Abstract:
A method of executing a scan job includes scanning a first document, in response to a first user request, to generate a first portion of a scan job, and scanning a second document, in response to a second user request, to generate a second portion of the scan job. The method further includes automatically forming an output document corresponding to the scan job, where the output document includes a combination of the first portion and second portion.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to scanning devices, and more particularly, to methods and apparatuses that allow a user to switch between scan sources and alter scan settings within a scan job.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Optical scanning devices, or devices which include optical scanning components, are widely used by businesses and personal users for scanning and transmitting documents and other information. Such scanning devices may electronically scan a document. The output or processed output of the scanning device may be provided as an electronic version of the document that can be further processed or manipulated. For example, the electronic version of the scanned document may be printed, exported or sent to a network, computer or other device, sent via a facsimile transmission, etc. However, conventional scanning devices are limited in that they do not permit the generation of a scan using multiple documents independently placed on an automatic document feeder (ADF) or flatbed. Conventional scanner also do not permit the changing of scan settings during the middle of a scan job.  
         [0003]     For example, using conventional scanners, users may place only a single document to be scanned on an ADF or flatbed. Only after the document is scanned may a subsequent document may be placed on the ADF or flatbed and scanned. The subsequent scan is part of a second, separate scan job. Additionally, conventional scanners only permit a user to establish settings for an entire scan, so that a user cannot alter settings during the middle of a scan job.  
         [0004]     Accordingly, there is a need for a scanning device and method which allows for the creation of a single scan job using multiple documents, and which will allow a user to modify scan settings during the middle of a scan job.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     According to one embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed a method of executing a scan job. The method includes scanning a first document, in response to a first user request, to generate a first portion of a scan job, and scanning a second document, in response to a second user request, to generate a second portion of the scan job. The method also includes automatically forming an output document corresponding to the scan job, where the output document includes a combination of the first portion and second portion.  
         [0006]     According to an aspect of the invention, the method further includes displaying a preview of at least one of the first or second portions of the scan job, prior to automatically forming the output document. According to another aspect of the invention, the method may also include receiving an input from the user indicating that the scan job is complete, prior to automatically forming the output document. According to yet another aspect of the invention, the method may include altering at least one scan setting, subsequent to the scanning of the first document and prior to the scanning of the second document.  
         [0007]     According to another aspect, the at least one scan setting may alter page orientation, page size, output page size, scale, duplex, darkness, resolution or bit depth. Additionally, the first and second documents may be scanned using an automatic document feeder. The output document may also be stored in digital form.  
         [0008]     According to another embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed a device for generating a document. The device includes a scanner module operative to receive and scan a first document as part of a scan job. receive and scan a second document as part of the same scan job, and generate an output document including the first document and second document. The device also includes a graphical user interface, in communication with the scanner module, which instructs the scanner module to scan the first document in response to a first instruction from a user, and instructs the scanner module to scan the second document in response to a second instruction from the user. The device further includes a memory capable of receiving the output document and storing the output document in digital form.  
         [0009]     According to one aspect of the invention, the scanner module includes at least one scanner operative to scan documents via an automatic document feeder or a flatbed. According to another aspect of the invention, the scanner module may be operative to scan the first document and second document via the automatic document feeder. Furthermore, the graphical user interface may be further operable to display a preview of at least a portion of the scanned first document or scanned second document.  
         [0010]     According to yet another aspect of the invention, the scanner module is operable to alter at least one scan setting for the scanning of the second document, based on an instruction input by the user via the graphical user interface. The at least one scan setting may be page orientation, page size, output page size, scale, duplex, darkness, resolution or bit depth.  
         [0011]     According to yet another embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed a method of executing a custom scan job. The method includes receiving, at a scanning device, a user request to scan a first document as part of a scan job, and iteratively performing at the scanning device, until the receipt of a request from the user to complete the scan job, the steps of: requesting whether the user elects to scan a subsequent document as part of the scan job, and, in response to an affirmative response from the user, scanning the subsequent document as part of the scan job. The method also includes the step of generating an output document corresponding to the one or more documents forming the scan job.  
         [0012]     According to an aspect of the invention, the method further includes the step of storing the output document in digital form. The method may also include displaying a preview of at least a portion of the first document or second document, prior to generating the output document. According to another aspect of the invention, the generation of the output document occurs automatically upon the receipt of the request from the user to complete the scan job. According to yet another aspect of the invention, the method further includes altering at least one scan setting of the scanning device, subsequent to the scanning of the first document. The at least one scan setting may be page orientation, page size, output page size, scale, duplex, darkness, resolution or bit depth. Further, the method may include the step, performed subsequent to the step of scanning the subsequent document as part of the scan job in response to an affirmative response from the user, of receiving an instruction from the user to discard or accept the scanned subsequent document. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)  
       [0013]     Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  shows a multi-function module, according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  shows a block diagram flow chart illustrating a method of scanning in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  shows a custom scan GUI, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  shows a custom next scan GUI, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  shows a copy settings GUI, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  shows an advanced duplex GUI, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  shows a fax settings GUI, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 8  shows an email settings GUI, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 9  shows a scan preview GUI, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention  
         [0023]      FIG. 10  shows a preview acceptance GUI, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0024]      FIG. 11  shows a continue scanning GUI, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0025]      FIG. 12  shows a preview/next scan GUI, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0026]     The present inventions now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.  
         [0027]      FIG. 1  shows a multi-function module  110 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. The multi-function module  110  may represent a multi-function device, such as a printer/scanner/fax/copier, as is known in the art, or the control logic and/or control components within a multi-function device. The multi-function module  110  generally includes a processor  116 , memory  119 , input/output  121 , database  118 , and network interface  124 , each of which may communicate via a bus  115 . As shown in the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the memory  119  can include a printer module  126 , scanner module  128 , fax module  130 , and graphical user interface (GUI) module  31 . The printer module  26 , scanner module  28 , and fax module  30  control the printing, scanning and fax functions, respectively, of the multi-function module  110 . Additionally, the GUI module  131  controls the display of information on a display/GUI  122 , which may be an input/output  121  device of the multi-function module  110 .  
         [0028]     It will be appreciated that the components described herein with respect to  FIG. 1  may include computer-executable software running in conjunction with computer hardware. For instance, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , and as described in detail below, the printer module  126 , scanner module  128 , fax module  130 , and graphical user interface (GUI) module  131  may include computer executable programs (i.e., software) that may be stored within the memory  119  and executed by the processor  116  to effect the functions described in detail herein. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the processor  116  may execute computer executable programs with the aid of an operating system (not illustrated). According to other embodiments, one or more of the components illustrated in  FIG. 1  may include hardware, such that the functions described herein are performed by hardware components. For instance, the processor  116 , printer module  126 , scanner module  128 , fax module  130 , and/or GUI module  131  may be implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or the like, as is known in the art. Thus, it will be appreciated that the multi-function module  110  may be implemented in an entirely hardware embodiment, an embodiment combining software and hardware, or an embodiment comprised entirely of hardware.  
         [0029]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the multi-function module  110  is operatively coupled to a network  114 , such as a LAN, WAN, or the like, via a network interface  124 . The connection of the multi-function module  110  to the network  14  enables the multi-function module  110  to communicate with remote computing devices, such as one or more computers. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the multi-function module  110  may communicate with a server  112  via the network  114 . The server  112  may be, for instance, a document server  112  that works in concert with the multi-function module  110  for performing special functions on electronic documents that may be handled by the multi-function module  110 . For example, the multi-function module  10  can work in concert with the server  112  for emailing electronic documents scanned by the multi-function module  110  to a desired electronic address accessible via the network  14 . Thus, the network  114  may represent a LAN that is in communication with a WAN, such as the Internet. The server  112  may also include specialized functions for setting up and controlling the operations of the multi-function module  110 . It should also be apparent to those of ordinary skill that it is within the scope of the invention that the server  112  and multi-function module  110  may be combined into a single unit operatively coupled to the network  114 .  
         [0030]     Referring again to the multi-function module  110 , the multi-function module  110  includes a database  118  that is operable to store documents, print jobs, and the like, that are created by the module  110  and/or received via the network  114  and the network interface  124 . For instance, the database  118  may store print jobs received by the module  110  from computers in communication with the module  110  via the network  114 , and store documents scanned by the module  110  with the aid of the scanner module  128 , as described in detail below. The database  118  may include ROM, RAM, optical media, or other storage, as are well known in the art. According to one aspect of the invention, the database  118  may also store documents, print jobs, and the like, that are uploaded from a portable memory device via a portable memory interface  120 .  
         [0031]     According to an embodiment, the portable memory interface  120  may permit the module  110  to read/write (R/W) from a disk drive, R/W CD drive, flash media, USB device, or the like that is in communication with the module  110 . The portable memory R/W device  120  may permit the multi-function module  110  to receive data from a local device and/or to write data to a local device. For instance, the module  110  may receive a .PDF document from a flash media inserted into an input/output port (not illustrated).  
         [0032]     According to one aspect of the invention, the portable memory R/W device  120  may also be a read-only device, such as read-only CD drive.  
         [0033]     Referring again to the printer module  126 , scanner module  128 , fax module  130 , and GUI module  131 , it will be appreciated that each are in communication with and coupled to the processor  116  via the bus  115 . The printer module  126  includes, for example, the necessary hardware and/or software that allow the multi-function module  110  to print documents, including those submitted to the multi-function module  110  via a network  114  and a network interface  124 , and those stored local to module  110 . The fax module  130 , may include, for example, the necessary hardware and/or code for faxing electronic documents over a telephone line (not illustrated) or the like. The fax module  130  may also have an internal scanning device for scanning tangible documents or may work with the scanning module  128  for scanning tangible documents and faxing documents over a telephone line. Additionally, the scanner module  128  may include, for example, the necessary hardware and/or software for scanning tangible documents on the multi-function module  110  and storing the scanned electronic documents in the database  118  or in a memory device  118 ,  120 .  
         [0034]     It will be appreciated that the printer module  126  and fax module  130  can include any suitable electronic and mechanical elements that together effect printing and faxing functions, respectively, of the type that conventionally occur in commercially available multifunction machines. Such elements are well-understood by persons skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Therefore, details of the printer module  126  and fax module  130 , including the mechanical and other details of the manner in which they are constructed and communicate with one another and other elements to perform conventional printing and faxing functions are not described in further detail herein.  
         [0035]     The conventional functions of the scanner module  128  are also known to those of ordinary skill in the art. However, the scanner module  128  also includes numerous features that are described in detail herein with respect to  FIGS. 2-12 , which permit a user of the multi-function module  110  to customize a particular scanning work flow. In particular, as described in detail below, the scanner module  128  permits a user to select more than one input source for a scan job, such that the user can execute a single scan job with documents located in a flatbed scanner and/or documents in the ADF and/or with documents stored by the module  110 .  
         [0036]     Scanning features enabled by the scanning module  128  are presented to a user via the display of information on the display/GUI  122 . According to an embodiment of the invention, the display/GUI  122  may include an icon-based touch-screen (or similar) interface. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the display/GUI  122  may include any type of moveable-cursor-based interface, which would typically necessitate the use of a cursor-control device such as a mouse, a roller ball, or any similar cursor-control devices known by those of ordinary skill. According to one aspect of the invention, the GUI module  131  includes GUI software that operates in accordance with conventional windowing GUI paradigms.  
         [0037]     It will also be appreciated that the multi-function module  112  illustrated in  FIG. 1  is according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, one or more of the multi-function module  110  components described herein may be combined and/or placed external to the module  110 , including remote from the module  110 . Additionally, although described herein as a multi-function module, one or more of the components may be optional or unnecessary. For instance, the multi-function module  110  may represent a device that does not include a fax function, so that the multi-function module  110  may not include a fax module. Furthermore, although described herein as a multi-function module  110 , according to an embodiment of the invention, the multi-function module  110  may alternatively have only a single or dedicated function, such as a scanning function requiring only the scanner module  128 . Other embodiments of the multi-function module  110  are possible. For instance, although the printer module  126 , scanner module  128 , fax module  130 , and GUI module  131  are illustrated as being stored in memory  119 , they may be stored in the database  118  or external to the multi-function module  110  and fetched into memory  119  on an as-needed basis. Other software elements of the types conventionally included in personal computers, such as an operating system and communications software, are also included but not shown for purposes of clarity.  
         [0038]      FIG. 2  shows a block diagram flow chart illustrating a method of scanning in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The scanning and GUI functions described with respect to the block diagram flow chart of  FIG. 2  may be implemented by the scanner module  128  working in tandem with the GUI module  131 , where the scanner module  128  executes the functions described herein and the GUI module  131  provides the user interfaces to receive user input upon which the scanner module  128  may execute. According to another embodiment, all of the scanning and GUI functions may be implemented by the scanner module  128 .  
         [0039]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the method begins with a user scanning a document using either an ADF or a flatbed (block  205 ), as are known in the art. As described above, the scanner module  128  can include any suitable electronic and mechanical elements that together effect the scanning function is common in scanning or multifunction machines. According to one aspect of the invention, the scanner module  128  and/or multi-function module  110  may include an ADF and/or flatbed to effect the scanning of the document. After a document is scanned using an ADF or flatbed (block  205 ), the user may be presented with a GUI requesting input from the user. Specifically, the GUI will query whether the user wishes to: continue the scan using the ADF, continue the scan using the flatbed, complete the scan, change scan settings, and/or cancel the scan (block  210 ). If the user wishes to continue the scan using the ADF, the user selects the option using the GUI (block  215 ), and the scan continues using the ADF (block  220 ). The user may alternatively elect to continue the scan using the flatbed by selecting that option using the GUI (block  230 ), and the scan will continue using the flatbed (block  235 ). It will be appreciated that in this manner, a first document may be scanned using the ADF or flatbed (block  205 ), and a subsequent document may be scanned using the ADF (block  220 ) or flatbed (block  235 ), where both documents are part of the same scan job. As an illustrative and non-limiting example, using this process a user may generate a single output document, for instance, a PDF, from multiple documents scanned from either the ADF and/or flatbed.  
         [0040]     After each scan the user may optionally be presented with a preview page via the display/GUI that illustrates one or more pages of the output document generated by the scanning process (block  225 ). For instance, a user may be presented with a preview page illustrating scanned pages from the first and subsequent documents so that the user can determine whether the scan accurately represents a document the user wishes to generate. After the preview page is displayed, the user may be presented with the option of accepting or discarding one or more of the scans from the scan job, such as the last scan performed (block  225 ). After accepting or discarding the scans, the user may be offered the options to continue the scan using the ADF, continue the scan using the flatbed, complete the scan, change scan settings, and/or cancel the scan (block  210 ).  
         [0041]     Referring once again to the options presented to the user (block  210 ) after the first document is scanned (block  205 ), the user may choose to change scan settings (blocks  240 ,  245 ) for one or more upcoming scans by selecting that option using the GUI. Using options presented by the GUI, the user may, among other settings, change the page orientation, page size, scale an image, add content, set duplex settings, change the darkness of an image, and the like. These settings are described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 3-12 . Thus, a scan of multiple documents may be customized on a document by document basis, during the scanning of the documents. Once the user changes scan settings, the settings may be used as default settings for the remainder of the scan job. Alternatively, the settings may be used only to define the settings for the next scan. After the settings are established (or if the user chooses not to make any changes to the settings), the user will be offered the options to continue the scan using the ADF, continue the scan using the flatbed, complete the scan, change scan settings, and/or cancel the scan (block  210 ).  
         [0042]     Once the user has completed scanning one or more documents using the process described above the user may choose to finish the scan job by selecting that option using the GUI (blocks  250 ,  255 ). When this occurs, an output document corresponding to the scan job is generated. According to an aspect of the invention, the scan job is saved in the database  118 . According to another aspect of the invention, the scan job may also or alternatively be stored by the server  112 . As is well known in the art, the output document may be stored in a directory, and a print out of the location of the output document file may be provided to the user, such as via a print out, display, email, or the like. Once the output document is generated by the multi-function module  110 , the user may then perform a number of functions using the output document, such as printing, emailing, faxing, or storing it, as is well known in the art. As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the user is also offered the option to cancel the scan job (blocks  260 ,  265 ), such that the entire job is cancelled and the user is returned to a welcome screen or scan screen of the GUI. Next, the scanning functions according to an embodiment of the invention will next be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 3-12 , which illustrate GUIs presented to a user to permit the generation of a custom scan job.  
         [0043]      FIG. 3  shows a custom scan GUI  300  illustrating the display of scanning options on the display/GUI  22 . This custom scan GUI  300  may be presented to a user after the user selects or activates scanning as a desired function of one of several basic functions, such as from a welcome screen (not shown) provided on the display/GUI  22 . As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , via selectable icons  305 ,  310 , the user is offered the options of performing a scan of a document placed in the Automatic Document Feeder (ADF), or alternatively, performing a scan of a document in the flatbed. According to one aspect of the invention, the options are offered via icons  305 ,  310  that may be selected by touch, where the display/GUI  22  is a touch screen display. Alternatively, the options may require the use of a cursor, one or more softkeys, or the like, as are known in the art. After the user executes a scan using the flatbed or ADF by selecting one of the icons  305 ,  310 , the user is presented with a custom next scan GUI  400 .  
         [0044]      FIG. 4  shows a custom next scan GUI  400  that is provided to a user immediately after the initial scan of a document via the flatbed or ADF. As shown in  FIG. 4 , after the initial scan is completed, the user is presented with the following user-selectable options: continuing the scan using the ADF (icon  405 ), continuing the scan using the flatbed (icon  410 ), finishing the scan job (icon  415 ), or changing the scan settings (change settings pull down selection  420 ). Additionally, a cancel job option (icon  425 ) may be selected by the user to cancel the scan. If the user elects to continue the scan from the ADF (icon  405 ) or the flatbed (icon  410 ), the scan job will continue with the scanning of the additional document in the selected location. As described in detail below, subsequent to the scan, the user may be presented with one or more scan preview pages to accept or reject the scan, followed by options to continue the scan using the ADF or flatbed, finishing the scan job, changing the scan settings, or canceling the scan.  
         [0045]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, from the custom next scan GUI  400 , a user may change the setting between sets of scans using the change settings pull down selection  420 . Among other settings, this may enable a user to alter page orientation, page size, output page size, scale, content (addition or removal), duplex settings, image darkness, resolution and bit depth, and the like. Thus, a scan of multiple documents may be customized on a document by document basis, during the creation of a scan job. According to one aspect of the invention, the options from the change settings pull down selection  420  can include Copy, Fax, and Email, which allows the user to alter the scan settings, respectively, based on the purpose of the scan. An illustrative copy settings GUI  500  that may be accessed via the change settings pull down selection  420  is illustrated in  FIG. 5 . Additionally, an illustrative fax settings GUI  800  is shown in  FIG. 8 , and an illustrative email settings GUI  900  is shown in  FIG. 9 .  
         [0046]      FIG. 5  shows a copy settings GUI  500 , according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the original and output sizes may be altered by a copy pulldown selection  505  and output pulldown selection  510 , respectively. The copy pulldown selection  505  permits the user to identify the size of the document to be scanned, and the output pulldown selection  510  permits the user to define the output size of the current scan. Altering these selections  505 ,  510  may impact additional options made available to the user on the copy settings GUI  500  and other GUIs so that incompatible items and/or settings are prevented from being set at the same time.  
         [0047]     The copy settings GUI  500  also include a duplex button  520  to enable the user to change the duplex settings, as known in the art. According to one aspect, upon selecting the duplex button  520 , the user will be presented with an advanced duplex GUI  600  illustrated in  FIG. 6 . The advanced duplex GUI  600  may be, according to an aspect of the invention, similar or identical to the advanced duplex screen the user would encounter if the user were to select to change duplex settings during a copy operation. The advanced duplex GUI  600  may include user-selectable copy from icons  605  and copy to icons  610  that graphically illustrate the available duplex options available. One or more icons may be grayed out or not presented to the user, based in part on the original and output sizes selected by the user using the copy settings GUI  500 . After the duplex settings are selected by the user using the copy from icons  605  and copy to icons  610 , the user may return to the copy settings GUI  500  by selecting the back button  620 . To return to the copy settings GUI  500  without making any changes to the duplex settings, the user may select the cancel button  615 .  
         [0048]     Referring again to  FIG. 5 , the copy settings GUI  500  may also include one or more content buttons  540  that enable a user to add content to a scanned document, such as by adding text and photo, photo, or the like, as is known in the art. After the user had completed making changes via the copy settings GUI  500 , the user may select to begin the scan from the ADF by selecting a start scan from ADF icon  525 , or may select to begin the scan from the flatbed by selecting a start scan from flatbed icon  530 . When one of those icons  525 ,  530  is selected, the scan may begin from the requested location, with the settings established by the user. After the scan is completed, the user will return to the custom next scan GUI  400 . Additionally, the user may return to the custom next scan GUI  400  by selecting a back button  535 . Using the copy settings GUI  500  allows a user to specify settings for each document, so that an output document may be generated from multiple scans, with custom settings for each scanned document within the output document. Thus, all of the items in the scan work flow may become part of the same job, with the output document including multiple collated items in scan order as specified by the user during the scanning process.  
         [0049]     An embodiment of the fax settings GUI  700  is shown in  FIG. 7 . The fax settings GUI  700  may be accessed from the change settings pulldown selection  420  on the custom next scan GUI  400 , as described above. In particular, the fax settings GUI  700  permits the user to alter the settings for a scanned document the user may wish to fax using the multi-function module  110 . The fax settings GUI  700  includes an original size selection  705  that permits the user to identify the size of the document to be faxed. Other user-selectable options on the fax settings GUI  700  may include duplex, orientation, darkness, resolution, and content. After the user has completed making changes via the fax settings GUI  700 , the user may select to begin the scan from the ADF by selecting a start scan from ADF icon  725 , or may select to begin the scan from the flatbed by selecting start scan from flatbed icon  730 . When one of those icons  725 ,  730  is selected, the scan may begin from the requested location, with the settings established by the user. After the scan is completed, the user will return to the custom next scan GUI  400 . Additionally, the user may return to the custom next scan GUI  400  by selecting a back button  735 .  
         [0050]      FIG. 8  shows an email settings GUI  800 , according to an embodiment of the present invention. The email settings GUI  800  is similar to the fax settings GUI  700 , and like the fax settings GUI  700 , it may be accessed by a user from the change settings pulldown selection  420  on the custom next scan GUI  400 , as described above. In particular, the email settings GUI  800  permits the user to alter the settings for a scanned document the user may wish to email using the multi-function module  110 . The email settings GUI  800  include an original size selection  805  that permits the user to identify the size of the document to be emailed. Other user-selectable options on the email settings GUI  800  may include duplex, orientation, darkness, resolution, and content. After the user has completed making changes via the email settings GUI  800 , the user may select to begin the scan from the ADF by selecting a start scan from ADF icon  825 , or may select to begin the scan from the flatbed by selecting start scan from flatbed icon  830 . When one of those icons  825 ,  830  is selected, the scan may begin from the requested location, with the settings established by the user. After the scan is completed, the user will return to the custom next scan GUI  400 . Additionally, the user may return to the custom next scan GUI  400  by selecting a back button  835 .  
         [0051]     According to one embodiment of the invention, scan jobs may include scan preview GUIs that permit a user to view the results of each scan that makes up a scan job. The GUIs may also incorporate one or more features of the custom next scan GUI  400  described with respect to  FIG. 4 , such as permitting a user to switch scan sources and change scan settings. According to another aspect of the invention, the scan preview GUIs may permit a user to discard one or more parts of a scan job.  
         [0052]      FIG. 9  shows an example of a scan preview GUI  900 , according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, that may be displayed to the user during the scanning process from the ADF or flatbed. The scan preview GUI  900  includes a preview scan window  905  that show the results one or more pages of the scan, or portions thereof, as it occurs in real time, or alternatively, immediately after the scan is complete. Like other GUIs described herein, the scan preview GUI  900  may include a cancel job button  925  that permits a user to cancel the scan job. Pressing the cancel job button may cancel the current scan and return the user to the custom next scan GUI  400 .  
         [0053]     According to one aspect of the invention, the preview scan window  905  shows the results of the first two pages that are scanned to allow the user to confirm that the scan of a document is acceptable, including, for instance, the scan settings.  FIG. 10  shows a preview acceptance GUI  1000  according to an embodiment of the invention, which shows the results of the first two pages scanned of an illustrative, multi-page document, where the preview scan window  1005  displays the first two pages. When the scan of the first page or two are complete, the user may be presented with an accept and continue button  1010  or a discard button  1015 . Discarding the scan may return the user to the custom next scan GUI  400 .  
         [0054]     On the other hand, if the continue button  1010  is selected for a document in the ADF, and there is additional paper in the ADF, the image or images may stay in the preview Scan  1105  window while the ‘Scanning’ text returns in the right side of the view, as shown in the continue scanning GUI  1100  of  FIG. 11 . If no more paper is in the ADF, or if the flatbed was used, the scan is complete and the user may be presented with the preview/next scan GUI  1200  shown in  FIG. 12 , according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. Alternatively, the user may be returned to the custom next scan GUI  400 . The preview/next scan GUI  1200  may include the preview scan window showing one or more pages of the last document scanned. Additionally, like the custom next scan GUI  400 , the preview/next scan GUI  1200  may offer the user to continue the scan using the ADF or flatbed, via a scan ADF button  1210  or a scan flatbed button  1215 , to change settings via a change settings button  1220 , to finish the scan job via a finish the job button  1230 , or to cancel the job via a cancel job button  1225 .  
         [0055]     With respect to  FIGS. 9-12 , it will be appreciated that where the flatbed is being used, the preview scan window may optionally only display one page, as only one page is scanned using the flatbed. Thus, the illustrative embodiments shown in  FIGS. 9-12  may represent a scan using the ADF. According to another aspect of the invention, these options to accept and/or discard a scan may be offered to the user only after an entire document is scanned. Additionally, according to an aspect of the invention, one or more pages of a scanned document may be previewed in a preview scan window, such as through the use of one or more next/previous page buttons to permit the user to preview the entire scanned document. Furthermore, a user may alter the number of pages in the preview scan window, or the size of the preview scan window, using the change settings option.  
         [0056]     Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.