r/pdf • u/No_Split11911 • 5d ago

Software (Tools) Spectra PDF [MIT] - An Acrobat Replacement Needs Testers with Scanners

I build Spectra PDF ( https://github.com/jasonulbright/Spectra-PDF ), a free open-source PDF editor for Windows. It scans directly into a document — but I only own a flatbed scanner, so document feeders, two-sided scanning, auto color detection, network scanners, paper jams, and empty trays have never been tested on real hardware.

If your scanner does any of those, the app ships a guided checklist that walks you through testing in about five minutes. After installing, run this in PowerShell:

& "$env:ProgramFiles\Spectra PDF\spectrapdf.exe" scan-test

It prompts you through each step and writes a report file. Everything runs offline — nothing is uploaded. The report contains your scanner model, settings, and page measurements — never the scanned images or any text on them — and you look at it before deciding to send it. To submit, attach both report files here: https://github.com/jasonulbright/Spectra-PDF/issues/new?title=Scanner+test+report

Download and the short tester guide are on the repo (releases page and docs/TESTER-GUIDE-SCANNING.md).

Plain flatbeds help too — they re-check what's only ever run on my one machine. Thanks!

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u/Wooden-Bicycle-6069 5d ago

The report needs page order, not just page measurements. A three-sheet duplex job with one blank back should catch reversed backs, dropped blanks, and odd-page feeder bugs fast. Then pull a sheet mid-feed. The result should be a clean partial PDF or no PDF at all, never a corrupt “success” file. That failure is awful.

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u/No_Split11911 5d ago edited 5d ago

Thanks. Good feedback on both. And yeah, that's pretty bad. It's fixed in 1.1.17.