I was hoping to do this from a flash plugin, kind of how flash accesses the microphone or webcam but it doesn't seem possible. Is this going to be possible using Java, or ActiveX, or some other strategy that I haven't looked at yet? The idea is to do it without a client install, or at least something lightweight and browser and platform independent, (and possibly the moon on a stick as welll ;-))
A:
Your only real hope is ActiveX, both Flash and Java applets run in a security sand box that prevents access to resources like scanners. All you need for ActiveX controls is for it to be signed by a trusted CA and you get full access to the local machine so in theory you can do what ever you want. ActiveX is of course not browser or platform independent, so it might not be a suitable choice.
You may get some milage with Java webstart or .NET's click once deployment, both are like an easy local install that'll keep it's self up to date, there a good half way house, but aren't hosted in the browser.
Sorry I can't be more helpful, good luck
Gareth Davis
2010-04-27 06:20:33
ive found a few software shops that provide a dll which exposes some objects that can be used from java, but neither are cheap;http://asprise.com/product/jtwain/order.phphttp://www.componentsource.com/products/victor-image-processing-library/index.htmlbut i guess thats the kind of thing i need to do
Tom
2010-04-27 06:27:25
it might be your best bet.. will no doubt get you started in the least amount of time
Gareth Davis
2010-04-27 08:27:32
this is not entirely true. you can sign Java applets and if the certificate is trusted, they have virtually all permissions of an installed Java application. I just don't know how easy interfacing with scanners is in Java.
back2dos
2010-04-27 08:49:33