LaserSoft Imaging

I would like to scan my Widelux negatives which are about 58 cm long (2 inches) on 35mm film. As far as I can tell, they should be masked and placed in the 6x7 holder, but I have not been able to do that successfully (tried using black, white and clear masks).
I was sure that one could just use a black mask, then highlight the exact area of the negative in preview mode with autoexposure turned off, then scan. Doesn't work (so far), the scan never looks like the manually adjusted preview. Looks all washed out. Why?

(a Coolscan newbie)

<B> Scanning larger negative areas than actual scan area with Coolscan 8000

When scanning larger than actual negative film area with SilverFast NegaFix? follow this procedure.

1. Draw the scan frame over the actual negative film area inside ithe image

2. Select the appropriate negative film type and adjust exposure if necessary.

2. Uncheck the "Auto" checkbox in the NegaFix extended dialog.

3. Now draw (extend) your scan frame to the final desired size.

4. Scan