This Is the Best Free IPhone Scanning App
The Notes app on the iPhone has a pretty nifty document scanner built into it. It does a great job of automatically detecting the edges of your document and will even detect text for you. But the problem is that the scanned text will be saved in the PDF note itself, which means you’ll have to manually export the document to do something really useful with it.
You can greatly improve this workflow by using the completely free QuickScan app. It has an edge over other alternatives because it’s one of the few apps that does all of its processing using Apple’s own tools, so you won’t be routing your data through any third party server.
But what really makes this app powerful is its workflow and built-in automation system. You can create an export profile with all your settings and pre-program a destination for your documents. When you’re done scanning, the app will automatically format and save the PDF file to the location you choose – even to a cloud service like Dropbox.
Here is an example of how it works. Open the QuickScan app, click the New Scan button, and start capturing pages with the Shutter button (the app does the cropping automatically). When you’re done scanning, click the Save button.
Instantly you will see a grid of all your scanned pages. You can drag and drop pages to rearrange them and tap on a page to see a full preview or edit. Here you can click the Live Text button to highlight and select text individually. If you tap on the ” Eye ” icon on the bottom toolbar, the application will scan and recognize all the text inside the document. You can then view and copy the text.
Click the ” Share ” icon and you can export a PDF, JPG, or plain text document with or without password protection. Click the “Select Destination” button, then share it through the Files app, any messaging app, or simply copy the result to your clipboard.
Next, we automate the entire process. While you are on the Export page, go to the Export Favorites section and create a new Favorite . Choose where you want to save the file (locally or in the cloud), then define the rest of the options, including the file type. Give your automation a name and click the Save button. Now you can go to ” Settings ” > ” Auto Export ” > ” Enabled ” and select the export profile you just created.
Your automation is now set up. The next time you scan the pages and click the Save button, the application will automatically export the document with your settings to the destination. For me, it’s the Documents folder in iCloud Drive. (If you enjoy this free app as much as I do, be sure to tip the developer!)
[ Reddit ]