From the course: Going Paperless: Start to Finish

Using PDF scanner mobile apps

From the course: Going Paperless: Start to Finish

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Using PDF scanner mobile apps

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- A great way to scan documents if you don't have a scanner or when you're on the go is with a PDF app for your mobile phone or tablet. This app uses your camera to capture an image of your document and store it as a PDF. The quality's not as good as a desktop scanner, so I do recommend you use a full-featured desktop scanner for any document you need a high-quality reproduction of, such as legal documents or photos. But PDF apps are perfect for capturing basic documents and notes on the go. There are a number of PDF apps available in the App Store. They have various features and quality, but they all work on the same basic principle of using your camera to capture the image and save as a PDF. To show you the basics of how a PDF scanning app works, I'll use Genius Scan. Genius Scan works the same way on both Android and iPhone. After downloading the app from the App Store, open it up on the main screen. To start your first scan, tap the camera icon. If this is your first time using the app, a pop-up may appear asking permission to access your camera. In order to use the app properly, you'll need to allow access. The app works best if you place your document on a dark, flat surface in a well-lit area. This creates more contrast and helps the app determine where the edges of your document are. Point the device camera toward the document you're trying to scan. Make sure you hold the device as still as possible and that the entire document shows in the screen of your device. The app will capture the image automatically. You can scan more than one page by repeating this process for each page of your document. When all pages have been scanned, tap done. The app then shows the captured image on screen. Select re-crop if you want to edit where the sides of your document are. To adjust any of the sides of the document, drag the orange box on the spot where you want to adjust and hold your finger on it while dragging across the screen. You'll see the orange box move. Continue to drag your finger until the box covers all parts of your document you want to capture. As you do this, a circular image shows on the screen to show you a magnified version of your adjustment to allow for more accurate placement. Once you've placed the orange line at the edges of your document, tap done. The app will show you the captured image of your document. If you need to adjust the image from black and white to color, select enhance and choose your color option. To save your document to your device, tap the word save. You can choose to add this page to an existing document or create a new document on the device by tapping new document. To rename the file, tap the text on the top of the screen. To clear the existing name, tap the gray X to the right of the text, then type your new file name. When you finish naming your file, tap done. To view your document in the list of documents, tap the documents button, and after a moment you'll see your document in the list. To send the document outside of the app, tap the document name in the list. Tap the box with an arrow in it. Select which service you would like to send your document to. As an example, let's select email by tapping that choice. You'll notice an email box with the file of your PDF image is attached. Simply type in the email address you would like to send the file to, then tap send. Your email with the attachment has now been sent. Now you have a great way to save PDF documents wherever you are. This is a great way to capture notes and information for later retrieval or to share with others.

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