MSI Installer

The AmbirScan Web Connect installer is an MSI-based package that deploys all components needed for browser-based scanning: the Desktop App, Windows Service, Certificate Manager, and TWAIN runtime files. This guide covers what the installer does, how to use it for standard and silent deployments, and how to troubleshoot installation issues.

What Gets Installed

The installer deploys the following components to C:\Program Files (x86)\ASWCNextgen\:

C:\Program Files (x86)\ASWCNextgen\
├── AmbirWebScan.exe                  Desktop App (TWAIN scanner interface)
├── appsettings.json                  Desktop App configuration
├── dtwain32u.dll                     TWAIN runtime library
├── dtwain32.ini                      TWAIN configuration
├── twaininfo.txt                     TWAIN capability definitions
├── FirewallRule.vbs                  Firewall setup script
├── UninstallFirewallRule.vbs         Firewall removal script
├── InstallService.vbs                Service registration script
├── UnInstallService.vbs              Service removal script
├── CreateCertificate\
│   └── ASWCNCertManager.exe          Certificate Manager utility
├── ASWCNService\
│   ├── ASWCNService.exe              Windows Service
│   └── appsettings.json              Service configuration
├── tessdata\                          Tesseract OCR data (optional)
├── x86\                               x86 runtime components
└── x64\                               x64 runtime components

Components Summary

Component	Executable	Purpose
Desktop App	`AmbirWebScan.exe`	WinForms app that interfaces with TWAIN scanners via named pipe
Windows Service	`ASWCNService\ASWCNService.exe`	Kestrel HTTPS REST API on localhost:53052
Certificate Manager	`CreateCertificate\ASWCNCertManager.exe`	Creates HTTPS certificate and configures firewall
TWAIN Runtime	`dtwain32u.dll`	Dynarithmic TWAIN library for scanner communication

Standard Installation

Run AmbirScanWebConnect.exe as Administrator (right-click > Run as Administrator)
Follow the installation wizard
The installer performs the following automatically:
- Copies all application files
- Creates firewall rules for the Desktop App
- Registers the Windows Service (AmbirScanWebConnect) with Automatic startup

Post-Installation Steps

After the installer completes, the certificate must be set up before the service can start:

cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\ASWCNextgen\CreateCertificate"
ASWCNCertManager.exe install

Then start the service and Desktop App:

net start AmbirScanWebConnect
"C:\Program Files (x86)\ASWCNextgen\AmbirWebScan.exe"

tip

If using the full installer package (not a manual deployment), the certificate setup and service start may be handled automatically by the installer. Check with your deployment configuration.

Silent Installation

For automated deployments, the installer supports silent mode:

AmbirScanWebConnect.exe SILENT=1

In silent mode:

No UI is displayed
The MSI runs with the /qn flag (quiet, no UI)
Installation proceeds with default settings
Firewall rules and service registration are performed automatically

Silent Installation with Logging

AmbirScanWebConnect.exe SILENT=1

The installer writes logs to: %TEMP%\AmbirScanWebConnect_*.log

Silent Uninstall

msiexec /x {58CCE509-0ECB-4E65-B52F-3DF5E070CC44} /qn /l*v uninstall.log

What the Installer Configures

Windows Service

The installer registers a Windows Service with the following properties:

Property	Value
Service Name	`AmbirScanWebConnect`
Display Name	AmbirScan Web Connect
Startup Type	Automatic
Executable	`C:\Program Files (x86)\ASWCNextgen\ASWCNService\ASWCNService.exe`

The service is registered using:

sc create AmbirScanWebConnect binpath= "...\ASWCNService\ASWCNService.exe" start= auto

Firewall Rules

The installer creates firewall rules grouped under "AmbirScan Web Connect Networking":

Rule	Direction	Protocol	Action
AmbirScan Web Connect	Inbound	TCP	Allow
AmbirScan Web Connect	Outbound	TCP	Allow
AmbirScan Web Connect	Inbound	UDP	Allow
AmbirScan Web Connect	Outbound	UDP	Allow

These rules allow the Desktop App (AmbirWebScan.exe) to communicate freely on Private and Domain network profiles.

Registry Entries

The installer creates standard MSI uninstall registry entries:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{58CCE509-0ECB-4E65-B52F-3DF5E070CC44}
  DisplayName: AmbirScan Web Connect
  DisplayVersion: 4.0.0.14
  Publisher: Ambir Technology, Inc.
  InstallLocation: C:\Program Files (x86)\ASWCNextgen\

Upgrading

The installer supports in-place upgrades from version 3.0.0 and later:

Previous versions are detected automatically
Files are updated in place
Service registration is preserved
User configuration files (appsettings.json) may be overwritten — back them up if you've made custom changes

To upgrade, simply run the new installer. It will detect and replace the previous version.

Uninstallation

From Control Panel

Open Control Panel > Programs and Features (or Settings > Apps)
Find "AmbirScan Web Connect"
Click Uninstall

From Command Line

msiexec /x {58CCE509-0ECB-4E65-B52F-3DF5E070CC44}

What Uninstall Does

The uninstaller performs the following:

Removes the Windows Service — Runs sc delete AmbirScanWebConnect
Removes firewall rules — Deletes all rules in the "AmbirScan Web Connect Networking" group
Removes installed files — Deletes the C:\Program Files (x86)\ASWCNextgen\ directory

What Uninstall Does NOT Remove

HTTPS certificate — The self-signed certificate remains in the Windows certificate store
Log files — Application logs in %LOCALAPPDATA%\ASWCN\ are preserved
URL reservations — HTTP.SYS URL reservations are not removed

To fully clean up after uninstalling, run:

REM Remove certificate and URL reservation
cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\ASWCNextgen\CreateCertificate"
ASWCNCertManager.exe uninstall

REM Or if the files are already removed, manually clean up:
REM Remove certificate
certutil -delstore My "ASWCN Scanner Bridge"
certutil -delstore Root "ASWCN Scanner Bridge"

REM Remove URL reservation
netsh http delete urlacl url=https://localhost:53052/

REM Remove firewall rules (if not already removed)
netsh advfirewall firewall delete rule name="AmbirScan Web Connect"
netsh advfirewall firewall delete rule name="ASWCN Scanner Bridge HTTPS"

REM Remove log files
rmdir /s /q "%LOCALAPPDATA%\ASWCN"

Deployment Checklist

Use this checklist when deploying to a new client machine:

Troubleshooting Installation Issues

Installer Requires Administrator

Symptom: Installer displays "Access Denied" or fails to launch.

Solution: Right-click the installer and select Run as Administrator. The installer requires elevated privileges to register the Windows Service and create firewall rules.

Service Fails to Register

Symptom: After installation, the service doesn't appear in services.msc.

Solutions:

Verify the installation completed without errors

Manually run the service registration script:

cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\ASWCNextgen\InstallService.vbs"

Or register manually:

sc create AmbirScanWebConnect binpath= "C:\Program Files (x86)\ASWCNextgen\ASWCNService\ASWCNService.exe" start= auto

Firewall Rules Not Created

Symptom: The Desktop App or Service can't communicate.

Solutions:

Manually run the firewall script:

cscript "C:\Program Files (x86)\ASWCNextgen\FirewallRule.vbs"

Check if a third-party firewall (Norton, McAfee, Bitdefender) is overriding Windows Firewall rules

Verify rules in Windows Firewall:

netsh advfirewall firewall show rule name="AmbirScan Web Connect"

Service Won't Start After Installation

Symptom: net start AmbirScanWebConnect fails.

Solutions:

Certificate not installed — Run ASWCNCertManager.exe install first
Port conflict — Check if port 53052 is in use:
```
netstat -ano | findstr :53052
```
.NET Runtime missing — Verify .NET 8 is installed:
```
dotnet --list-runtimes
```
Check the Windows Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc) under Windows Logs > Application for error details

TWAIN Scanner Not Detected

Symptom: Desktop App shows no scanners.

Solutions:

Verify dtwain32u.dll exists in the installation directory
Confirm the scanner's TWAIN driver is installed (check the manufacturer's software)
The Desktop App must run as x86 (32-bit) because TWAIN drivers are 32-bit
Disconnect and reconnect the scanner, then click Refresh in the Desktop App

Upgrade Fails or Previous Version Remains

Symptom: Old version is still present after running the new installer.

Solutions:

Uninstall the old version manually first:

msiexec /x {58CCE509-0ECB-4E65-B52F-3DF5E070CC44}

Then run the new installer
If the uninstall also fails, use the Microsoft Program Install and Uninstall troubleshooter

Installation Log

The installer writes a log file during installation. If an installation fails, this log contains detailed information about what went wrong.

Log location: %TEMP%\AmbirScanWebConnect_*.log

To find the log:

dir %TEMP%\AmbirScanWebConnect*.log

Key sections to review in the log:

Custom Action output — Look for FirewallRule.vbs and InstallService.vbs execution results
File copy operations — Verify all files were copied successfully
Error codes — MSI error codes indicate the type of failure

Configuration Files

After installation, the following configuration files can be customized:

Service Configuration

Location: C:\Program Files (x86)\ASWCNextgen\ASWCNService\appsettings.json

Key settings:

Setting	Default	Description
`PipeName`	`ASWCNScannerBridgePipe`	Named pipe name (must match Desktop App)
`Port`	`53052`	HTTPS listening port
`BindLocalhostOnly`	`true`	Only accept localhost connections
`ConnectionTimeoutMs`	`5000`	Pipe connection timeout
`RequestTimeoutMs`	`300000`	Scan request timeout (5 minutes)

Desktop App Configuration

Location: C:\Program Files (x86)\ASWCNextgen\appsettings.json

Key settings:

Setting	Default	Description
`StartMinimized`	`false`	Start hidden in system tray
`StartWithWindows`	`false`	Auto-start on Windows login
`ShowScanPreview`	`true`	Show preview after scanning
`OCREnabled`	`false`	Enable Tesseract OCR
`DefaultResolution`	`300`	Default scan DPI
`DefaultColorMode`	`Color`	Default color mode
`EnableThirdPartyScanners`	`false`	Support non-Ambir scanners

caution

Configuration files may be overwritten during upgrades. Back up any custom settings before upgrading.

System Requirements

Requirement	Minimum
Operating System	Windows 10 or later (x86 or x64)
Runtime	.NET 8 Runtime
Privileges	Administrator (for installation)
Disk Space	100 MB
RAM	512 MB
Scanner	TWAIN-compatible scanner with manufacturer driver
Browser	Chrome or Edge (Firefox supported with additional certificate setup)

What Gets Installed​

Components Summary​

Standard Installation​

Post-Installation Steps​

Silent Installation​

Silent Installation with Logging​

Silent Uninstall​

What the Installer Configures​

Windows Service​

Firewall Rules​

Registry Entries​

Upgrading​

Uninstallation​

From Control Panel​

From Command Line​

What Uninstall Does​

What Uninstall Does NOT Remove​

Deployment Checklist​

Troubleshooting Installation Issues​

Installer Requires Administrator​

Service Fails to Register​

Firewall Rules Not Created​

Service Won't Start After Installation​

TWAIN Scanner Not Detected​

Upgrade Fails or Previous Version Remains​

Installation Log​

Configuration Files​

Service Configuration​

Desktop App Configuration​

System Requirements​

What Gets Installed

Components Summary

Standard Installation

Post-Installation Steps

Silent Installation

Silent Installation with Logging

Silent Uninstall

What the Installer Configures

Windows Service

Firewall Rules

Registry Entries

Upgrading

Uninstallation

From Control Panel

From Command Line

What Uninstall Does

What Uninstall Does NOT Remove

Deployment Checklist

Troubleshooting Installation Issues

Installer Requires Administrator

Service Fails to Register

Firewall Rules Not Created

Service Won't Start After Installation

TWAIN Scanner Not Detected

Upgrade Fails or Previous Version Remains

Installation Log

Configuration Files

Service Configuration

Desktop App Configuration

System Requirements