In today’s digital age, the need to share documents digitally rather than physically is increasingly common. However, simply taking a photo of a document often results in a less clear and less professional-looking digital copy compared to a scanned document. Scanned documents, especially in PDF format, are widely preferred, particularly by institutions and organizations requiring digital submissions.
Why Choose PDF for Digital Documents?
The PDF format stands out from formats like Word documents, which are typically created from typed files. PDF (Portable Document Format) ensures that the content of a file remains unalterable, maintaining document integrity. Furthermore, PDFs are universally accessible across various applications and devices without compromising the original formatting or layout. Unlike Word documents, which can shift spacing, fonts, and overall structure when opened in different software versions, PDFs preserve the intended presentation.
How to Scan Photos to PDF Using Google Drive on Your Android Phone
You no longer need dedicated scanning equipment or printers with scan functionality to digitize documents. If you own a smartphone with a decent camera and good lighting conditions, your phone camera can produce reasonably good scans. Many assume that converting a photo of a document to PDF necessitates a separate application. However, Android devices come with a built-in application, Google Drive, which conveniently offers both scanning and PDF conversion features.
Here’s how to scan a document to PDF directly on your Android phone using Google Drive:
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Open the Google Drive application on your Android phone. Tap the “+” icon, usually located in the bottom right corner to add new actions. From the menu that appears, select “Scan”.
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Position your document for scanning. Ensure good lighting to avoid shadows on the document during the photo capture or scan process. Once you are ready, tap the shutter icon to take a photo of the document. After capturing the image, select the checkmark icon to confirm.
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On the subsequent screen, you’ll see options to refine your scan. Look for the “Crop” icon, typically found in the bottom right toolbar, above the “Save” button. In the Crop section, adjust the boundary points to accurately select the document area you want to scan, eliminating any unnecessary background.
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Once you have finished cropping, tap “Done”, followed by “Save”. You will now be prompted to choose a location within your Google Drive to save your PDF scan and to name your file appropriately.
After saving, your scanned document is now in PDF format within your Google Drive. You can then download the file from Google Drive if you wish to share it through other applications or print it. One drawback of this method is that all scanned files are automatically saved to Google Drive. Downloading them for other uses will consume your internet data.
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