- You can scan documents directly on your iPhone using the Notes app and your phone’s camera.
- You can then edit the document in Notes and share it via email, iMessage, and AirDrop, or save it to your iCloud Drive or a Dropbox.
- iPhone users can also scan QR Codes with their phone’s camera – simply point and hold the camera at a code to scan it in seconds.
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We’ve come a long way since fax machines and scanners were the primary means of sending off your documents.
Today, you don’t even need additional office equipment to scan and send your documents, you can do it directly from your iPhone. With iOS 11, Apple finally integrated a scanner into the Notes app.
Want to try it out for yourself? Follow the steps below to scan a document on your iPhone:
How to scan a document on an iPhone’s Notes app
1. Locate and open your Notes app – it looks like a notepad! If you can’t find it, simply swipe right on your home screen and search “Notes.”
2. Now open an existing note or start a new one by pressing the pencil and pad icon in the bottom right corner.
3. At the bottom of your screen, or above your keypad if you're typing, you will see a "+" symbol inside a circle. Click this icon.
4. Click "Scan Documents" to activate your camera and start the scanning process.
5. At this point the two icons at the top of the screen allow you to set your flash setting (on, off, or auto), and your color setting (color, grayscale, black & white, or photo). Your iPhone will automatically detect the document, place a yellow box around it and immediately scan it.
- Note: If this isn't working for you, you can click "Auto" in the top right corner and change to "Manual" mode. Now position the camera over the document and press the capture button at the bottom when you're ready, it's the same button you use to take a photo.
6. Your image will now pop up ready for you to reposition the box around the document you want to scan. Press "Keep Scan" to continue or "Retake" to delete the file and start again.
7. The camera will activate again, allowing you to scan another document. Once you've finished scanning all of the pages you need, press "Save" in the bottom right corner to finish.
8. Your scanned document will now appear in your Note.
How to edit and share a scanned document on an iPhone
If you click on the scanned document, you'll be able you to crop the image, change color setting and rotate the image. You can also press the + in the bottom left corner to add another image to the scanned document or click the trash can in the bottom right to delete the document from your iPhone.
This is also where you'll go to share the document (after all the real reason you scanned the file in the first place is to send it to someone or save it for later!). Click on the share button in the top right corner (it's a symbol of a box with an upwards pointing arrow). This will give you the choice to share your file via email, a messaging app, or AirDrop. You can also save it to the Cloud, an iPhone-based storage drive, or convert it to PDF.
How to scan a QR code on an iPhone
But documents aren't the only item you can scan with your iPhone. Another of the iOS 11 updates was the addition of a QR Code scanner, which Apple integrated seamlessly into the camera app.
QR Codes are square matrix barcodes made up of smaller white and black squares. They were first used in Japan's automotive industry in the mid 1990s but are now used worldwide by companies who want to save you the hassle of having to type out a specific web address.
It's now super quick and easy to access the web address linked to the QR Code via your iPhone. Here's what you need to do:
1. Open your camera and position it so that the entire QR code image is visible. The iPhone will detect the barcode and put a yellow box around it.
2. Once it's been scanned, a notification bubble will appear at the top of the screen. Click this bubble to be taken to the website associated with the QR Code.
