How to open Scan App in Windows 10 Computer and Scan a document

Microsoft Store offers a Scan app which you can use to scan documents and pictures in Windows 10 quickly. The app is useful when you are scanning one single photo or multiple pages. In this post, we will share how to open the Scan App in Windows 10 computer and use it to scan a document properly.

How to open Scan App in Windows 10

Before we start with the Scan App, the OEM of the Scanner may have its own scanner software, which can help you with scanning a document. I would suggest you have a look at it as well as it can offer some extra features compared to the Windows Scan App.

Open Microsoft StoreType Windows Scan in the search box.Once it appears, click on the Get button to install it on the computer or open this link.Post-installation, Windows Scan will be available in the Start menu as the “SCAN” app.Click on it, to open the Scan App in Windows 10 computer.

If you just connected the Scanner, make sure to install the driver. Windows 10 would usually find it and list it under Settings > Devices > Printers and Scanners. Make sure its status is online; else, you will not be able to use it.

Before launching the scanner app, make sure the scanner is physically plugged into a power source and connected to the computer over the USB plug. Launch the scanner app, and it will automatically detect the scanner and list it. If you have multiple scanners, you can always choose between them.

When the app launches, it only shows Scanner Name and File type in which the scan would be saved. Right under the file type option, click on Show more link top reveal the complete set of options which includes:

File Type: Choose between TIFF, JPEG, PDF, XPS, BMP, and OpenXPSColor Mode: Here, you can choose between Color, Black & White, and Greyscale.Resolution: The higher the value, the better would be the quality of the print, saved document, and, of course, the size. Depending on where and how you plan to use it, choose wisely.Save File to: Make sure to choose this option, and I would say, save it to the cloud. Not only you can instantly share with someone; you will not lose it. When you switch computers, you can get still across them if it is on Dropbox or OneDrive

Related: General Scanner Troubleshooting tips

How to scan a document in Windows 10

Now that you know all the features of the scan app, let’s learn how to scan a document or image using this app.

Place a document on the scanner bed, and put down the lid.Switch to Scan app, and configure the optionsClick on the Preview button. Make sure to it every time to see how the output of the scan will look like.Once the preview shows up, you can use the selection or circle markers to decide the area to scan. If the preview is not as you expected thenchange the color mode and DPImake sure the scanner lid was put downaccurately mark the area to scan using circle markersif you plan to edit the image later, save it as an IMAGE format.Click on the Scan button to perform a final scan. You should see Scanning instead of Previewing this time. Once complete, a message would show up on top of the app.

That’s it. It is how you scan a document or image in Windows 10. While the Scan app is basic, it offers enough features which allow you to scan almost anything.

However, software from OEM would do a much better job as it can offer extra features, option to save at multiple places, and so on. As an example, I can save multiple scans into a single PDF file, which is excellent when you are scanning a document with numerous pages. So make sure to install the scanner app from the OEM and try out that too.