You just bought a new scanner and you’re wondering how to scan a document.

In theory, you plug your scanner into your computer, place the document face down on the glass scanner, hit the start button, and save the document somewhere on your computer.But the reality is that process is probably a bit more complex.

We can’t tell you how to scan a document on every scanner out there, but we can give you some general tips that will help you get your scanner up and running.

In this article, we’ll give you some questions to ask yourself so you can better figure out how to scan a document with your scanner.

Do You Know How Your Scanner Should Work?

This might sound strange at first, but the fact is, all scanners work differently. It’s so much easier to troubleshoot things when you know how your scanner should work.

If you bought your scanner new there should be instructions in the packaging which will help you get the general feel for how to scan a document using your specific scanner. Additionally, there are other resources that can help you learn how to scan a document using your scanner.

Google and YouTube can both be quite helpful. No matter what kind of scanner you have, someone out there has probably made a vlog or photo tutorial to show you how your scanner works. Sometimes the official instructions are full of jargon and are hard to follow. YouTube tutorials usually add a level of clarity that you can’t get from a paper fold out.

Also, be sure you know how your scanner is supposed to work with other devices. Some scanners have the ability to connect with not just a computer, but a phone or tablet as well. Instructions will likely change depending on what other devices you are using. Make sure that you consider all of the devices which may need to interact with your scanner and make sure you at least have an idea of how they’re supposed to work together.

If you do this, it will be so much easier to troubleshoot problems when things go wrong.

Do You Have The Right Drivers?

Once you have your scanner installed and you know how it should work, assuming everything runs smoothly, you’ll want to make sure you have all of the right drivers. Scanner drivers help your scanner and computer talk to each other. The driver handles the data load coming from your scanner and interprets that data in a way that your computer can more easily understand and use.

Your scanner may be installed but that doesn’t mean it can communicate with your computer or other devices. That requires the right driver. Normally the instruction manual will have information regarding which driver you’ll need and where you can get it. If that doesn’t work, just check the scanner company’s website. If that fails, Google is your friend.

Also, drivers need to be updated from time to time so it’s probably a good idea to look into updating those once a year. Maybe there will be an update or a patch, maybe there won’t. What’s more important is that you consistently check to make sure your drivers are up-to-date.

Are Your Computer Settings Properly Set Up?

You’ll need to make sure that your settings are just how you want them. Even if you figure out how to scan a document using your scanner, that doesn’t mean everything will go smoothly from there on out.

Here are a couple extra questions to consider once your computer is set up.

Where Does Your Scanner Save Your Documents?

When you scan a document, your computer software will automatically save those images to a specific file. That file may be your downloads folder. It might be a folder that your scanner made specifically made for storing images. If you don’t know where your scans are going, you’ll find yourself clicking and opening a variety of files and folders trying to find where your scanned files are saved.

Most scanners allow you to choose which folder to save your scanned files to. Make sure you change your settings so you can find all of your files easily, so you don’t have to start clicking everywhere to find them.

Does Your Scanner Combine Pages Or Does It Scan Them Individually?

Depending on what you are scanning, you may want to save multiple scanned pages as one file, or you may want your documents to scan to separate files. Learning how to change this setting, to expand or shrink the number of scanned documents that’ll get added to a file, can save you time clicking around looking for the right page.

After You Learn How To Scan A Document, eFileCabinet Can Help Store Your Data

eFileCabinet works with companies large and small to help them automate their document workflow. If you want to improve your company’s efficiency, one of the best ways to do it is by improving the way you handle and store your documents.

Whether it’s workflow automation. advanced search, improved integration, or security compliance, eFileCabinet has something for you.