NAPS2 vs Q-Dir

NAPS2 is free, open-source software for scanning documents and saving them as PDF, TIFF, JPEG, or PNG. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and supports WIA and TWAIN drivers with flatbed or automatic document feeder scanners, including duplex scanning. Users can reorder, interleave, rotate, crop, deskew, and adjust scanned pages’ brightness and contrast. OCR makes scans searchable, supports more than 100 languages, and can add text recognition to imported PDFs. NAPS2 can share scanners across a local network using ESCL, including with compatible Android and iPhone apps, but it must remain running on the server for sharing to work. It can send email through Gmail and Outlook, with the email address and secure sending token kept on the user’s computer and sent only to the relevant provider. Optional developer tools include a command-line interface for automation and a .NET scanning library. The free plan has no ads or restrictions, though OCR results cannot be saved directly to a text file.

Q-Dir is a free Windows file manager that provides an alternative to Windows File Explorer. Its four-window layout supports browsing with tabs, and users can save up to 64 folder combinations as favorites. Files can be moved or copied between Q-Dir views and other Explorers through drag and drop or clipboard copy and paste. Filtering options include color filters, extension highlighting and file filtering; a quick preview is also available. Display choices include large icons, tiles, lists, details and thumbnails. The product page lists ZIP, FTP, cabinet, network and system folders, as well as shortcuts, among supported types. Explorer views can be exported to XLS, CSV, TXT or HTML. Q-Dir is freeware for company, business and private use. It has installer and portable ZIP downloads; the portable version runs without installation and can be carried on a USB stick or other memory device. Listed systems include Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 7 and Windows Server, with x64 and x32 support. Its license permits redistribution of unmodified copies but prohibits selling the software.