Use the Built-in Document Scanner on iPhone and iPad

Edited by Jay

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Use Apple's built-in document scanner to quickly and accurately scan documents, books, flyers, business cards, and nearly anything in physical print form. Of course, there are several popular third-party apps specifically designed for document scanning. Still, if you like to keep things light on your device application-wise, you can use the in-house canner.

There are two ways (that we know of) to access Apple's document scanner on iPhone and iPad; via the Notes app, as well as the Files app. The Files app route requires a few extra steps, but it's still worth knowing if you often use the Files application.

In the following VisiHow guide, we're going to show how to scan documents using the built-in scanner for iPhone and iPad.

For this tutorial, we used an iPhone 7 running iOS 14.

Scan Documents From the Notes App on iPhone and iPad

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  1. 1
    Tap the Notes icon.
    NorthernTouch Use-the-Built-in-Document-Scanner-on-iPhone-and-iPad-01.jpg
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  2. 2
    Select an existing note or create a new one.
    NorthernTouch Use-the-Built-in-Document-Scanner-on-iPhone-and-iPad-02.jpg
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  3. 3
    Tap the Camera icon in the bottom center of the screen or just above the keyboard (if you're typing), then tap Scan Documents.
    NorthernTouch Use-the-Built-in-Document-Scanner-on-iPhone-and-iPad-03.jpg
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  4. 4
    Hover your device above your document so it's visible within the frame, then tap the shutter button.
    NorthernTouch Use-the-Built-in-Document-Scanner-on-iPhone-and-iPad-04.jpg
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  5. 5
    Tap Save.
    NorthernTouch Use-the-Built-in-Document-Scanner-on-iPhone-and-iPad-05.jpg
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  6. 6
    To access your scanned documents, launch the Notes app.
    NorthernTouch Use-the-Built-in-Document-Scanner-on-iPhone-and-iPad-01.jpg
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  7. 7
    Your scanned documents will be attached to the note you used in step # 2.
    NorthernTouch Use-the-Built-in-Document-Scanner-on-iPhone-and-iPad-06.jpg
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Scan Documents From the Files App on iPhone and iPad

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  1. 1
    Tap the Files' app shortcut.
    NorthernTouch Use-the-Built-in-Document-Scanner-on-iPhone-and-iPad-07.jpg
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  2. 2
    Tap the horizontal ellipse menu icon in the upper-right corner, then tap Scan Documents.
    NorthernTouch Use-the-Built-in-Document-Scanner-on-iPhone-and-iPad-08.jpg
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  3. 3
    Position your device so the entire document is visible, then tap the shutter button.
    NorthernTouch Use-the-Built-in-Document-Scanner-on-iPhone-and-iPad-04.jpg
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  4. 4
    Tap Save.
    NorthernTouch Use-the-Built-in-Document-Scanner-on-iPhone-and-iPad-05.jpg
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  5. 5
    Your scanned documents are located in Settings > Apple ID > iCloud Drive.
    NorthernTouch Use-the-Built-in-Document-Scanner-on-iPhone-and-iPad-09.jpg
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If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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Article Info

Categories : IPhone | Use iOS 14 | Software

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