MRS BlogBlog · Topics
Document scanning
How to scan documents with an iPhone: Notes, Files or a scanner app, good light and angles, ID cards and receipts, and clean multi-page PDFs.
How to scan medical records at home and keep them private
Lab results, discharge papers, vaccination cards and bills pile up in a folder you can never search. Here is how to scan medical records with your iPhone, name and file them, and when to ask your provider for the official copy instead.
How to add a page to a PDF on iPhone: blank, photo or scan
A form arrives with a page missing, or a contract needs one more page for signatures. How to add a blank page, a photo page or a scan to a PDF on your iPhone, and how to check the result.
How to store important documents at home and on your iPhone
Birth certificates, passports, deeds and insurance papers need a safe home and a copy you can find in a minute. Here is where to keep the originals, how to keep a digital copy on your iPhone, and a yearly routine that keeps both up to date.
How to scan a signature and put it on any PDF
You want your real handwritten signature on PDFs and forms without printing them. Here are the ways to scan a signature on iPhone, what each one leaves behind, and which gives the cleanest result.
How to make a PDF on iPhone from paper, photos, notes and pages
A form to send back, a receipt, a page of notes or a web page: your iPhone can turn each of them into a PDF without a computer. Here are the six built-in ways, which one fits what you start from, and when a scanner app is the better choice.
What is OCR and what does it do to a scanned PDF?
OCR stands for optical character recognition. Here is what it does to a scan, how the software reads letters, how accurate it is and when you need it.
How to scan double-sided documents into one PDF, front and back in order
A lease or a tax form printed on both sides should arrive as one PDF in reading order. Here is the flip-as-you-go method on iPhone, plus what printers do.
How to scan a passport on iPhone: a sharp copy of the data page
A new employer, a visa form or a rental agency wants a scanned copy of your passport and you only have an iPhone. Here is how to scan the data page flat, without glare, with both machine-readable lines readable, and how to send it safely.
How to scan a book to PDF with your iPhone, page by page
Turn a textbook, workbook, recipe book or notebook into a searchable PDF on your iPhone: the setup, the page-by-page routine and the fixes for curved pages and glare.
How to copy text from an image on iPhone with Live Text and OCR
The words you need are in a photo, a screenshot or a letter on your desk. How to copy them on iPhone with Live Text, and how to keep paper pages searchable with OCR.
How to scan an ID card with iPhone: front, back, one clean PDF
A landlord, a new employer or a school wants a copy of your driver's license or passport today. Here is how to scan both sides with your iPhone into one readable PDF, without glare and without sending more than they asked for.
How to scan receipts on iPhone, read the totals and stop losing them
Paper receipts fade, crumple and vanish right before the expense report is due. Here is how to scan them on your iPhone, pull out the shop, date and total, and file them so you find each one again at tax time.