How to scan a document to PDF with your camera
Scan to PDF turns photos of documents into a multi-page PDF. On a phone, Take a photo opens the rear camera directly; on a computer you can upload JPG, PNG or WebP images you already have.
It is for when there is no scanner around: a signed contract, a receipt for your expense report, or class notes you want to keep in one file.
Step by step
- Tap Take a photo to capture each page, or Choose images if you already have them.
- Put the pages in order in Your files with the up and down arrows.
- Choose the orientation (portrait or landscape), the page size (A4 or Fit to image) and the margin in points.
- Create the PDF and download it.
Taking photos that look like a scan
Lay the page on a flat, dark surface that contrasts with the paper, frame only the sheet and shoot straight down so it does not come out as a trapezoid. Use soft daylight and avoid the shadow of your own phone and flash glare on glossy paper.
The tool does not straighten or crop photos: what you capture is what goes on the page, so good framing saves work later.
Page options
A4 centres each photo on a standard page, which is best for printing or sending to an office. Fit to image makes every page the exact size of its photo. The margin goes from 0 to 72 points (72 points is one inch); the default is 18.
The resulting PDF contains images, not text. To search or copy the text, run it through OCR PDF afterwards and choose the Shadows or uneven lighting background option.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I scan several pages into one PDF?
- Yes. Take one photo per page; they all go into the same document in the order of the list.
- Will the PDF have selectable text?
- Not straight away, since they are photos. Apply OCR PDF afterwards to add a searchable text layer.
- Which image formats are accepted?
- JPG, PNG and WebP.
- Are my photos kept?
- No. They are used only to build the PDF and deleted from the server when the job ends.
- Is there a size limit?
- Each job accepts up to 50 MB. If you take many high-resolution photos, you can compress the PDF afterwards.