The Best Ways to Scan a Document Using Your Phone or Tablet

Justin Duino / How-To Geek

On an iPhone oregon iPad, unfastened the Files oregon Notes app and usage "Scan a Document" to scan a papers with your device's camera. On Android, usage the Google Drive app to scan a papers to your telephone oregon tablet. (The Google Drive app works connected iPhone and iPad, too.)

Scanners had their moment, but nowadays it’s not arsenic indispensable to ain one. However, that doesn’t mean you ne'er request to scan a papers oregon photo. Thankfully, you astir apt person immoderate tools to bash it without a scanner.

If you find yourself scanning a batch of documents and photos, it’s a bully thought to put successful an actual scanner. Most radical lone request to scan a fewer things a year, truthful we’ll amusement you immoderate bully alternatives.

How to Scan Photos and Documents Without a Scanner

Justin Duino / How-To Geek

A scanner is fundamentally conscionable a camera that takes a photograph of your papers successful a precise circumstantial way. Well, you transportation a camera successful your pouch each day, truthful wherefore not usage that arsenic a scanner?

The information is simply a smartphone camera is usually perfectly good for getting the occupation done arsenic a scanner. The results won’t beryllium arsenic crisp and wide arsenic an existent scanner, but it volition get the constituent across. Here are a fewer suggestions for taking bully photos of a document.

• Lighting: Place the papers connected a level aboveground with bully lighting. Try to debar casting a shadiness connected the papers with your manus and phone.
• Placement: Take the photograph consecutive connected to debar immoderate weird angles. This tin beryllium done from straight supra oregon astatine a close space by propping up the document. Do whichever results successful the champion lighting/fewest shadows.
• Framing: Make definite to instrumentality the photograph from acold capable distant truthful the full papers is successful view. After you instrumentality the photo, harvest it to the papers truthful you don’t spot immoderate of the surroundings.

The camera connected your telephone volition get the occupation done successful galore situations, but sometimes a much professional-looking scan is necessary. For that, you’ll privation to crook to a papers scanner app. You already person 1 installed connected your iPhone, iPad, oregon Android phone—your instrumentality came with one.

The Best Way to Scan Documents connected iPhone and iPad: Files oregon Notes

iPhones and iPads person a built-in “Document Scanner” feature. This instrumentality isn’t its ain app, but you’ll find it some successful Apple’s Files app and the Apple Notes app. A batch of websites suggest utilizing the Notes app to scan a document, and that works fine—but you tin besides usage the Files app, which is convenient if you conscionable privation to scan the papers to a file.

To scan a papers connected iPhone oregon iPad with the Files app, archetypal unfastened the Files app and spell to the determination you privation to prevention your scanned papers to. For example, to prevention it successful your iCloud Drive, unfastened the iCloud Drive location. To prevention it successful your iPhone’s Downloads folder, unfastened Downloads.

Tap the paper fastener (it looks similar a “…”) astatine the top-right country of the surface and pat “Scan Documents” to get started.

Position the papers successful presumption of your iPhone oregon iPad’s camera and clasp it still. Your instrumentality volition automatically seizure an representation of the document, and you’ll spot it flash connected screen.

To scan a multi-page document, presumption the 2nd leafage successful presumption of your iPhone oregon iPad’s camera. Continue this process to seizure arsenic galore pages arsenic you like. When you’re done, pat “Save,” and you’ll get a combined PDF record containing each page.

You tin besides usage the Notes app to scan documents. Open the Notes app connected your iPhone oregon iPad, unfastened an existing enactment oregon make a caller note, pat the camera icon, and pat “Scan Documents.” The Notes app volition past prevention your scanned documents arsenic notes alternatively than files.

RELATED: 10 Apple Notes Features You Should Be Using

The Best Way to Scan Documents connected Android: Google Drive

Google Drive has a lesser-known papers scanning diagnostic built-in, too. All you person to bash is instrumentality a photograph of the document, and Drive volition bash each the enactment to marque it look arsenic cleanable and wide arsenic possible. This diagnostic is disposable successful Google Drive for Android arsenic good arsenic iPhone and iPad.

To scan a papers connected Android, archetypal unfastened the app and marque definite you’re signed successful with your Google account. Tap the floating “+” fastener successful the bottommost close corner.

Select “Scan” oregon “Use Camera.”

This volition unfastened the camera. You whitethorn request to assistance the app support to usage your camera. Position the papers truthful that it’s wholly successful the frame, past drawback the photo.

The adjacent surface volition inquire you to corroborate that you privation to usage the photo. Tap “OK” oregon “Use Photo.”

Google Drive volition effort to automatically harvest and set the lighting. You tin manually set this with the harvest and colour buttons. If you person a multi-page document, pat the positive icon to adhd the adjacent leafage successful the aforesaid way.

When the papers is looking good, pat “Save” to finish.

Now you tin springiness the record a sanction and take which folder to prevention it to. The papers volition beryllium saved arsenic a PDF.

You’re each set! The papers is present saved successful your Google Drive. You tin download it and stock it nevertheless you’d like. You tin adjacent copy and paste substance straight from the photo. All this, and you didn’t adjacent person to messiness with a clunky scanner. Pretty cool, right?

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