Do you have physical documents that need to be scanned using your iPhone? Of course it's handy when you can always have a copy of your files. Fortunately, the iPhone's built-in Notes app has a document scanning feature. This wikiHow teaches you how to scan a document using the Notes app on iPhone.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Scanning Documents
Step 1. Open the Notes app
The Notes app comes pre-installed on the iPhone. The icon looks like a notepad with a yellow line above it. Notes will usually immediately display the last note you added.
If you don't have the Notes app on your device, you can download it for free from the App Store
Step 2. Touch
to create a new note.
This icon looks like a pencil and paper in the lower-right corner of the screen. You can also open an existing note entry.
To exit an existing note, tap the square icon with an arrow pointing up to save the note first. After that, touch " Notes ” in the upper-left corner of the screen.
Step 3. Touch the camera icon
If you don't open an existing note, this icon looks like a yellow camera in the lower-right corner of the screen. When you open a saved note, the icon looks like a camera above the keyboard.
Step 4. Touch Scan document
This option is the first option at the top of the camera menu.
Step 5. Point your phone's camera at the document
iPhone uses the rear (main) camera. Hold the phone over the document until the text or paper of the document appears on the screen. After getting a clear screenshot of the document, a yellow box will appear on the screen.
You can touch the screen when the document is centered to refocus the camera to maintain the best possible scan quality
Step 6. Touch the icon of three overlapping circles
This icon is at the top of the screen. With this option, you can choose a color mode for the document.
Step 7. Touch one of the color options
There are four options you can choose from:
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” Colors:
This option displays the page colors, but usually removes colors that are not part of the document page (eg shadows and such).
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” Greyscale:
” This option displays the page as an image, but the entire color is replaced by a gray tone.
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” Black & White:
This option displays the page in black and white only, without any shades of gray.
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” Photos:
This option displays the document page as a photo or image, without the effects, such as when you take a photo using the Camera app.
Step 8. Touch the shutter button or " Capture"
It's a white circle button at the bottom of the screen. After that, a photo of the document will be taken. Try to touch the button when you see the yellow box surrounding the document.
Step 9. Drag the outer corners of the yellow square to the ends or corners of the page (if necessary)
If iPhone can't detect the page clearly, you may see a frame or rectangular outline on the screen. Touch and drag the corners of the frame or outline to the end of the page displayed on the screen. Make sure the outline aligns with the corners of the document page.
Step 10. Touch Keep Scan
If you are satisfied with how the document page looks, touch “ keep scanning It's in the lower-right corner of the image.
If you are not satisfied with the appearance of the scan results, touch “ Retake ” to take a new picture or photo.
Step 11. Repeat the process for the following pages
If there is more than one page in the document, go to the next page and point the camera at that page. Touch the " Capture " button to take a photo from the next page. You can see the inset of each page of the document at the bottom of the screen.
Step 12. Touch the page
After that, the page will be displayed in full screen. There are several other options to choose from to change the color or appearance of each page.
Step 13. Touch Save
When you have finished scanning all the pages in the document, touch “ Save ” to save the document. After that, the scanned document will be saved as a record entry.
Method 2 of 3: Saving and Sharing Documents
Step 1. Open the Notes app
The Notes app comes pre-installed on the iPhone. The icon looks like a notepad with a yellow line above it.
Step 2. Touch Notes
It's in the upper-left corner of the Notes app window. All note entries will be displayed after that.
Step 3. Touch the note that contains the document
After that, the document pages on the note will be displayed as an inset.
Step 4. Touch the “Share” button
The icon looks like a yellow box with an arrow pointing up. You can see it in the top right corner of the screen. The “Share” menu will be opened after that.
Step 5. Touch the app you want to use to share the document
If you want to send a document by email, tap the Mail or Gmail app. The document will be uploaded as an attachment. Fill in the other fields on the email form, including recipient, subject, and main message, then send the email to share the file.
Step 6. Touch Save to Files
It's at the bottom of the “Share” menu. With this option, you can save documents to your iPhone, iCloud, or other services.
Step 7. Touch the file storage directory
For example, if you want to save a document to your device, select “ On My iPhone " If you want to save it to your iCloud account, touch “ iCloud Drive " That way, you can access your documents from any device. You can also touch other online (cloud) storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive.
To save files to services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive, you'll need to have the app in question on your iPhone and be signed in to the account for the selected service
Step 8. Touch Save
The document will be saved to the selected directory. You can access files saved to your iPhone or iCloud Drive using the Files app on your iPhone. The icon looks like a blue folder.
Method 3 of 3: Signing the Document
Step 1. Open the Notes app
The Notes app comes pre-installed on the iPhone. The icon looks like a notepad with a yellow line above it. Touch the icon to open the Notes app.
Step 2. Touch Notes
It's in the upper-left corner of the Notes app window. All note entries will be displayed after that.
Step 3. Touch the note that contains the document
After that, the document pages on the note will be displayed as an inset.
Step 4. Select the page you want to sign
The page will load in full screen mode.
Step 5. Touch the “Share” button
The icon looks like a yellow box with an arrow pointing up. You can see the icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
Step 6. Touch Markup
It's next to the marker tip icon (). Several options for the type of marker and its color will be displayed.
Step 7. Touch +
It's to the right of the marker options, at the bottom of the screen. A pop-up menu with several options will be displayed.
Alternatively, you can touch one of the marker options to select it, then select the colored circle to specify the color of the marker. Use your finger or Apple Pencil to manually create a signature
Step 8. Touch Signature
This option is the second option on the pop-up menu.
Step 9. Drag and paste an existing signature, or create a new signature entry
If you have saved a signature entry to your device, touch and drag the entry on the page of the document that needs to be signed. If you don't already have a signature entry, follow these steps to create a new one:
- Touch " Add or Remove Signatures ”.
- Tap the plus sign (+) icon in the top right corner of the screen.
- Use your finger or Apple Pencil to make a signature above the line.
- Touch " Done ”.
Step 10. Touch Done
The signed document will be saved.
Tips
- When you open a document in Notebook, you can adjust the color, crop, or rotate the image by touching the options shown at the bottom of the screen.
- You can add additional text to the document after you finish scanning it.
