Patent ID: 7262887

Claim:
A network scanning method comprising: inputting an image to obtain an input image to be used in a plurality of applications that can be input by single scanning, the input image being capable of being converted in a plurality of different manners; temporarily storing the input image input by the single scanning; controlling at least attribute information concerning the input image temporarily stored, the attribute information including a current pointer for specifying the input image; permitting a user at an origin of image request to select a desired one of the temporarily stored images based on the current pointer included in the attribute information in accordance with one of the applications; determining which image is to be transferred, based on the current pointer of the image selected, to the origin of the image request, by utilizing the attribute information to determine which image is to be transferred to the origin of image request, and updating the current pointer corresponding to the image to be transferred in the attribute controlled, based on a determination result of the determining step; taking out image information corresponding to the current pointer updated among the attribute information based on a determination result of the determining step; reading out the image corresponding to the image information taken out at the time of request from the origin of the image request based on the current pointer updated among the temporarily stored images, and converting or non-converting the image to a predetermined image in accordance with the one of the applications; and transferring the predetermined image converted or non-converted by the converting step for use in the one of the applications to the origin of the image request via a network.