Currently I use a Java plugin (npapi?) that uses the morena library (http://www.gnome.sk/Morena/morena.html) to be the middle man between the local pc and it's scanner and the javascript which can talk to the server.
The user clicks a button, the javascript calls the morena scanning library and returns some encoded image data that I can then send to the server....
I hear they are turning off ALL plugins including java.
So...I need a new solution apparently. I see a lot of posts saying buy some other software that creates plugins...to do the work (questions like: Scan documents into a Web Application)
But those won't work in a few months and I need something that will work after they shut the current solution off. We have a website that they gather a lot of info on a web page and then scan images into attach to the info and save and I'd prefer not to rewrite the entire website as a java application.
I saw on chrome OS only a new (https://developer.chrome.com/apps/documentScan) api...but we don't use chrome OS...yet that would be So Perfect. I think.
Currently I'm trying to make an app to use the chrome.usb or chrome.hid using the chrome dev editor but chrome.usb is undefined...therefore I can't call getDevices... :/ if that will even work for what I'm doing. :/
My final thought was to make paper boxes with a light hanging inside with a webcam and use the getUserMedia Which works!...but I'd rather let them keep the scanner beds that use auto document feeding.
Since plugins and activeX are stepping out, is there an html5 way or chrome-app/ext way, or firefox-app way to scan documents from a web browser?
If you want something that allows communication between a web page and a native app in Chrome, that would be Native Messaging.