We will teach you how to scan documents in Android using two easy methods so that you can digitize your documents.
Scanning documents is not a fun task at all, but we all sometimes have to do it. Fortunately, with your Android device, you can quickly scan your documents without any special equipment.
This article gives you a simple guide to what it takes to digitalize your receipt or scan a government form the next time you need to email it, or if you want attractive business cards on your computer. Save, you can scan documents from Android devices.
The easiest way to scan documents on Android: Google Drive
Android does not provide an in-app method for scanning documents, so the easiest option is to use the Google Drive app. Since this program is installed on all Android devices that come out of the box for the first time, it can be used as the default method.
There are also several benefits to scanning documents using Google Drive. Since this program uploads the scans performed by you to your drive account, you no longer need to back them up manually; You can also easily share your scans by sending a drive link to your family or co-workers.
How to scan documents using the Google Drive app
If you do not have Google Drive installed on your device, download it now from the Play Store and after installing it, open the program and log in to your Google account. Tap the plus button in the lower right corner of the image to display the Create New panel. After displaying this panel, tap Scan.
If this is your first time using Google Drive, you should give this app access to use the camera. After doing this, the camera will launch and allow you to take a photo of the document you want to scan. Use the camera interface normally to take photos. Common options such as zoom and timer are available if needed.
After taking the photo, you will see a preview of your photo; Tap Retry again or try Ok if you like. After hitting Ok, you have the ability to make multiple edits to your photo.
Edit Scan in Google Drive
Google Drive provides four features for editing scans, from left to right:
- Redo: To re-scan the document, tap this arrow, which is useful if the image is blurred.
- Color: The color box icon of the painting allows you to choose one of the four features provided. Depending on the color of the scan of your documents, using the Black & White feature is the most common; But you can try two more to see if they improve the quality of the scan.
- Rotate: Use this to rotate the scan at a 90 degree angle.
- Crop: The Google Drive scanner should automatically cut the edges of your scan, but if this is not done correctly, you can use the crop tool to cut the scan edges of your documents.
If you want to add more scans, tap the plus option in the lower-left corner of the screen to scan another document. Finally, several other options appear using the three-point menu at the top right of the screen. Using the Rename Scan option, you can change the name of the scan, which is named by default using the date and time.
There are several other options in the Setting section that are also worth considering. The Image enhancement option allows you to set the scan to the default color enhancement. Paper Size allows you to resize the final PDF document, while in the Paper Orientation option you can select the paper orientation. Finally, by changing the Image Quality, you can increase the quality of the scan, or to reduce its size, you can reduce the quality.
View and save scanned documents in Google Drive
After editing, return to the scan home screen and tap Save. Here again, you have the opportunity to change the title of the document if you have not already, and also choose which Google account to save the file to (if you have multiple accounts). Select a folder, then tap Save to upload the scan.
You can view the PDF file on your Google Drive whenever you want. If you want to access it even without an internet connection, tap the three-dot button on the file and select Make available offline; You can also download a copy to your phone memory.
How to scan documents using the Microsoft Lens app
While scanning documents on Android is easy using the Google Drive app, you may not be happy to use it for any reason. You may not want to use a Google Account, or you may not be satisfied with the fact that the document is uploaded to the drive and the cloud after each scan.
In this case, there are many document scanner programs that are worth using. We introduce you to one of the best of these programs; the Microsoft Lens program. This program is a very simple Android document scanner that allows you to save documents in the corner of your home after scanning them, which has solved the biggest problem for Google Driver users.
Download the Microsoft Lens app and open the app after installing it. Initially, a brief description of the app will be displayed to you in a brief description, and then you will be asked to give the app access to photos and a camera. After doing this, the lens allows you to enter the scan directly.
Scan modes in Microsoft Lens
Unlike Google Drive, the Microsoft Lens app offers different modes for scanning different types of documents. At the bottom of the screen you can change the camera mode to WHITEBOARD, DOCUMENT, ACTION, BUSINESS CARD and PHOTO. All of these modes are named based on their name, except for ACTION, which contains several tools.
In ACTION mode, you can select one of the tools provided in the menu, which are as follows:
- TEXT: With this option you can extract the text from the image so that you can copy or share it.
- TABLE: Prepares a table from the information in the image.
- READ: Reads the text of the image aloud.
- CONTACT: Extracts contact information on a business card and saves it as a contact on your phone.
- QR CODE: Scan a QR code to bring up its information.
Shooting and editing using Microsoft Lens
No matter which mode you use, scanning documents is still as simple as that. Place the camera on the relevant document and take a photo as usual. For best results, use a background that contrasts with the document you’re scanning, and hold your phone just above the document for a clearer picture.
After shooting with the lens, you can adjust the corners of the photo yourself if the program does not detect the corners correctly. After clicking on the CONFIRM option, you will see a page with a variety of options.
The Add option opens the scanner again, and you can add more photos to the document. You can use the Filter option to change the appearance of the image, and then use Crop and Rotate if the image does not have the correct angle and position.
In the More section, you can select Ink to draw on the photo with your finger, you can also use Text to add text to the photo, and with the Reorder option, you can re-arrange the items of the scan items. When you are satisfied, tap Done to continue.
Save and upload using the lens
You can now choose where to save your scanned file. Set the name of the extended file at the top of the page, then check the box for each location where you want to save the file. Your gallery is selected by default to save the scan as an image.
You can also save your action file as a PDF in OneDrive or other Microsoft applications such as OneNote and PowerPoint. You do not have to do this, but if you use Microsoft Office products, it will make your workflow more efficient.
Once done, tap Save and then your scan is complete. You can find the scanned file in the Office Lens folder of your phone, which should appear in your gallery app.
Android makes it easy to scan documents
Based on the contents of this post, we realized that you can have a suitable scanner on your Android phone. The next time you need to scan something, you no longer need to go to an Internet cafe or buy yourself a home scanner. Using these two Android apps to take photos and scan documents is very simple.
