How to Scan Documents on Your iPhone

The ability to scan documents with your iPhone is an everyday need. It is an invaluable feature if you want to go paperless to save receipts, index business cards, or just take quick screenshots of book covers for the record. Unlike before, you don’t need to install a third-party document scanner app. The iPhone can do it all on its own.

Let’s learn how to use your iPhone as a document scanner.

Scan Documents With the Notes App

The ability to scan documents with your iPhone alone is a productivity boost as you can synchronize all your notes and captures across the Apple devices. Here’s how to start a scan.

1. Open the Notes app and an old or new note. The scanner is a core feature now.
2. Tap the camera icon at the bottom of the screen.
3. Select the Scan Documents option from the popup menu.
4. The camera opens and now you can point the camera at whatever you want to scan. The default scan option is automatic mode and color. Select Retake if the first scan isn’t nice.

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for (var i = 0; i There are a few ways to fine-tune the scan:

• A top row of icons lets you choose from grayscale or black/white for the scan. You can choose one after you take the scan as well.
• Once the document is in focus, the camera fires automatically. You can also use the shutter button or the volume buttons to take a scan manually. The scanner allows you to adjust the corners of the scan manually. If the corners are okay, tap on Keep Scan.
• The scanner stays in the camera view after the first scan for any more scan jobs (e.g., a multi-page document).
• When you finish taking the scan, tap on the Save button at the bottom of the screen. You can place the scan into the note that you opened at the beginning.
• Want to move the document scan out of the Notes app? Share it or upload it to any other app like Google Drive, send it as an email attachment, create a PDF, or share via WhatsApp. Just hold down on the preview of the scans and hit Share when it appears.
• You can also use the markup tools in the Notes app to annotate all over the document.

Scan Documents With the Files App

Apple introduced the Files app with iPhone 11. It also has a handy document scanning feature that works like the scanner on Notes. Take a snap of a document and save it anywhere in iCloud Drive, or in any third-party cloud services connected with the Files app.

1. Open the Files
2. Tap the ellipsis icon (three dots) on the top-right corner of the screen. Select Scan Documents.You can also browse to the folder in which you want to save your scans. Swipe down on the screen to reveal the folder options bar and tap the ellipsis icon on the left.
3. Use the Camera to focus on the document. This works like the document scanning process on the Notes app from here on. The camera has an auto mode that detects the document on its own. Switch over to the manual mode if the selection isn’t precise.
4. Adjust the edges of your scan. The app tries to optimize the tile and the angle.
5. Tap Done to finish the capture. Choose Retake if the scan doesn’t come out as you intended.
6. The Files app prompts you to save the scan to a folder of your choice. If the scan was started inside a specific folder, it is saved to the same folder.
7. You can export a single scan or multiple scans as a PDF from the share sheet on iOS.

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for (var i = 0; i Scan Documents With Microsoft Lens

Microsoft Lens (formerly Office Lens) is one of the best cross-platform productivity tools you can use. It is a powerful document scanner app with extra features that are handy if you work with the Microsoft Office suite.

1. Open Microsoft Lens and swipe across the screen to select the right capture mode.
2. The different capture modes are Whiteboard, Document, Business Card, or Photo. For instance, Whiteboard is best for handwritten notes and sketches against a white background. Microsoft Lens enhances the handwritten strokes against the background. Scan documents like books, forms, menus, etc. with the Document mode. The Photo mode is best for scanning photos or anything else that might not fit into the above modes.
3. Point the camera at the subject. Adjust the position so that the orange bounding box frames the document perfectly.
4. Tap the round Camera button at the center of the screen. Select Confirm to capture the image as a scan.
5. Finetune the capture. You can Add a new image to your scan, apply a Filter to the image, Crop, Rotate, or Delete the image. Use the Pen or Text options to annotate on the image before you select Done. Select More next to the Crop icon to find the extra options.
6. Select Done when ready. Save the scanned document to the Photo Library, export it to PDF. The Save To options also allow you to send the scan to a Microsoft Office app. Alternatively, you can share the scan with the help of the other choices on the screen.

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for (var i = 0; i Microsoft Lens has other features that help to take perfect scans. You can enable the Flash in low-light (tap the Flash icon in the upper right corner of the capture window). You can also take a photo with the Camera app and then import it into Lens to finetune it as a scan.

Tap the Picture icon near the lower-left corner of the capture window. Go to Photos and select the picture you want to use. Select and import it into Microsoft Lens.

Extra: Scan QR Codes With the iPhone Camera

A QR code is another type of scan you might have to perform. It’s a time-saving shortcut when you don’t want to type in a long URL to shop for something. Point the iPhone at the QR code and the information is scanned in a second.

1. Open the iOS Camera app from the Home screen, Control Center, or directly the Lock screen.
2. Select the rear camera. Point the viewfinder in the Camera app on the entire QR code. Your iPhone will recognize the QR code and display a notification.
3. Tap the notification to open the page linked to the QR code.

The iPhone As a Capable Scanner

You might need a dedicated document scanning device if you need to scan many pages in one go. Otherwise, you can do away with third-party scanner apps as the iPhone can handle everyday scanning chores easily.

Think of tricks to boost your document organization skills with the scanner. For instance, don’t keep the scans on the phone. Export them to an archiving space on the cloud or on your computer or use the Continuity Camera feature to make richer documents with macOS.

Source: makeuseof.com