Scan documents with the Notes app on iPhone

I bet, if you have been using iPhone for a few years now, you must have tried some popular document scanner apps Office Lens or others. But not many are aware, that Apple's smartphone itself is equipped with a scanner-like function found in the Notes app on iPhone. Let's find how to scan a document with iPhone.

How to scan documents with the Notes app on iPhone?

Notes app on iPhone allows its users to scan documents without installing third-party apps and scan multiple pages into one PDF file. In just a few simple steps, you can get a solidly scanned document ready to be shared across multiple devices. Here’s how to scan a document on iPhone.

1. Launch the Notes app.
2. Open a note and tap the camera icon.
3. Select the Scan Documents option.
4. Position the document in view.
5. Tap the Keep Scan option.
6. Hit the Save button.
7. Share the document.

How to scan a document on iPhone?

Launch Notes app on your iPhone. (You can use the app to create a new note directly in the Notes app. Or you can ask Siri to start one for you).

Open a new or existing note and tap the camera icon at the bottom of the app screen.

Next, choose ‘Scan Documents’ option.

Position your document in the camera’s view. Here’ you can either use the auto-capture option by bringing your document into the viewfinder or use the shutter button to capture the positioned area.

Adjust the corners of the scan by dragging, if needed, and tap the ‘Keep Scan’ button. Scan more pages if required.

Choose the desired style for your copy. By default, the options available are,

• Color
• Greyscale
• Black & White
• Photo.

Tap the ‘Save’ button visible in the bottom right corner of your iPhone screen.

Your scanned document will be ready. Tapping the share button from within the scanned docs will allow you to markup, markup as PDF, print, copy, and share.

So, if you would like to edit the document, there’s an option to rename it. Besides, there's an editing toolbar residing at the bottom of your screen. You can use it to add more pages, change the filter, rotate, and crop.

A good feature about the Apple Notes app is that its scanning tool works well, irrespective of the size of a document. Also, see our earlier post - How to record iPhone screen with iOS screen recorder feature and Switch to Theater Mode in Apple Watch.