Scanning the documents and images is now widely different from the conventional process of using software of the scanner. Windows Vista and Windows XP have the capability of scanning directly by the normal paint feature of these Operating Systems. Many users are not aware of this specific feature and hence should sound very interesting.  The scanning feature of Vista and XP is powered by WIA (Windows Image Acquisition).  The feature, WIA is accommodated in the paint option of these Operating Systems for scanning the documents as also making necessary corrections.

Install Microsoft WIA

It is a very simple process of installing  the WIA feature in both Windows Vista and Windows XP  Operating Systems. Carry out the undermentioned steps, but before that close all the running programs.

  • Open the Control Panel.
  • In the Control Panel, go to Programs and opt for Programs and Features.
  • It will show the OS, whichever you have. Make a right click and then click on option Change.
  • Look for the Add or Remove tab and click on Continue.
  • In this, you will see Installation Options.
  • Go to the tab Office Tools • Click on + sign present by the side of it.
  • Now you will find Microsoft Office Document Imaging.
  • Click on the sign available besides Microsoft Office Document Imaging.
  • Activate the tab Run all from my computer by clicking on it.
  • Finally, you need to click on continue to install Microsoft Office Document Imaging.

For scanning images through the Paint option is an easy process. Do the following:

  • Open the Paint option. The steps involved are reaching All Programs from Start. At All Programs look for the Accessories. The available tabs will have Paint, which you require to open with a double-click.
  • At the opened up Paint page, go to the File menu and import the image you want to scan with Paint. You should look for the image at the tab From Scanner or Camera.
  • You need to open up individual images on the Paint for scanning and do the work one after the other.  With the Paint  application, you can do editing actions like erase, change color, crop and add text.
  • When the Scanner or Camera opens, you will require picking the document or image that you want to work on with the Paint. It is essential to note is at Paint, you can work on the documents which are in the TIFF (graphic) format. As such, you will require changing the format to make the changes as you want and save or print.
  • The next step is to click on Scan to start the process of scanning a file.  In the process of scanning, the scanning light moves across the image to collect a complete data on pixels of the image or a document.

Such a direct scanning with Paint is very handy and helps a lot for a quick job.