Acquire - Help
Acquire Usage: acquire [options] [filename[.ext]]
If no options and no filename are provided, Acquire displays its about box, which includes a hyperlink to this help page.
If no options are given but a filename is provided, a single image is acquired from the default TWAIN device using that device's user interface. The image received is then written to the specified file.
If
the filename ends with a recognized extension (bmp, dcx,
gif, jpg, jpeg, pdf, png, tif, tiff) then the corresponding
format is used for the file, otherwise if one of the options
/bmp, /dcx, /jpeg, /pdf, /png or /tiff was specified that
format is used.
(Otherwise BMP format is used!) If the filename has no extension, an appropriate extension for the format is used.
If options are given but no filename, and any images are transferred, the user is prompted for the filename. For example, the following command will do a default scan of one image, and prompt the user with a Save dialog:
acquire /scan
When multiple images are requested (with the /m or /n options) the default behavior of Acquire is to store each image in a separate file, appending sequential numbers to the filenames. If the provided filename (not counting the extension) does not end with a number, Acquire appends a '1' and continues from there. If the provided filename ends with a number, Acquire starts with that filename and then increments as needed. Note that the format of the number is retained when possible, so that 2 is incremented to 3, and 99 to 100, but 00175 is incremented to 00176.
Beginning with Acquire 2.96, the filename can contain placeholders.
Acquire writes a summary report to its standard output unless the report is redirected to a file with /o.
Acquire Options
| Option | Description |
Version |
| /0xNNNN=v | Set TWAIN capability 0xNNNN (NNNN in hexadecimal) to value v. Used to set exotic or proprietary capabilities of specific devices. Examples: Setting ICAP_ORIENTATION to TWOR_ROT90 /0x1110=1 Setting ICAP_HALFTONES to "Dither Pattern 0" /0x1109="Dither Pattern 0" |
2.81 |
| /autobright | Set automatic brightness on. | |
| /autobright=n | Set automatic brightness to n, 1=On, 0=Off. | |
| /autocrop | Automatically crop each scanned image. | 2.92 |
| /autoinc (/ai) | Increment output filename as needed to avoid overwriting existing files | 2.94 |
| /adf | Enable automatic feeding of documents (implies /n) | |
| /app=name | Set application title: Use name in window titles, etc. instead of 'Acquire'. | |
| /append | If writing in TIFF, PDF or DCX format and the file already exists, append to it. | |
| /b=n | Set Brightness to n. Varies by device but commonly -1000 is minimum brightness, 1000 is maximum. | |
| /bce=engine | Select Barcode Engine, from: dosadi, lead or leadtools, blackice | 2.70 |
| /bg | Send this command to another instance of Acquire running as a server. (See /server) | 2.67 |
| /blackice | Use Black Ice barcode engine | 2.93 |
| /blank | During multipage scans, discard any blank images. An image is considered blank if it has < 2% dark pixels. | 2.82 |
| /blank=T /blankT | Discard blank images with threshold T. T is a decimal fraction or a percent of dark pixels. Examples: /blank1.5% /blank=0.01 /blank0.01 /blank=2% |
2.90 |
| /bmp | Write .bmp files by default, if no extension specified on filename. | |
| /bw | Request 1-bit black & white (B&W) images from TWAIN device. | |
| /cn or /c=n | Set Contrast to n. Varies by device but commonly -1000 is minimum contrast, 1000 is maximum. | |
| /cc:filename /cc=filename |
Copy images to a 2nd file - If the output file is a multipage format, all output images are written to it, otherwise only the first scanned image. | 2.90 |
| /close | Command to background server: close scanner after finishing current command. Used with /bg | 2.68 |
| /cm | Set the unit-of-measure to centimeters. | |
| /cmyk | Request CMYK data from TWAIN device. Can only be written to TIFF or PDF. Implies /mem. | |
| /code39 | Find and report Code 3-of-9 barcodes. Results are written to the report file: See /o command. | 2.69 |
| /color | Request RGB color images from the TWAIN device. (same as /rgb) | 2.98 |
| /d=n | Request pixels of of n bits. Support varies between devices, but some scanners support /d=16. | |
| /deep | Request 16 bits/channel from TWAIN device. Only some scanners support this. Implies /mem. | |
| /dcx | Write .DCX files by default, if no file extension is specified. Implies /n. | |
| /deskew | Automatically deskew each page. | |
| /dup | Request duplex scanning. | |
| /enum | Enumerate installed TWAIN devices and list in report file: See also: /o command. Note: Suppresses scanning unless /scan is also specified. |
2.71 |
| /feeder | Scan from document feeder. | |
| /file | Use TWAIN File Transfer Mode - only some scanners support this mode. Advanced TWAIN feature. | |
| /filerev or /frev | After acquire, display saved file for review with Accept/Reject buttons. Dialog has page next/prev, zoom levels, scrolling tool. |
2.85 |
| /flatbed | Scan from flatbed (glass, platen) not from feeder. | 2.61 |
| /flate | In PDF output, prefer 'Flate' compression. If not specified, the default compression for rgb, gray and cmyk images is JPEG. With very clean grayscale or color images, such as those produced by the Kofax VRS driver, Flate compression can produce smaller files than JPEG. | 2.87 |
| /gamma=n | Set gamma to n. | |
| /gif | Write .GIF files by default, if no file extension is specified. | |
| /gray | Request grayscale images (8-bit/pixel by default) from TWAIN device. | |
| /help or /? | Display help information. | |
| /hide | Ask the TWAIN device to hide its user interface. Ignored by some cameras. | |
| /high=n | Set highlight value to n. Only some scanners will respect this request. | |
| /hn or /h=n | Set height of image to scan (in current unit-of-measure). For example: /h=7.25 | |
| /i or /inches | Set unit-of-measure to inches (the default). | |
| /jpeg | Write .JPG (JPEG) files by default, if no other file extension is specified. | |
| /jpeg=n | Write JPEG files and set JPEG compression quality to n. n=100 is best (and largest files), n=75 is default 'good', n=1 is smallest, terrible quality. See also /q below. | |
| /keepwarm | Do something to the TWAIN device that might keep it 'warmed up' i.e. lamp turned on. | |
| /key=key | Specify multi-user license key, obtained by purchasing a Multi-User License | |
| /lang=xx | Specify the language locale to be used by Acquire.The xx can be either a decimal number representing a Microsoft primary language id, or a 2-letter language code from ISO 639-1: en da nl fr de it no pl pt es sv. |
2.99 |
| /leadtools /leadtools=key |
Select LeadTools barcode recognition engine (if installed). If provided, key is passed to the LeadTools engine as an unlock key. | 2.70 |
| /log | Write
a detailed diagnostic log, to c:\eztwain.log (can be redirected with /logfile) Diagnosing problems with Acquire often begins with adding /log to the options and sending the resulting log file to technical support  . |
|
| /logfile=f | Redirect or rename diagnostic log file (see /log above). | 2.94 |
| /m | Multipage mode: Acquire multiple images to a single output file. | 2.96 |
| /mem | Use TWAIN Memory Transfer Mode. A few scanners need this to deliver valid images, due to driver bugs. Certain other options also activate this mode, as noted. | |
| /n | Transfer multiple images if the TWAIN device offers them. | |
| /n=n | Transfer multiple images up to n images. | |
| /native | Use TWAIN Native Transfer Mode. This is the mode Acquire usually uses, some options override this. | |
| /neg or /negate | Negate each image received. | |
| /noindic | Request that the TWAIN device show no progress indicators. Ignored by some devices. | |
| /noscan | Do not scan or transfer any images. Used to suppress scanning when it would happen by default. | |
| /noui | Same as /hide above. | |
| /o=file | Write the summary report to file. The report includes any serious error, how many images were transferred, any barcodes found (if /code39 was specified), and other information. | |
| /ocr | Make output PDF file(s) searchable, using OCR (requires Transym TOCR installed) | 2.80 |
| /paper=s | Request paper size s, such as A3 A4 A5 B4 B5 B6 LETTER LEGAL. Example: /paper=letter | |
| /paper=n | Request paper size n, where n is a numeric TWSS_ code from the TWAIN standard. Example: /paper=3 | |
| /pixels | Set the current unit-of-measure to pixels. | |
| Write .PDF files by default, if no other file extension is specified. | ||
| /pdf+ | Write a single multipage .PDF file, if no other file extension is specified. | |
| /pdfa | Write each image to a .PDF file complying with PDF/A-1(b), if no other extension is specified. | 2.91 |
| /pdfa+ | Write a multipage .PDF file complying with PDF/A-1(b), if no other extension is specified. | 2.91 |
| /png | Write .PNG files by default, if no other file extension is specified. | |
| /poe | Prompt On Empty - When device signals done, ask user if there is more to scan and if yes, continue. | |
| /pwd="xyz" | If writing PDF file format, encrypt each PDF with user password xyz. | 2.91 |
| /q=n | Set JPEG compression quality, from 1 to 100. 1 is worst and smallest, 100 is nearly perfect but produces the largest files. | |
| /quant | Convert 24-bit color images to 8-bit palette color images. | |
| /rn or /r=n | Set resolution to n pixels per unit. With scanners, the default unit is inches, so this will set the resolution in pixels per inch, or DPI. Cameras of all types will generally ignore resolution requests. | |
| /refl | Request that the TWAIN device scan in reflective media mode. This is the usual mode for most scanners when scanning paper. Many flatbed scanners have an option to scan transparent media such as slides or transparencies. Film/Slide scanners may not support reflective mode. See / trans below. | |
| /rev | Display a review window after each scan (or set of scans, in multipage mode). | |
| /rgb | Request RGB color images from the TWAIN device. (same as /color) | |
| /rotl | Rotate each received image 90° to the left (counter-clockwise). | |
| /rotr | Rotate each received image 90° to the right (clockwise). | |
| /rot180 | Rotate each received image 180°. | |
| /s=p | Acquire images from
the TWAIN device whose name matches p, ignoring case. If p exactly matches an installed TWAIN device, that device is used. If p is a substring of only one installed device, that device is used. If p is a substring of one WIA device and one non-WIA device, the non-WIA device is used. I realize this sounds complicated, but it works out pretty well in practice. See also: /ss and /enum |
|
| /scan | Scan (transfer images) even if other options indicate not to. | |
| /server | Begin running in background as a scan-server. See /bg above. | 2.67 |
| /shadow=n | Set shadow value to n. Only some scanners will respect this. | |
| /simplex | Request simplex (single-sided) scanning. | |
| /soe | Stop On Empty: Stop scanning when feeder goes empty, even if scanner dialog is displayed. | 2.68 |
| /ss | Display the TWAIN Select Source dialog, which displays all installed TWAIN drivers. The user can select the system-wide default TWAIN device. Note: Suppresses scanning unless /scan is specified. | |
| /stop | Stop running in server mode and exit. Normally only issued to a background server using /bg. | |
| /t=n | Set threshold for B&W images to n, where n is 1..255. Higher values give darker images and vice-versa. Not all scanners respect this. | |
| /ta | Threshold Automatically to produce B&W output. Images received in grayscale or color are converted to B&W using an 'optimum threshold' for the image. Use in combination with /gray or /rgb. Can produce better results than scanning directly from the scanner in B&W with /bw. | |
| /text:attrs=text | Draw some text into each image. Details. | 2.85 |
| /tiff | Write TIFF files (.tif) by default, if no other file extension is specified. | |
| /tiff+ | Collect all received images into a single multipage TIFF file. | |
| /togray | Convert received images to grayscale. | |
| /togray=n | Convert images to grayscale by reducing resolution by 1/n. For example, if you use /bw /r300 /togray2, you will get 150 DPI grayscale images. | |
| /trans | Request that the TWAIN device scan in transparent media mode. This mode is supported by some scanners for scanning film and slides. | |
| /v | Display Acquire version information. Implies /noscan. | |
| /wn or /w=n | Set width of scan region to n (in current units.) See also /h above, and /x and /y below. | |
| /xn or /x=n | Set left edge of scan region to n (in current units from left side of full scan area.) | |
| /yn or /y=n | Set top edge of scan region to n (in current units from top of full scan area.) |