If you just purchased a scanner and have Microsoft Office, you can use Microsoft Office Document Imaging. This will provide the basic scanning features that you can save your scanned documents to as single page tif files, multipage tif files, or mdi files.

Please note at certain points of this process you may be prompted for your Microsoft Office CD.

First of all check if Microsoft Office Document Imaging is in the default location. To do this click the Start button, Programs, Microsoft Office, and then Microsoft Office Tools. If Microsoft Document Imaging is showing then you know it is installed. If it is not then go to Windows Explorer by right clicking on the Start button and selecting explore.

On the Search button click all files and folders and then type MSPVIEW.EXE in the All or part of the file name text box.

In the Look in drop down box, click the down arrow and select Browse.

In the dialog box that pops up, click on the plus sign (+) next to My Computer and then the plus sign next to the C: drive.

Scroll down until you see Program Files, click on it and then click OK then click Search. The search could take several minutes.

If the file is located, then it is confirmed that you have Microsoft Office Document Imaging installed on your PC, in which case you can create a shortcut by right clicking on the file, clicking send to and create a shortcut on desktop.

If the file is not found, it will need to be installed.

Click the Start button, control panel, double click on Add or Remove Programs and scroll down until you see Microsoft Office.

Click on the Microsoft Office row that you see and it will expand with 2 buttons, Change and Remove. Click the Change button and click Continue. Please note that if you are not using the operating system XP some of these commands may be worded differently.

Click on the plus next to Office Tools. You should see Microsoft Office Document Imaging and there should be a red X next to it. Click on the drop down arrow next to Microsoft Office Document Imaging and you will see 4 options. Click Run all from My Computer.

The red X will disappear. Click continue and Microsoft Office Document Imaging will be installed.

By Kelly Foxhall