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Despite the digital age we live in, we still deal with a considerable amount of paper in our lives. Receipts, bills, statements, letters, and other documents accumulate, cluttering our homes, and offices. Fortunately, there’s a solution to this problem: scanning and digitizing documents on your iPhone. This article will guide you through the process of scanning documents, capturing the text, and converting the words on a page into searchable, editable text on your phone screen.
Scan Text with Microsoft Office Lens
There are several scanner apps available on the iPhone, but one of our favorites is Microsoft’s Office Lens. This app is free and can capture text from documents, business cards, photos, and even whiteboards, making it ideal for quick note-taking sessions after a planning meeting.
Office Lens also has the useful feature of creating angled images (such as a whiteboard you’re sitting on one side of) or flattened images that look like normal documents. The app can also convert text in an image into words, which is invaluable when digitizing important documents.
Capture a Picture with Office Lens
To get started, visit the Apple App Store, and search for “Microsoft Office Lens.” After downloading the app, you’ll need to create a free Microsoft account because the service works best when linked to OneDrive for storage.
Once your account is active, launch the Office Lens app, and give permission to use the camera on your iPhone. This is how the app captures information.
In the middle of the screen, you’ll see a white square/rectangle indicating which part of the picture the camera is currently targeting. The scrollable menu just above the shutter button moves through the available media types – business card, photo, document, and whiteboard –, all of which optimize the camera for each specific choice.
When you’ve found the relevant type, position the camera, and tap the shutter button. Office Lens will quickly render the image to make it flat and on full display. Once you’re satisfied with the results, tap the Done button in the top-right corner.
A menu with the available locations to share the picture appears. In this case, select OneNote, name the file, tap Save, and the picture will be automatically saved to the OneDrive servers.
Edit Text with OneNote
When Office Lens completes the image transfer, you’ll be given the option to open it. Do this, and OneNote will open the image for you.
Now tap on the image to open the edit menu, tap on the right arrow to scroll through the options, and tap on “Copy Text.”
Next, tap and hold your finger on an empty space of the document until the “Paste” option appears. Tap this, and any captured text will be placed into the document in a standard size that you can edit or copy. That’s it – an easy way to capture words from images and convert them into editable text.
FAQs
What is the best app for scanning documents on iPhone?
While there are several good options, Microsoft Office Lens is one of the best scanner apps for iPhones. It’s available for free on the App Store and lets you capture text from documents, whiteboards, business cards, and photos. It has a simple interface, useful features, and can convert images into editable text.
Can I convert scanned text into editable text on my iPhone?
Yes, you can. The Microsoft Office Lens app can capture text from images and convert it into editable text on your iPhone screen. You can also use other apps like Adobe Scan or Scanner Pro to do the same. Once you’ve captured the image, you can edit the text in apps like Microsoft Word or OneNote.