DirectScan can't see your scanner or reach the server
Work through DirectScan's three layers in order — scanner to Windows, the DirectScan Agent on this workstation, and the connection to your Content Central server — changing one thing at a time until scanning works.
Before you begin
- A scanner attached to this workstation (USB or network)
- Permission to install software on this workstation, for the reinstall step
At the end of this guide you'll know which of DirectScan's three layers is broken on this workstation — scanner-to-Windows, the DirectScan Agent, or the connection to your Content Central server — and have fixed the right one instead of reinstalling everything in sight.
Change one thing at a time, then retry the scan. If you reinstall the driver, reinstall the agent, and reboot all at once, you won't know which change fixed it — or which one broke something else. Keep a note of what you changed and what happened; that list is gold if you end up contacting support.
How DirectScan is wired (30 seconds)
Scanning from the browser involves three separate layers, and each one fails with different symptoms:
Scanner → Windows. Your scanner's TWAIN driver (the standard Windows scanning interface) makes it visible to programs.
The DirectScan Agent. A small system-tray app on this workstation that drives the scanner. Your browser talks to it on this computer only — never across the network.
Workstation → server. Your browser talks to the Content Central server directly, like any other web page.
Layers 2 and 3 are independent: "the Content Central page loads fine" tells you nothing about the agent, and a healthy agent tells you nothing about the server.
Start with the exact message
The wording on the Capture screen tells you which layer to work on:
| What the Capture screen says | Broken layer | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| Scanner Agent Not Found — "The DirectScan agent is not running…" | Agent not running, or browser not allowed | Step 3 |
| "If your browser asked for permission to reach this computer, choose Allow, then retry." | Browser permission | Step 3 |
| "Your browser does not trust the scanner software on this computer." | Agent certificate | Step 3 |
| "DirectScan has not been allowed to work with this site yet." | Server not approved in the agent | Step 4 |
| "DirectScan is running, but no scanner is connected to this computer." | Scanner / driver | Steps 1–2 |
A connection error such as There was no endpoint listening at… | Workstation can't reach the server | Step 5 |
No message handy? Work the steps in order.
Step 1: Can Windows see the scanner at all?
Check the obvious first: scanner powered on, cable seated at both ends (or, for a network scanner, connected to the network).
Scan one page with the scanner vendor's own utility — every scanner ships with one. Windows' printers-and-scanners settings also show whether the device is detected.
What you should see: the vendor tool scans a page. If it can't, the problem is the scanner, cable, or driver — no amount of DirectScan work will fix it. Reinstall the vendor's full driver package (the one that includes the TWAIN driver — some "basic" drivers omit it), then retest with the vendor tool before touching DirectScan.
The reverse matters just as much: if the vendor tool scans fine, the scanner and driver are healthy. Don't keep reinstalling scanner drivers without evidence against them — the problem is in a later layer.
Step 2: Does DirectScan list the scanner?
In Content Central, open the Capture screen in DirectScan mode. Under Scanner Settings, open the Device dropdown.
If your scanner is listed: select it and start a scan. Pages coming in means you're done — the remaining steps are for the messages below.
If you see "DirectScan is running, but no scanner is connected to this computer." — the agent and server connection are fine; Windows simply has no TWAIN scanner source. Go back to Step 1 and fix the driver. This message is never an agent or server problem.
If you see Scanner Agent Not Found, continue to Step 3.
Step 3: Is the DirectScan Agent healthy?
Answer the browser's permission prompt first. The first scan from a site makes your browser ask whether the page may reach software on this computer, and until you click Allow, a perfectly installed agent looks exactly like a missing one — the single most common cause of Scanner Agent Not Found. Allow it, then click Retry Connection.
Find the DirectScan Agent icon in the system tray (near the clock) and choose Settings. In the This computer group, check the rows — Agent, Status, Listening, Certificate, Scanners. Green is healthy; red marks the broken piece. The tray menu's Why can't I scan? produces a full diagnostic report.
No tray icon? Start DirectScan Agent from the Start menu, or sign out of Windows and back in. On agent versions before 7.8 the agent doesn't start until your next sign-in after installing; from 7.8 on, the installer starts it for you.
Certificate row red, or the browser says it doesn't trust the scanner software? Repair DirectScan Agent from Windows Apps & Features — repair restores the certificate (a reinstall does too).
Still failing — or failing repeatedly in odd ways, such as an error every time the scanner opens or complaints about missing files? Do a clean reinstall from the current installer: uninstall DirectScan Agent in Apps & Features, then in Content Central open Downloads and, under Desktop Applications, download and install DirectScan Agent ("Required for DirectScan capture integration"). This repairs a broken install and replaces an older build — older builds had problems the current installer fixes.
noteDownload from your own Content Central Downloads page rather than an installer someone saved earlier — the copy from your server automatically trusts your server, and you're guaranteed the current build. The page also lists Content Director; that's a different app for editing checked-out documents and won't help scanning.
There is nothing to configure in the agent — no server address to type, no port to set. The agent picks its local port automatically and the browser tries the same ones, so don't go hunting for a settings box that doesn't exist.
Success check: all five This computer rows green, and after Retry Connection (or reloading the page) your scanner appears in the Device dropdown. Run a test scan — if pages come in, you're done.
Step 4: Is the saved server address right — and reachable?
In the agent's Settings window, check Approved Content Central servers — only servers on this list may use the scanner. Showing
(none yet - the first server to ask will prompt you)is normal on a fresh install: the first scan makes the agent ask whether to allow your server. The scan that triggered the prompt is refused, so click scan again after approving.
Did your server recently move or change its address? An address saved before the change can quietly point this workstation at a server that no longer answers — a classic aftermath of a server migration. Select the old address, click Remove, scan again, and approve the current address when prompted.
Confirm the workstation can actually reach the server: in a new browser tab on this workstation, open your Content Central address exactly as your organization gave it to you. If the login page won't open, scanning can't work either — and the problem is the network or server, not DirectScan.
In some organizations IT pre-approves the server when installing the agent; the agent then refuses every other server instead of asking. If you can't get an approval prompt for the right address, ask your IT team.
Step 5: "No endpoint listening" and other connection errors
An error like this on the Capture screen:
There was no endpoint listening at https://… that could accept the message.means this workstation cannot reach a service on the Content Central server. Nothing you do to the scanner or the agent will change it — it's a server or network check:
- Every workstation failing at once? The server or its services need attention from whoever runs your Content Central server.
- Just this one? Something on this machine's network path — VPN, proxy, firewall — is in the way. The browser test in Step 4 usually fails here too.
Hand this to your IT team or Content Central administrator; it's outside what a workstation can fix.
Still stuck?
Send support this compact package — it turns five emails into one:
- The exact error text, ideally a screenshot of the Capture screen
- When it started, and what changed around then (new scanner, Windows update, agent reinstall, server move)
- One workstation or all of them?
- Whether the vendor's own tool can scan (your Step 1 result)
- The Why can't I scan? report from the agent's tray menu, and which This computer rows are red
Your IT team can generate the same report from a command prompt on the workstation:
"C:\Program Files\Ademero\DirectScan Agent\Ademero.ContentCentral.DirectScanAgent.exe" -Diagnose