, as XML, as CSV, as XLS spreadsheets (with adjustable options).

You can get PDF Viewer utility from this page

This desktop utility is free both commercial and non commercial use

If you are a software developer and looking for a API (programming interface) then please check PDF Extractor SDK, read more information about it here

PDF Extractor SDK is commercial library but if you are working on non-for-profit or for-charity project, please contact us and we will provide you with a free license.

Why iPhone Purchased in Russia Won't Work

noreply@blogger.com (Eugene) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 07:27:00 +0000

This used iPhone has been purchased in Russia for about $700 USD. New iPhone 4S price starts from $1000 USD so at least $300 has been saved.

The battery claimed to be low and all one need to do is to charge it again.

But it was not working anyway so this phone has been delivered to a service center to check and repair:

Source (Russian)

It's Javascript time!

noreply@blogger.com (Eugene) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 20:42:00 +0000

Lot of things in the world moving to Javascript (both client side and server side).

Why? Javascript performance is getting better and better and it is nice to have one single language on both server and client side.

Our new javascript products:

Code128 BarCode Generator For Javascript - 100% completely client side Code 128 barcode generation.

See live demo (works in your browser)

Licensing: is free for both commercial and non-commercial purposes.
PDF Generator SDK for Javascript (bytescoutpdf.js) - client-side PDF generation that works (and tested) in all modern browsers, including Safari on iPhone, iPad, Android default browser. This script provides all tools you need to generate PDF reports and invoices:

rich text with font style and color settings;
html formatting for text styles;
lines to draw tables;
images (from url or canvas);
outlines (bookmarks tree);
internal and external links inside text;
layers support;

See live demo (works in browser)

Licensing: free for non-commercial usage, commercial usage requires purchasing a license

P.S.: What is the fastest way to debug javascript without Visual Studio? You may be surprised to find that Google Chrome includes full featured javascript debuger

ByteScout Socks Reader Beta - Technology Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Eugene) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 09:38:00 +0000

With years of image analysis expertise with our BarCode Reader SDK (the library for Windows software developers to find and read barcodes from images and PDF documents) we decided to concentrate our efforts help to avoid the headache almost every man on Earth faces: finding a matching pair of socks

And today I'm very proud to show you our new project (still in beta): ByteScout Socks Reader Beta Technology Preview for Apple iPhone!

Before the demonstration we just dropped a bunch of socks after washing into the floor and took a photo of them with our iPhone and opened this photo in ByteScout Socks Reader app:

Clicking Analyze Socks button will start the process by initializing our patent pending Socks Reader engine:

Then Socks Reader app runs photo image preprocessing (to remove unwanted noise and prepare image for socks identification)

Next step is to identify every single sock on the image as a separate object:

Then the application performs color analysis for every single sock object and stores information about each single sock in the internal database:

Then Socks Reader uses this information to finally identify and match pairs:

Bingo! The app paired all socks and marked them with numbers:

Now just click OK button and use the map to match socks and sort them into pairs:

Next Steps (before the publiс release):

1) Integrate with Siri (so you could ask Siri: “Oh, how can I find at least one pair of socks?” and this will launch Socks Reader app automatically);
2) Discuss possible licensing of our technology to washing machines vendors to provide built-in socks pairing right into washing machines (through a built-in camera);
3) Manufacturing mechanical hands with iPhone compatible interface to work together with Socks Reader to automate socks sorting as well (so you just plug a mechanical hand into your iPhone, run Socks Reader and the hand and the app will do the rest sorting your socks!);

Public Release Date:
We plan to release public 1.00 version for iPhone on 01 April 2013 as a free app.

Licensing Model:
Matching first 20 pairs of socks will be free. Next matches will be available as in-app purchases with “socks” credits (you will be able to purchase 10 socks, 20 socks, 100 socks, 1 million socks credits)

Our Support For Non Profit Organizations and Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Eugene) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:06:00 +0000

Since 2011 we are supporting nonprofit nonprofit organizations with free licenses for our products (including products for software developers).

Results for 2011 year:

Number of nonprofit organizations supported in 2011: 8;
Project types: educational projects, helping poor and homeless, website to help find information about colleges, helping persons how are unable to read to get audio information about goods, helping in adoption, alcohol & drug counseling, assisted living;
Organization types: universities, local communities, academic institutions;

What is the workflow to get a free license?

Submit a request our sales support
We provide a form to fill;
Fill the request form we have provided with details about your project, sign, scan and send (or fax) back to us;
Get a license key for the product once form is reviewed and approved;

Limitations:

The organization should be nonprofit type of organization;
Tech support is provided partially only (we would fix bugs if any but won't provide much support on using a component for particular application);
Renewals for full version subscription requires to be approved;

Conclusion:

We feel great by supporting nonprofit organizations and will continue to support them in 2012 year.

How To Record Screencast or Video Tutorial For Your Software And Upload To YouTube in 12 Steps

noreply@blogger.com (Eugene) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 09:56:00 +0000

Write a brief scenario on what you plan to show and say for the screencast. Imaging you are telling about your web-site or product for invisible audience with internal notes on what to show.
For example:

Hi, our web-site is dedicated to bikes.

You can view different models here..

[open page with details for a bike]

and you can view details for the selected mode
Print the scenario and put it near your computer (or view it on your iPad other kind of similar device)
Download and install freeware Bytescout Screen Capturing for Windows
Run Bytescout Screen Capturing and click "Record Entire Screen" option to start recording.
Read the scenario aloud while recording and record the screencast. Add pauses between different parts (you can cut unwanted pauses later)
Press CTRL+SHIFT+F12 when done
View the recorded video to see if all is OK. If not then apply corrections to the scenario and repeat steps 1 to 7 if needed to change the scenario or screencast video.
Run "Windows Movie Maker" - built-in video editor that comes with Windows
in Windows 7: you can find Movie Maker as Windows Live Video Editorin Windows XP: open c:\Program Files\Movie Maker\ folder and run moviemk.exe file by double-clicking on it
in Windows Movie Maker click "Import Video" and import your video
You can cut unwanted video by clicking on the video track and pressing CTRL+L. This cuts the video at cursor location.

If you want to make video snippet shorter then click on the end of video and hold mouse button and move it to the left to decrease the length
Re-record voice (or add another sounds) using "Record From Mic" in Windows Movie Maker
Export video to high quality .WMV file: in Windows Movie Maker select File - Save Movie File (ctrl+p).. Select "High Quality" option for exported video and save.

Finally, upload this resulted video file to YouTube

Music Video: .NET Bear sings about his questions for Microsoft about Windows Phone 7 platform

noreply@blogger.com (Eugene) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:39:00 +0000

Lyrics:

Just before I say "goodbye"
to Android and iPhone,
I just want to ask some questions
about all these shiny phones
With Windows Phone, Windows Phone,
Windows, Windows, Windows Phone,
Windows Phone, Windows Phone 7!

Will you play large hd films from torrentsand flash movies on web pages?
And I want to have the Skype
So I can call my geeky friends

from Windows Phone, Windows Phone,

Windows, Windows, Windows Phone,

Windows Phone, Windows Phone 7!

Can I get access to file system
Without dirty hacking tricks?
What about porting a source code from Windows
And running native binaries on

on Windows Phone, Windows Phone,

Windows, Windows, Windows Phone,

Windows Phone, Windows Phone 7!

Windows XP Still Most Used OS with 46% Worldwide According To StatCounter Report For May 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Eugene) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 11:30:00 +0000

StatCounter, a free web site usage tracker (installed on 3 millions sites) published Top Operating Systems on May 2011 report: http://gs.statcounter.com/#os-ww-monthly-201105-201105-bar

Worldwide

Windows XP: 46%
Windows 7: 33%
Windows Vista: 13%
Maс OS: 6%

North America:

Windows 7 : 34%
Windows XP : 32%
Windows Vista : 18%
Maс OS : 14%

Europe:

Windows XP : 38%

Windows 7 : 36%

Windows Vista : 17%

Maс OS : 7%

Learning ASP.NET MVC? Try To Learn Ruby On Rails To Understand MVC Approach Better!

noreply@blogger.com (Eugene) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:01:00 +0000

.NET MVC 3 from Microsoft gains more and more popularity for ASP.NET web application development since first version which was introduced in 2007 but developers ofter compares ASP.NET MVC to other mature MVC frameworks such as Ruby On Rails (Rails framework)

Best way to compare is to try both frameworks yourself and actually learning Ruby On Rails helps to understand ASP.NET MVC better.

Although there are lot of books, tutorials and screencasts available for RoR (Ruby On Rails), installing suitable editor, learning command line options takes time and efforts before you actually can start coding.. What to do?

Fortunately, Envy Labs have created interactive video course to explore and learn basics of Rails framework: Rails For Zombies.

This course includes 5 video screencasts and interactive code challenges after each screencast and this makes the course really interesting and no need to install anything! You can view and try to code in a browser directly.

To start the course use this link: http://www.codeschool.com/courses/rails-for-zombies

P.S.: don't be confused by "Buy Now" button on their web-site as actually the course is free and the cost is zero (you just need to register on the web-site to start the course)

.NET Bear, Do You Know Any Free PDF Generation Libraries For Use In Commercial Applications?

noreply@blogger.com (Eugene) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:33:00 +0000

Short Answer: Yes, you can use iTextSharp 4.1.6 (please read important information about this particular version 4.1.6 below).

iTextSharp is the mature and solid PDF generation library for .NET, originally ported from iText, Java library. This open source library delivers functionality to create, modify, stamp, fill PDF files.

Question: can I use this library in a closed source commercial applications for free of charge?

Answer: this is allowed with iTextSharp 4.1.6 version (or prior versions) only as they distributed under Mozilla Public License (aka MPL) or alternative GNU LIBRARY GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE (aka LGPL)

These type of licenses allows to use iTextSharp 4.1.6 in closed source applications and the only limitation is that you should put the notice (see the source code for more information about required notice) in About box or in the documentation for your application. You should also publish any changes from the original code if you have made any.

Question: where can I download iTextSharp 4.1.6 ?
Answer: you can download it from (these files were downloaded from original SourceForge links for iTextSharp 4.1.6):

iTextSharp 4.1.6 DLL only: itextsharp-4.1.6-dll.zip
iTextSharp 4.1.6 Source Code (C#): itextsharp-4.1.6.zip

Original Links for iTextSharp 4.1.6:

iTextSharp 4.1.6 - Binary (dll only) - download from SourceForge
iTextSharp 4.1.6 - Source Code (C#) - download from SourceForge

Question: what about later versions of iTextSharp (4.1.7, 5.xx and newer)? Can I use newer versions in commercial closed source applications?

Answer: Version 4.1.7 and newer versions are licensed under AGPL license which requires you to publish full source code of your application.

However commercial licenses for for use commercial closed source are available for purchase from 1T3XT BVBA, please visit this link to purchase licenses for iTextSharp 4.1.7 or newer versions: http://itextpdf.com/terms-of-use/index.php

Question: where can I get a commercial technical support for iTextSharp?
Answer: .NET Bear believes you can get technical support for this excellent library by purchasing a commercial license, for more information please visit: http://itextpdf.com/terms-of-use/index.php

P.S.: Oh well, thank you .NET Bear but what about converting PDF to images or extraction of data from PDF files? - Yes, at ByteScout we have commercial PDF Renderer SDK and PDF Extractor SDK for these purposes.

Our long time employee, .NET Bear awaken from the hibernation!

noreply@blogger.com (Eugene) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:04:00 +0000

Our lovely and long time employee, .NET Bear, as the spring comes out, from the deep hibernation and now works again to provide our customers with quality .NET components such as ByteScout BarCode SDK, BarCode Reader SDK, Spreadsheet SDK, Watermarking SDK..

Long time he was a big fan of Borland Delphi but now he works with Visual Studio and .NET only. Here is the short story why he moved from Delphi to .NET without any chance to return back

Why Hardware Based Activation Sucks

noreply@blogger.com (Eugene) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:54:00 +0000

From time to time we receive questions from our prospective customers like these: what should I do if I need to migrate to another web-server with another hardware? Will I need to re-activate my license key?

When you purchase a tool or a server side component that will be installed on a production web server, this kind of question is really important.

Why? Imagine that you got an attention to your web-site after it was mentioned on TV or in a radio show and you have to move quickly to another hardware (or to another virtual machine) to stand again much larger number of visitors.

And imagine that you are trying to activate the component on new hardware and it fails to activate. You are writing to the technical support for the component and getting automated response that your will get the response in next 12 hours.

This is why the hardware based activation sucks for server side components and libraries. And this is why we do not use the hardware activation in our products and our customers can move to another server hardware without any hassles by simply copying files to another server with the same system configuration (but another hardware)

welcome back to our blog

noreply@blogger.com (Eugene) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:50:00 +0000

After several years of silence in this blog we have decided to turn it back as we have lot of things to discuss about software and the software development

Welcome back to everyone!