CollinsiPhone: To convert a paper document into a digital format, you used to need a bulky piece of technology called a scanner. Those were the days. Nowadays, all you need is your iPhone to scan a document. Using a variety of apps, you may scan documents directly from your iPhone. In iOS 14, we show you how to accomplish it.
Use the Files app
Scanning papers and storing them on your phone is a breeze using the Files app. You can also scan receipts and documents, as well as sign and scan them. Simply ensure that your iPhone and PC are both linked to iCloud and that you can access your iCloud Drive. Here’s how to get going.
1 Go to your phone’s Files app and find it. You may access all of your iCloud files from there.
2 Select the iCloud Drive location while the program is open.
3 Tap the three-dot More icon by swiping down on the screen.
4 Tap Done after selecting New Folder and naming your folder Scans.
5 To activate the camera, slide down again to hit the three-dot More icon and pick Scan Documents from your new Scans folder.
6 Place the document on a flat surface and hover the phone over it until the Camera app recognizes it. The document has a blue highlight. The program will snap the shot most of the time, but there is a shutter button if it doesn’t grab your document right away.
7 When you press the Save button, your scan will be saved in the Scans folder, where it will be accessible from any device that can access iCloud. You can then rename the document by tapping it.
Scanning several documents in a row
1 Arrange your documents in a stack so that they may be scanned one by one.
2 The app reads Ready next scan along the bottom when the camera shoots the first page. Remove the first page so that the second can be captured.
3 Continue until you’ve completed all of the scannings.
4 All of your scanned pages will be saved to a single document if you tap Save. The number of pages covered will be indicated by a badge.
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Don’t worry about getting the scanning angle just right; the software will readjust the view to flatten the scan automatically. The resulting scans will be properly aligned with a high-quality depiction of the contents when you examine them.
Make use of the Notes app.
The Notes app on the iPhone includes a scanning capability that you may use every time you create a new document. Here’s how to go about it.
1 Create a new note or open an existing one.
2 Select Scan Documents from the Camera icon.
3 Hover your mobile camera over your document and place it on a flat surface.
4 If your device is set to Auto Mode, the app will scan your document for you and highlight it in yellow. Depending on the lighting circumstances, the app will use flash. If the camera does not automatically record your document, you can manually capture it by tapping the shutter button.
5 To fine-tune the scan for color, black and white, and grayscale, tap the filters control.
6 If necessary, drag the corners to adapt the scan to fit the page or to scan only a portion of the page.
7 Press the Keep Scan button.
8 If you’re scanning many pages, add more scans to the document and save when you’re through.
You can still make filter, cropping, and rotation tweaks to your scan after it’s finished, or you can trash it. You can repair a single page in a series without having to redo a multi-page scan by using the Retake button. You may crop or change the document’s edges, apply a filter, and rotate it to make it seem precisely how you want it to.
Use Continuity Camera
Continuity Camera is a built-in feature in both MacOS and iOS that allows you to control the camera on your mobile device directly from your Mac. You may also rapidly transfer photos and scans directly from your smartphone to a computer document.
Notes, Mail, Messages, TextEdit, Keynote 8.2, Numbers 5.2, and Pages 7.2 or later are compatible with Continuity Camera. It works with macOS Mojave and iOS 12 or later versions of the operating system.
To use Continuity Camera, make sure your Mac and iPhone are on the same Wi-Fi network and that Bluetooth is turned on. Ensure that both devices are signed in to the same iCloud account and that two-factor authentication is turned on. Here’s how to use TextEdit to scan with iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur.
1 On your Mac, open any of the compatible programs.
2 In the Mac document or window, control-click or right-click and select Scan Documents from the pop-up menu. You can also use the menu bar to access the scanning feature by selecting File or Insert.
3 Wait for the scan to complete by pointing your iPhone or iPad’s camera lens at the document. By pressing the shutter button or one of the volume buttons, you can manually capture a scan.
4 Drag the corners to trim only the section of the scan you want or adjust the camera’s location to match the page. Then press the Keep Scan button.
5 If you want to add more scans, repeat the process or tap Save to finish.
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