14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8.1 comes not only with native 3D printing tools, but also with image scanning options, which allow developers to implement new features in their Windows Store apps.
Microsoft has now published a blog post to reveal that Windows 8.1 apps can also integrate options based on image scanners, “which come in really handy when your app requires signatures from a printed page, for instance,” as the company said.
“When you choose to incorporate scanners in your apps, people can use their devices to easily retrieve photos and documents, which comes in really handy when your app requires signatures from a printed page, for instance.”
A lengthy post on the Windows App Build Blog goes into details regarding the guidelines that developers should take into consideration when creating apps with image scanner support, explaining that the built-in Scan app available in Windows 8.1 is the perfect example as to what such a program should look like.
“Windows has the hardware ecosystem and you have a great opportunity to create apps that provide the best end-to-end experience. Your apps can bring together user’s documents to the business logic of your app,” Monica Czarny, program manager, Windows, added.
“They can provide users with new capabilities for their data-rich, physical papers, or they can post-process acquired visuals. Scanning technology has the potential to make your apps do more, by acquiring data and images from media directly from the real world.”
Microsoft struggles to add new functionality to Windows 8.1 apps in an effort to bring more developers to its modern platform, as the Windows Store still lacks many top applications.
At this point, there are nearly 140,000 Metro apps available for download, but Microsoft is already working with developers to port their apps to the modern platform. Reducing spam is also one of the big challenges for Microsoft, as many of the apps listed for download are actually fake or very low-quality.