Mac users, use your ScanSnap iX500 to scan to phone: Part 2 How?

Screenshot_2014-03-07-15-56-28

Introduction:

This post will step-by-step Macintosh users through getting our most excellent ScanSnap iX500 scanners, to scan directly to our smart phones.

This journey began 2 posts ago with the discovery that when you set up ScanToPhone the first thing Fujitsu’s programmers want you to do is to update the firmware on your scanner. Then, 1 post ago I explored why anyone would want to scan directly to phone. Mostly, I just decided to close my eyes and try setting this up.

OK, this tutorial will assume that you have gone through how to update your firmware step by step and you now have your iX500 scanner all cutting edge and ready to go.

Step 1: Run “ScanSnap Wireless Setup Tool.app”

Go to /Applications/ScanSnap/ScanSnap Wireless Setup Tool.app and double click. Your should see this in your /Applications/ScanSnap folder:

ScanSnap

Step 2: See which door opens up. Door #1, Door #2, or Door #3

If you see Door #1 this is good! You either have a Ph.D. (license to be absent-minded), you have not turned on your ScanSnap iX500, or both. Next action? Open the ScanSnap iX500 so that it turns on.

Fantastic, you are ready to implement your X clicks and to begin scanning from ScanSnap to phone. **Note** If you saw Door #1 and then opened your ScanSnap, you will see Door #2 in about 2 seconds.

Oops, you need to update your firmware before you can set up ScanToPhone. Go to my step-by-step tutorial “Think Like A Fujitsu Programmer To Upgrade your iX500 Firmware“.

Step 3: Click “Wireless Network Setup Wizard” in Door #2

Presentation1

… and then follow the dialogs along … 

… and find your network and click on it, then follow the dialog … 

… then enter your security key and follow the dialog … 

… then you will be informed that your ScanSnap is successfully connected, click on OK to continue … 

… you will be shown a dialog like this to indicate you have successfully connected your ScanSnap wirelessly … 

… next you will be asked if you want to scan to your mobile device (phone), click “OK” … 

… after you click “Yes” on the previous dialog you will see a new dialog that will send us from configuring the iX500, to installing Fujitsu’s phone app …

ScanSnap_Wireless_Network_Setup

… so go to the iOS or Android store and download the free ScanSnap program to your phone … 

… once you have ScanSnap Connect Application installed on your phone you can click “Yes” on your Mac, (for having installed the app) and then click Continue …

… the next dialog you see shows you two critical facts:

(1) Scanner Network Name and = GTDiX500 for my scanner
(2) Scanner Network Password = 4674
for my password <- write this down

Now you are ready to open the ScanSnap app on your phone (see Appendix A for step by step instructions for installation on an Android phone) …

ScanSnap_Wireless_Network_Setup

… and then click “Yes” and “Continue” in the dialog … 

ScanSnap_Wireless_Network_Setup

… and the Macintosh part of setup is almost done! …

ScanSnap_Wireless_Network_Setup

… Click finish and then the Macintosh side of ScanToPhone setup is complete. Now pick your phone up and open the ScanSnap Connect App, then your phone will find your ScanSnap and ask you for your four digit password … it should look like this …

Whoa, where was that password set? <<Panic>> Four digits? But, … I’ve got all my fingers … I’m confused!

Fear not! Setups involving two devices, are the worst. So take a chill pill and scroll up three dialog boxes. My password is 4647, your password will be different, but will be in that same dialog. Now wait, you wrote your password down right? :-) 

… enter your password phone your app screen will look like this …

… **note** the blue scanner icon in the lower right-hand corner. This is the indicator that your scanner is read to scan to your phone. Put your business card into your iX500 and then touch the blue icon on your phone …

… like magic, your phone will have a PDF scan of your business card. Mine looked like this …

… if all went well, you should be done and the happy owner of a ScanToPhone new core competence. For maximum payoff, use this capability to “Wow” your peers and make them say “Whoa, I’ve never seen anything like it!”  

Or, if this did not work for you, contact me, or at least vote on why it did not work below:

Enjoy!

Support RestartGTD by buying at Amazon with this link!

bill meade
Data researcher seeking team
see http://goo.gl/JkkEI8

Appendix A: Installing Scansnap Connect Application on an Android phone 

Go to Google Play Store:

Screenshot_2014-03-11-12-14-08_png_and_Nexus_4

… then click on “Apps” …

Screenshot_2014-03-11-12-17-52_png_and_Android

… then search for “ScanSnap Connect Application” and choose “INSTALL” … 

… the app will then install … 

… and once installed will give you the option to open or uninstall … 

Call for …

Source: SameDayGuy.com

Desk Before Pictures!!!! 

There has been a fair amount of hinting that readers of RestartGTD are interested in seeing GTD desk pictures, and sometimes even in sharing desk pictures.  I’ve put my before/after up, and the before/after of one other RestartGTD reader.   Now let’s everyone show everyone theirs!  

Find a picture of your desk before GTD, or take a picture of your desk when off the GTD wagon, then post the picture in the comments to this blog entry.  Blog readers then can chime in with comments.  Commiserate about desk problems.  And generally encourage and troubleshoot.  

I love doing desk makeovers, so I’ll chime in where I think I can add something. For example,

If I were presented with the above desk, then I would advise the “Brutal GTD reference filing cut over” hereafter BGTDRFCO:

Step 1: Go to CostCo and get 5 large boxes.
Step 2: Get a rolling dumpster.  
Step 3: Wait for the weekend (best time of year for the BGTDRFCO is holiday in December, the only time when people will leave you alone at the office)
Step 4: Go through the piles on the desk, left to right, pick up each document and ask “Will there ever be a next action?”

  • If yes, and the action is immediate, put the document into one of the five boxes labeled “In” 
  • If yes, but the action is not immediate, put the document in one of the five boxes labeled “To Scan #” where # goes from 1 to N for all the boxes needed to hold scanned documents. 
  • If there will never be a next action, then put the document in the rolling dumpster. 

Step 5: Move through the entire pile of paper on, in, and around the desk dumping, inbox-ing, or to-scanning all the documents. 
Step 5: Get:

Step 6: Get the scanner working with Evernote:

  • If you have a single-pass dual-sided scanner at work (most workplaces do) then set up scan to email to email to your evernote in-box email address.
  • If you have a desktop scanner, set up the “Scan to Evernote” function to use PDF without doing optical character recognition (OCR). 
  • Set up a clear space to put your “To Scan” box on one side of the scanner, and a second clear space (use another of the 5 boxes labeled “Scanned #”) to build up your pile of scanned documents.  

Step 7: Start on the “To Scan #” box that is on top.  Take each document out, …

  • If the document is not precious, then cut the staple off the top left corner, and feed the document into your scanner, scan it, and then deposit the document in the “Scanned #” box. 
  • Repeat until all the documents in “To Scan” labeled boxes have been scanned.  Change the box labels from “To Scan #” to “Scanned” as you scan documents.  This step took me 3.5 hrs a day for 4 days to import my first 17,500 pdf documents into Evernote.  
  • Store the “Scanned #” boxes if you are paranoid, or recycle if you have that “This is going to work! Uplifting feeling after completing your scanning.” 

Step 8: Put the “In” box on your desk.  You can now scan through the box and apply David Allen’s “processing” to get the documents where they belong.  

I’ll post my current desk in a comment for others to share how they would modify/refine/replace.  But it won’t be until tomorrow!! 

Have a great day! 

 

bill meade 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How has GTD increased your productivity?

Source: Frank Lloyd Gallery 

Today’s GETTING THINGS DONE poll asks how GTD has improved your productivity.  Pick or vote for a write-in candidate!

Preliminary results after 32 votes:

I’m surprised we have no write-in candidates!  Really?  A pollster (me) got all the ways GTD has increased productivity?  Unlikely!  Please send the poll link to GTD friends, and GTD family, and let’s see if we can build this collection of anecdotes into something resembling data.

bill meade