Guides & tips
Articles: scanning, OCR and PDF guides
Clear, practical guides for scanning documents with your phone, recognising text and working with PDF files — all with free tools that keep your files private.
How to scan documents to PDF on AndroidScan paper to PDF on any Android phone — with the Osd-Scan app, in the browser, or with Google's built-in tools. Step-by-step, free, and with no uploads.Read guide How to scan documents to PDF on iPhone and iPadScan paper to PDF on iPhone or iPad — using Osd-Scan, Safari, or Apple's Notes and Files apps. Clean, straight, multi-page PDFs with OCR, free and private.Read guide How to scan receipts with your phone so they stay readableScan paper receipts for expenses, warranties and taxes. Fix faded thermal paper, combine receipts into one PDF and keep them organized — free and private.Read guide How to scan an ID card front and back on one pageCopy both sides of an ID card, driver's license or passport card onto a single A4 PDF page at real size — exactly what forms ask for. Free and private.Read guide How to scan a book with your phone without damaging the spineScan book pages to PDF with your phone. Book mode splits each spread into two pages, flattens curved lines and removes the shadow in the gutter.Read guide How to scan multiple pages into one PDF fileScan a multi-page document into a single PDF with your phone. Continuous auto-capture, reordering, and merging scans you already have — free and private.Read guide How to scan a whiteboard and save meeting notes as a PDFCapture whiteboard and flip-chart notes with your phone. Remove glare and grey background, boost marker colors and share a clean PDF with your team.Read guide 12 tips for perfect phone scans every timeLighting, background, angle and filter tips that make phone scans look like they came from a real scanner. Practical advice for documents, receipts and IDs.Read guide How to remove shadows from scanned documentsGet rid of hand and phone shadows, grey patches and uneven light in document photos. Prevent shadows while scanning and clean them up automatically afterwards.Read guide Phone scanner vs flatbed scanner — which should you use?Compare phone scanning apps with flatbed and sheet-fed scanners on quality, speed, cost and privacy, and learn when each one is the right choice.Read guide How to scan documents without installing an appScan paper to PDF directly in your phone's browser — no app, no account and no upload. Works in Chrome, Safari, Samsung Internet and Firefox.Read guide How to scan handwritten notes to a clear PDFTurn notebook pages, lecture notes and sketches into clean PDFs. Make pencil readable, remove lined-paper grey and organize notes by subject.Read guide How to go paperless at home: a simple system that worksA step-by-step plan to digitize bills, contracts, receipts and records with your phone, organize them in folders, back them up and shred the paper safely.Read guide How to scan documents for job, visa and university applicationsMeet portal rules for scanned documents — PDF format, size limits, page order and legibility. Merge, compress and name files the way reviewers expect.Read guide What is OCR? Optical character recognition explained simplyOCR turns images of text into real, searchable text. Learn how it works, when to use it, how accurate it is and how to OCR a PDF or photo for free.Read guide OCR for Hebrew and Arabic documents — recognizing right-to-left textMake Hebrew, Arabic, Persian and Urdu scans searchable. How right-to-left OCR works, how to handle mixed English text and get the best accuracy free.Read guide How to make a scanned PDF searchableAdd an invisible OCR text layer to scanned PDFs so you can search, select and copy text — without changing how the pages look. Free, in 24 languages, no upload.Read guide How to copy text from an image or photoExtract text from photos, screenshots and scanned images with free OCR. Copy it, edit it or save it as a text file — in 24 languages, without uploading.Read guide How to convert a scanned PDF to an editable Word documentTurn scanned PDFs and photos into editable Word (DOCX) files with OCR. Tips for accuracy, layout limits and editing Hebrew and Arabic documents — free.Read guide How to extract all text from a PDF — even scanned onesPull every word out of a PDF into a plain text file. Works for digital and scanned PDFs with OCR, in 24 languages, without uploading your document.Read guide How to merge PDF files into one documentCombine several PDFs into a single file in the order you choose. Merge on phone or computer, add scans and images, and keep sensitive files private.Read guide How to split a PDF into separate filesSplit a PDF by page ranges, every N pages or into single pages. Save only the pages you need — on phone or computer, free and without uploading.Read guide How to compress a PDF without losing qualityMake PDFs smaller while keeping text sharp. Learn what makes PDFs big, which compression level to choose, and how to shrink scanned PDFs dramatically.Read guide How to reduce a PDF's size for emailGet a PDF under your email or portal limit — 25 MB, 10 MB, 5 MB or even 1 MB. Step-by-step compression, splitting and scanning tips that keep text readable.Read guide How to sign a PDF on your phone or computerAdd your signature to any PDF — draw it, type it or upload a photo. Place it anywhere, add dates and initials, and keep contracts private. Free, no account.Read guide How to password protect a PDFLock a PDF with a password using strong AES-256 encryption. Learn how to choose a good password, restrict printing or copying, and share protected files safely.Read guide How to remove a password from a PDFRemove the open password and restrictions from a PDF you're allowed to open — bank statements, payslips and reports — so you don't type the password every time.Read guide How to rotate PDF pages permanentlyFix sideways or upside-down PDF pages and save the rotation for good. Rotate all pages or just selected ones — on phone or computer, free and private.Read guide How to delete pages from a PDFRemove blank, duplicate or unwanted pages from a PDF visually. Select the pages, delete them and download a clean file — on any device, without uploading.Read guide How to extract pages from a PDF into a new fileSave selected pages of a PDF as a new document — just the pages you need from a statement, contract or report. Visual, free and without uploading.Read guide How to reorder and organize PDF pagesDrag and drop PDF pages into the right order, rotate and delete pages, add blank pages and combine several PDFs page by page — free, visual and private.Read guide How to add page numbers to a PDFNumber PDF pages in the position and style you want — "Page 1 of 10", Hebrew formats or custom text. Start from any number and skip cover pages. Free.Read guide How to add a watermark to a PDFStamp "CONFIDENTIAL", "DRAFT", "COPY" or your logo on PDF pages. Choose position, transparency and a tiled pattern that's hard to remove. Free and private.Read guide How to redact a PDF properly so hidden text can't be recoveredBlack out names, ID numbers and account details permanently. Why black boxes aren't enough, how true redaction works, and how to check your redacted PDF.Read guide How to edit text in a PDF for freeFix a typo, add a date, fill a form or cover old text in a PDF. Use white-out and text boxes, highlight and draw — in the browser, free and without uploading.Read guide How to convert JPG and other images to PDFTurn JPG, PNG and WEBP images into a PDF — one page per image or all in one file. Choose page size, orientation and margins. Free, fast and private.Read guide How to convert a PDF to JPG or PNG imagesSave every page of a PDF as a JPG or PNG image at 72, 150 or 300 dpi. Share pages on social media, insert them into slides or print them — free and private.Read guide How to compare two PDF files and find the differencesSee what changed between two versions of a contract, policy or report. Compare text side by side, highlight additions and deletions — free and private.Read guide How to repair a corrupted or damaged PDFFix PDFs that won't open, show errors or display blank pages. Learn common causes of PDF corruption and rebuild damaged files for free in your browser.Read guide How to crop a PDF and remove white marginsTrim margins or keep only part of a PDF page — for reading on phones, cleaning up scans or extracting a figure. Apply to all pages or one page, free.Read guide How to convert a PDF to black and whiteTurn a color PDF into grayscale to save printer ink, meet submission rules or shrink scanned documents. Choose quality and keep text sharp — free.Read guide How to convert text to a clean PDFTurn plain text or .txt files into a neat, printable PDF with automatic wrapping, adjustable font size and margins — including Hebrew and Arabic.Read guide How to add text, images and logos to a PDFType into PDF forms, add notes, insert a logo or stamp image, draw boxes and highlights. A simple free PDF editor that works in your browser without uploads.Read guide Are online PDF tools safe? What really happens to your filesMost free PDF websites upload your documents to their servers. Learn the risks, what to look for, and how browser-based tools keep files on your device.Read guide PDF vs JPG: which format is best for documents?When to save a scan as PDF and when as JPG. Compare quality, file size, multiple pages, printing, OCR and compatibility — with simple recommendations.Read guide A4 vs US Letter: page sizes explained for PDFs and scansThe difference between A4 and US Letter, which countries use which, and how to choose the right page size when scanning, converting images or printing PDFs.Read guide How to organize receipts for taxes and expenses digitallyA simple system to scan, name and store receipts for tax returns, self-employed expenses and reimbursements — searchable, backed up and accountant-friendly.Read guide How to send documents as a PDF on WhatsAppStop sending blurry document photos. Scan to a clean PDF and share it on WhatsApp in full quality — on Android and iPhone, with tips on size and privacy.Read guide How to convert HEIC iPhone photos to PDFiPhone photos are saved as HEIC. Learn how to turn HEIC photos into PDF on iPhone, Mac or Windows — and how to scan documents so they arrive as clean PDFs.Read guide
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