Exam Scanning

The scan-exams command is a batch scanning tool for the CDSS scanning station. It scans exams from the Canon DR-G2110 ADF and produces compressed, timestamped PDFs.

For general scanning station info, see the Scanning Station Overview.

Usage

scan-exams              # interactive prompts
scan-exams -o           # scan and open PDF when done
scan-exams -r -o        # reuse last course/exam, open when done
scan-exams -q           # no prompts, just scan and save
scan-exams -h           # show help

Options

Flag	Description
`-o`	Open the PDF automatically after scanning
`-r`	Reuse course/exam metadata from the last scan
`-q`	Quiet mode — no prompts, auto batch number and timestamp
`-h`	Show help

Output filename

20260429-143022-SP26-cs169-mt1-batch-01-240pg.pdf
│              │    │     │    │        └─ page count
│              │    │     │    └─ auto-incrementing batch number
│              │    │     └─ exam type (mt, mt1, mt2, final, quiz)
│              │    └─ course number
│              └─ semester (SP/SU/FA + 2-digit year)
└─ timestamp (YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS)

Semester detection

Automatically determined from the current date:

Months	Semester
January–May	SP (Spring)
June–August	SU (Summer)
September–December	FA (Fall)

Batch numbering

The batch number auto-increments based on existing files in ~/scans/ matching the same course and exam type. Scanning cs169-mt1 when batch-01 and batch-02 already exist produces batch-03.

Reusing metadata (`-r`)

After each scan, the course, exam type, expected copies, pages per exam, and rotation setting are saved to ~/.scan-exams-last. Use -r to reuse these values for the next scan without re-entering them — useful when scanning the same exam in multiple batches.

Scan settings

Setting	Value
Mode	Duplex (double-sided)
Color	Grayscale
Resolution	200 DPI
Paper size	Letter (8.5” × 11”)
Compression	JPEG quality 85
Output	Single PDF per batch

Files

File	Purpose
`setup.sh`	Install Canon SANE driver, NAPS2, AirSane, and `scan-exams` command
`setup_apps.sh`	Install general dev tools (VS Code, Docker, mise, PostgreSQL, etc.)
`scan-exams.sh`	The `scan-exams` bash function

Source: berkeley-cdss/docs/scanning-scripts

Data handling

Scanned files may contain sensitive data (exams, student work, etc.).

Copy your PDFs to your own device after scanning.
Delete your files from ~/scans/ when you’re done.