You Can Now Also Scan Documents to Google Files
Last week there were some great updates to the Google Drive Document Scanner . First of all, it’s finally available on iPhone (thank goodness), but the Android version also gets some exclusive new features, including automatic document capture when the camera detects them, an improved viewfinder, and the ability to upload documents directly from your phone.
But apparently Google isn’t just aiming for Drive to become your document scanning hub. As Twitter user @Nail_Sadykov discovered, the company is also rolling out similar functionality for Google Files (at least on Android):
Once this feature is available on your device, you’ll see a camera icon in the bottom right corner of the Files window, just like it appears in Google Drive. Tapping it will open the same document scanner that Google added to Drive, including all the new updates.
The tool gives you the choice of how to scan documents: Manually or Automatically Capture. Handheld capture means you can position the document in the viewfinder yourself and scan it as if you were taking a photograph. Auto-capture, on the other hand, hands over control to the files: when the app detects the boundaries of the document you’re trying to scan, it automatically captures it for you.
According to Nail Sadykov, the documents you scan with this tool will be saved either in the 0/Files by Google/Scanned folder or in the Documents and More folder under the Scanned tab. Google Drive and Google Files scanners seem to use the same underlying technology, so you don’t need to favor one over the other if you’re concerned about scanning files in the best quality. If you prefer to store your documents in files, use a file scanner. If you prefer Drive, scan there.
Of course, to select Files, you’ll need this feature. At present it seems to be developing quite slowly. My Pixel 8 Pro doesn’t have it yet, and neither does Rajesh Pandey from Android Police .