System Requirements
Windows
NAPS2 works with Windows 7 SP1, 8, 8.1, 10, and 11.
On Windows 7 and earlier, you may need to install the .NET Framework 4.6.2 or later.
The last version of NAPS2 that supports Windows XP (SP3) is 6.1.2.
Mac
NAPS2 works with macOS 10.15 or later.
Linux
NAPS2 should work with most recent Linux distros, e.g. Ubuntu 18.04 or later. Specifically GTK 3.20+, glibc 2.27+, and libsane are required.
Downloading and Installing
You can download NAPS2 from the download page. There are a few options:
Windows
- Installer (.exe) - For most users. Download and run this to install NAPS2 on your Windows computer. A shortcut will be placed in your Start menu.
- Installer for group policy (.msi) - If you are an organization distributing NAPS2 through group policy (GPO), download and install this. See Organization Use.
- Portable archive (.zip) - If you want to use NAPS2 without installation, download and extract one of these files. Run NAPS2.Portable.exe to start.
Mac
- Universal Installer (.pkg) - Should work for all users.
- Intel/Apple Silicon installer (.pkg) - If you know which processor your Mac has, these installers will take up less disk space.
Linux
- Installer (.deb, .rpm) - Recommended for most users. Use the .deb installer on Debian-based distros and the .rpm on Red Hat-based distros.
- Flatpak installer (.flatpak) - You can use a flatpak installer if you like, which may work more reliably on some systems. Note that third-party scanner drivers will not work.
Creating a Profile
To scan with NAPS2, you need to create at least one profile. A profile stores a reference to a particular scanning device, and all the settings used to scan with it.
To create a profile, click the Profiles menu button, then click Add. Type a name for your profile, e.g. "Canon MP495 (color)".
There are two types of drivers: WIA and TWAIN. If you don't know the difference, try WIA. If you encounter problems (e.g. you can't find your device), try TWAIN instead. Once you've selected a driver, click Select Device and select the scanner you want to use.
Once you've selected a device, you can change the settings used to scan.
When you're done, click OK to save your profile. You can then create more profiles if you want, or press Done to go back to the main window.
Scanning
Once you've created a profile, you can now scan. Click the Scan menu button. If you want to choose a different profile, click the dropdown arrow instead. That's it! If you selected "Use native UI" in your profile, a TWAIN/WIA window will pop up allowing you to scan.
If you want to scan more pages, click the Scan button again.
Organizing Scanned Images
Once you've scanned one or more pages, they will appear as thumbnails in the main window. You can select thumbnails by clicking on them, and use the menu buttons to rotate/flip/reorder/delete them as required. You can also clear all scanned images and start over.
Saving
Save PDF
The Save PDF button will prompt you to save your pages as a .pdf file.
- If you only want to save some pages, select them then click the dropdown arrow beside the Save PDF button and choose "Selected".
- You can choose "PDF Settings" in the dropdown menu to configure how the PDF is saved.
Save Images
The Save Images button will prompt you to save your pages as .png, .jpeg, .tiff, or other image file formats.
- TIFF files can store multiple pages, but for all other formats a separate file will be saved for each page.
- If you only want to save some pages, select them then click the dropdown arrow beside the Save Images button and choose "Selected".
- You can choose "Image Settings" in the dropdown menu to configure how the images are saved.
Email PDF
The Email PDF button lets you start composing an email with a PDF attachment with a single click.
- If you only want to email some pages, select them then click the dropdown arrow beside the Email PDF button and choose "Selected".
- When you first press the Email PDF button, you will be prompted to choose which email application or provider you want to use. If you have an email application like Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird installed, those will be listed. You can also choose to use a Gmail or Outlook Web Access account.
- Once you've selected a provider, you can change it later by clicking the dropdown arrow beside the Email PDF button and choosing "Email Settings".