My ScanSnap scanner seems to have given up the ghost. Trying to establish a control relationship between DEVONthink 4 and my Brother MFC-J4335DW’s scanner. Intrinsic Apple control app sees the scanner. DEVONthink 4 as installed (still on the 30-day tryout) has NO scanner button and NO scan option (wording of options under “Import” could perhaps be a little clearer/more direct?) under “Import” that I can decipher. The “Chat” function appears disabled/greyed out; exactly the feature one might need to figure out a problem before plunking down cash on Devonthink 4, don’t you think?
DEVONthink 4 as installed (still on the 30-day tryout) has NO scanner button and NO scan option (wording of options under “Import” could perhaps be a little clearer/more direct?) under “Import” that I can decipher.
It seems you’re assuming behaviors that are documented. If you’re looking at File > Import, that’s not where you scan from. It’s done via the View > Import sidebar. See the In & Out > Going Paperless in DEVONthink section of the built-in Help and manual for more information.
The “Chat” function appears disabled/greyed out; exactly the feature one might need to figure out a problem before plunking down cash on Devonthink 4, don’t you think?
Chat is an option, not a core function. It also requires access to an external AI provider - including an API key for commercial models - and you to set it up in Settings > AI > Chat.
Attached is the view I see when activating the View > Import sidebar. It doesn’t list any devices, even though I can use the scanner function on my Brother MFC with Apple controls.
Right. There are zero “Device” headers in my installation near as I can tell. Even though I have a functioning scanner that Apple controls can make go whizzy-whizzy. I sincerely don’t know what I am missing or how to be clearer. If you can maintain enough patience to continue guiding my efforts, I will be in your debt, possibly forever.
I believe your scanner has to be Image-Capture compatible to be seen there. My Epson V700 is not seen, and my Fujitsu is not seen either. In both cases, I followed DevonTHINK’s instruction to set a folder to send the scans to.
is Brother MFC-J4335DW scanner Image-Capture compatible
ChatGPT said:
It depends a bit on exactly which macOS version you’re using, but generally yes — the Brother MFC-J4335DW should be compatible with Apple’s Image Capture (or at least potentially usable through it) if the right scanner drivers (ICA or TWAIN) are installed and supported.
Here’s the detail and caveats:
What the official info says
Brother lists that the MFC-J4335DW supports recent macOS versions. support.brother.com
Brother’s support pages say that to use Image Capture on macOS, an ICA Scanner Driver is needed; for supported Brother models, that driver may be included in the standard Brother scanner driver or as part of a CUPS printer driver. help.brother-usa.com
Also, Brother encourages using Brother iPrint&Scan as an alternative scanning tool on Mac. help.brother-usa.com
For network scanning via Mac, Brother’s support says that for macOS 10.15 or later, scanning via the “Scan” button (on the device) may require the iPrint&Scan Push Scan Tool. support.brother.com
What to watch out for / what might break
Even if the device is supported in macOS, sometimes the “scanner” doesn’t show up in Image Capture (or “fails to open connection”) because the driver isn’t correctly installed or not permitted. Some users report errors like “Failed to open a connection to the device” when trying to scan via Image Capture. Apple Support Community
On macOS 15 (“Sequoia”), the list of models officially supported is published by Brother. The MFC-J4335DW is included in that list. help.brother-usa.com+1
Some community reports warn that scanning over network (instead of USB) using Image Capture may not always work reliably for Brother multifunction devices on newer macOS. In those cases, the Brother software or alternative scanner apps may be more stable. Super User+2TidBITS Talk+2
My verdict
Yes — with the proper driver support, your MFC-J4335DW can be used with Image Capture on macOS. But it’s not guaranteed to “just work” out of box in all cases, especially on newer macOS versions, or when using network scanning instead of USB.
If you tell me which macOS version you’re using (for example, macOS 14 “Sonoma”, or 15 “Sequoia”, or whatever), I can check whether there’s a known working setup and even guide you step-by-step to make it work. Do you want me to check for your specific macOS version?
Lesson here: when it comes to devices connected to your Mac, never assume anything. They may or may not work, depending on the device, the manufacturer’s willingness to write drivers, and the OS version. I’ve had literally maybe more than a hundred devices ranging many years back, and even big companies such as IBM, HP, and yes Brother, sometimes did not support Apple’s new and fancy OS or stuff such as Image Capture. So the Mac may see your scanner and allow you to use it (like in my 4 scanners), but the OS may not necessary allow other apps to see or connect to them.
Jim, and so do I, but there’s nothing under the headers - for the reasons I mentioned above… and I have 2 scanners currently connected, and on. But, I scan using their own apps, and sent to DT.
