Request a Freedman Center USB key from the Service Center Desk, and staff will check out the key to your account if available.
Available for checkout to CWRU & CIM students, faculty, and staff; CWRU Alumni, Public or Visiting patrons must complete the "Public Patron Use Form" before receiving equipment key.
BE AWARE: Upon shutting down the computer or removing the USB key, the computer will completely wipe the machine and its file contents. Any scans, documents or the like that are not saved in a file folder within ":D drive Temporary Storage" will be deleted. Create a file folder within this :D drive to temporally store your work. Temporary storage will hold onto these documents for 30 days and will erase after every 30 days. Remove your items before then.
PLEASE NOTE: With each computer station, users will have to create separate file folders since the computer drives are not interconnected.
1. Within the Start bar or on the computer's task bar, search for "File Explorer:" 
2. Under "Computer," find ':D Temporary Storage' and click that storage container. The drive's contents will appear.
3. Within the ":D Not Secure Temporary Storage" drive, select "New Folder" along the top the top of the screen.
4. Name the folder your network ID (ex: abc123) and hit the "Enter" key.
***Please note: With each computer station, users will have to create separate file folders since the computer drives are not interconnected.
1. Insert the key into the USB port on the left side of the monitor. Computer will open automatically to the Freedman Center main page. Minimize for future use.
*** PLEASE NOTE: From this point forward there will be MINIMAL manual/physical adjustments to the scanner itself.
Do NOT move the scanner.
Do NOT pull the scanning bed out of the scanner.
Remove ALL items from in front of & the sides of the scanner.
Do NOT touch the scanner unless loading MicroFilm or placing MicroFiche-Card on glass.
The process is otherwise automatic from the computer.
2. On the desktop, find the “PowerScan 3500” icon and open: 
***This will take a few moments to load. If it seems to get stuck or not respond, please be patient, the scanner is loading!
3. Choose the type of material you are viewing. Reels of film will use the arms, while flat film/ cards will lay between the glass.
When you open up the software, this is your viewfinder! Whatever is scanned through the scanner will be done with this green selection window.
You can manipulate the window;
Stretching and increasing/decreasing its length or width.
Proportionally changing the window’s size by pulling a corner.
Grabbing the entire green window and moving to a preferred image.
You can even grab the window and move to the left or right edge of the screen and quickly move the camera that direction.
The Green Selection Window may go red. This is just the scanner telling you, “Hey, I cannot pick up any information! Fix me so that I can do that!”
1. Change your "Film Type." 
a. Your viewpoint may be in “Black Out” mode, which really just means that the light is shining from above on an object that instead needs light shining from below. Change to a positive image or negative image.
Positive Image (Light from Below) Negative Image (Light from Below)
2. Adjust "Brightness." 
a. If viewing Microcards and the red selection window appears even on the correct "Film Type" setting, adjust the brightness until the image comes into view.
BEWARE: Please close down the "PowerScan 3500" software entirely when switching between microforms. Do NOT manually shut off machine, just the software. Reopen and choose your next microform. The machine is known to malfunction every time when moving between film or fiche/card. If you are only using one film type, you will be able to load and eject that film type without issue.
BEWARE: Please close down the "PowerScan 3500" software entirely when switching between microforms.
Click “Roll Film;” the scanner will start making noises, may move the scanning bed around until the scanner has extended and opened up the glass plates.
1. Follow the animation; it takes you through the entire process of loading film into the scanner.
2. Ensure that the film is set in the track’s groves before continuing.
a. If the film will not fall into the grooves on either side of the scanner, STOP and contact the Service Center.
***Do NOT continue further as you may damage the film you are working with.
Correct Film Alignment Incorrect Film Alignment
3. Hit “Load” at the bottom left of the viewing screen. 
***If you don’t see the “LOAD” option, STOP and contact the Service Center.
4. Upon clicking "LOAD," the scanner will retract, and the viewing screen will engage.
***You may not see anything and your Selection Window may be red. DON’T WORRY.
5. Using the computer keyboard’s arrow keys, move the film towards the empty (right) wheel by holding down the right arrow key.
a. If the screen is completely blacked out, find the “Film Type” option on the left column and click it to cycle through until either a negative or positive of the image displays.
***You’ll notice that the green light will change orientations with each Film Type. The rectangle on the viewing screen will also go green when material is recognized.
"Black Out" (Light from Above) Positive (Light from Below) Negative (Light from Below)
BEWARE: Please close down the "PowerScan 3500" software entirely when switching between microforms.
Click “MicroFiche and MicroCard;” the scanner will start making noises, may move the scanning bed around until the scanner has extended and opened up the glass plates.
1. Place the MicroFiche/Card text side up; along the top of the Fiche/card, the author, content, and card number is visible.
***Otherwise, content will be mirrored (with MicroFiche) or not seen at all (with MicroCard).
2. Hit “Load” at the bottom left of the viewing screen.
***If you don’t see the “LOAD” option, STOP and contact the Service Center.
3. Upon clicking "LOAD," the scanner will retract, and the viewing screen will engage.
***You may not see anything and the Red Selection window may appear. DON’T WORRY.
4. Using the computer keyboard’s arrow keys, move up, down, left or right by holding down the corresponding key.
a. For quick movements or to find your material in the viewfinder, hover the mouse over “Virtual Grid” at the bottom of the screen. A white tiled grid will appear, and within that pop-up click around until your material is found.
5. If the screen is completely blacked out, find the “Film Type” option on the left column and cycle through until either a positive or negative of the image displays. Adjust "Brightness" if necessary.
***You’ll notice that the green light will change orientations with each Film Type. The rectangle on the viewing screen will also go green when material is recognized.
"Black Out" (Light from Above) Positive (Light from Below) Negative (Light from Below)
Above are the In-App Functions available to you when using the scanner. When viewing on screen, the far left image will be the very top, while the far right will be the bottom.
1. Left Image:
a. 
“File Folder”: Opens last scan downloaded from scanner to computer.
b. 
"Film Selection Wizard”: Returns you to the home screen where you choose a film type. Be sure to remove your materials before you do so!
c. 
“Fill to Width/Fill to Window”: Toggles to different viewing; We highly recommend keeping the view toggled to “Fill to Window” where “Fill to Width” is your available option as shown above; this will give you a larger viewing window.
d. 
"Auto-Crop": Adjusts brightness, contrast, straightens and crops image for you. Will not work if the incorrect film type is selected. All of the manual adjustments, if desired, will follow this option on the application window.
e. “Film Type”: Toggle to change the light orientation for MicroFilm/Fiche or MicroCard, or to change between positive and negatives of film.
LEFT: Positive Image; light from below, perfect for MicroFilm-Fiche.
RIGHT: Light from above with additional brightness adjustments, perfect for MicroCard.
f. “Auto Crop”: The selection window can be partially over the image you’d like to crop to and it will auto crop the whole image. Keep in mind: If there is no focus/ there are multiple subjects within the field, the app may automatically crop the wrong image or the whole window instead of your desired image.
2. Middle Image:
a. 
“Zoom”: Manual zoom can be accomplished with the up or down arrows, or ‘AZ’ will automatically zoom the green selection window; needs to be focused on 1 image to work properly. You cannot have multiple areas of focus as it will not zoom in at all.
b. 
“Auto-Straighten”: If the pages are clean and clear it will magically make your images not be askew!
c. 
“Focus”: Manual focus can be accomplished with the up or down arrows, or ‘AF’ will automatically focus the viewing window.
d. “Brightness”: Manual adjustments with the up or down arrow, or ‘AB’ will automatically brighten the image. If you are scanning MicroCards you probably won’t see anything until you fix the brightness.
e. 
“Film Orientation”: Changes the viewing angle of the film reel. This really depends on the material you are working with and how they stored the images on the film reel/fiche/card. You want the green selection window to match the orientation of the images seen through the camera.
f. 
“Manual Straighten”: Adjust straightness using the ‘-’ and ‘+’ signs.
3. Right Image
a. 
“Rotate 90°”: Does just that!
b. 
“Line Straighten”: Straightens the image based on a line you draw! Draw what should be a horizontal or vertical line (but is currently crooked) and the image gets straightened.
Start by clicking in-line with text or image. Upon 2nd click, image will straighten.
c. 
“Mirror”: If the text is backwards, mirror will fix it.
d. 
“Scan to Drive #1”: Clicking this will download the image in the green selection window to the D drive on the computer. After you exit the software, you must manually transfer it to a folder you create on the D drive with your network ID.
e. 
“Scan Resolution”: Automatically set to 300 DPI. DPI Resolution can be changed from the dropdown menu if you need a higher resolution.
f. 
“Setup”: Nothing for you here.
1. In the same space as the “Load” button, click “Eject.”
2. The Microfilm Scanner will then extend forward.
Note: Before manually unraveling the film, a pop-up will appear to rewind the film for you. Click this and don’t get hit by the film’s tail!
***DO NOT push the extended Microfilm Scanner closed!
1. In the same space as the “Load” button, click “Eject.”
2. The Microfilm Scanner will extend forward.
3. Grab your microfiche/card from the glass.
***DO NOT push the extended Microfilm Scanner closed!
When you exit the program the Microfilm Scanner will retract/close. Leave the Microfilm-fiche-card scanner on.
We encourage you to peruse the Freedman Center Home Software Page for specifics on Post-Editing software.
These computers are available for check-out at the Service Center Desk.