An image acquisition system has a computer and one or more imaging devices coupled
thereto. Each imaging device has a device memory and is capable of capturing and
storing a digital image in its memory. An image device manager is implemented in
software on the computer to control imaging device operation. The image device
manager presents a user interface (UI) within the familiar graphical windowing
environment. The UI has a context space to a particular imaging context (e.g.,
scanning, photography, and video). The UI also has a persistently-visible imaging
menu positioned within the context space that lists options particular to the imaging
context. The image acquisition system also includes a set of application program
interfaces (APIs) that enable applications to manage loading and unloading of imaging
devices, monitor device events, query device information properties, create device
objects, capture images using the devices, and store or manipulate the captured images.
