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People also forget that you can use Preview to scan documents from your scanner rather than using whatever shitty software came with yours. Also, Preview > Fil

People also forget that you can use Preview to scan documents from your scanner rather than using whatever shitty software came with yours. Also, Preview > File > Import from iPhone > Scan Documents gives you a virtual scanner instead of having to install one of those "scanner" apps on your phone. Its built into your iPhone already! I also use it frequently to change image file types. You can also make a digital version of your signature from a picture of physical version. There's just tons of small features that work well.

josephg 4y ago
If you want to scan a document and have an iphone handy, you can also right click in Finder and "Scan document... from iPhone". It opens a UI on your phone that I've never seen before, and "scans" (photographs) pages of a document. When you're done the results end up in a new PDF wherever you clicked.
- kevinsundar 4y ago
  Ah I just added this to my comment as you were typing it up. I've used this feature a lot too. Works well.
- jeffbee 4y ago
  Preview has other interactions with iOS and iPadOS, too. If you enter markup mode you can draw all over a PDF with your phone or tablet.
  - wiredfool 4y ago
    How do you trigger this? I'm not seeing it on Monterey + ios 15.4.
    - jeffbee 4y ago
      There are some prerequisites like having the same icloud account signed in on both mac and iphone. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204975 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204975
- MawKKe 4y ago
  That iOS scan feature is "hidden" in the Files app. Open it on your phone and press the three dots in the top right corner and it should have "scan documents" option. You can also select "black & white" mode for text documents which saves a ton of space
  - jitl 4y ago
    Notes.app also exposes scanning… but often I want to scan to camera roll. They should add a button in Camera.
    - cyral 4y ago
      I only knew about it through notes and thought it was neat but a little clunky... This "Scan from iPhone" feature is great, wish they made it easier to find as I've used MacOS for years and never knew about it.
  - leodriesch 4y ago
    You can also add Notes to your control center in settings. You can then long press the notes icon in control center and choose “Scan document”.
    - MawKKe 4y ago
      True, however it seems that you cannot export the scan as-is from the Notes app; the resulting file is padded weirdly for whatever stupid reason. No such ”feature” is forced on the scans via the Files app scan.
jdwithit 4y ago
Holy hell, I'm glad I clicked on this story. Had no idea this feature existed, I've been using much clunkier solutions to get a photo or document over from my phone. Thanks!
apnsngr 4y ago
There is also the built in Image Capture app that works with most flatbed scanners or printer/scanner combos. It has its own quirks, but works better than any manufacturer software I’ve ever tried.
- JKCalhoun 4y ago
  Agree. Works out of the box with every Epson flatbed scanner I've attached.
saagarjha 4y ago
The Scanner feature is actually PrinterProxy.app, rather than Preview.
robin_reala 4y ago
Oh wow, I use iPhone Notes to scan documents when out and about quite often, but I had no idea Preview could connect to it. Thanks!
ask_b123 4y ago
For scanning there's also Image Capture.app which also comes with the OS. I haven't tried using it with the phone though, just a normal printer/scanner.
- haroldp 4y ago
  I like Image Capture.app when I want to scan a multi-page document to one PDF
kccqzy 4y ago
I've always used the built-in Image Capture app to do tjr scanning, mainly because the app seems to open automatically when I plug in my USB flatbed scanner.
skrtskrt 4y ago
People probably forget that because the Preview UI is extremely minimalist, like it doesn't want to tell you about all its capabilities
specialist 4y ago
> ...rather than using whatever shitty software came with yours. I just helped a friend setup a Brother all-in-one for use with their newish Lenova Windows 11. Two hours. No way they could have figured this out on their own. So many hoops, glitches. Everything was ... so ... slow. With Mac & iPhone, printing and scanning Just Work. Having not used Windows for ages, I can't believe how bad that stack, ecosystem, tech culture remains. Just turrible.

josephg 4y ago

If you want to scan a document and have an iphone handy, you can also right click in Finder and "Scan document... from iPhone". It opens a UI on your phone that I've never seen before, and "scans" (photographs) pages of a document. When you're done the results end up in a new PDF wherever you clicked.

kevinsundar 4y ago
Ah I just added this to my comment as you were typing it up. I've used this feature a lot too. Works well.
jeffbee 4y ago
Preview has other interactions with iOS and iPadOS, too. If you enter markup mode you can draw all over a PDF with your phone or tablet.
- wiredfool 4y ago
  How do you trigger this? I'm not seeing it on Monterey + ios 15.4.
  - jeffbee 4y ago
    There are some prerequisites like having the same icloud account signed in on both mac and iphone. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204975 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204975
MawKKe 4y ago
That iOS scan feature is "hidden" in the Files app. Open it on your phone and press the three dots in the top right corner and it should have "scan documents" option. You can also select "black & white" mode for text documents which saves a ton of space
- jitl 4y ago
  Notes.app also exposes scanning… but often I want to scan to camera roll. They should add a button in Camera.
  - cyral 4y ago
    I only knew about it through notes and thought it was neat but a little clunky... This "Scan from iPhone" feature is great, wish they made it easier to find as I've used MacOS for years and never knew about it.
- leodriesch 4y ago
  You can also add Notes to your control center in settings. You can then long press the notes icon in control center and choose “Scan document”.
  - MawKKe 4y ago
    True, however it seems that you cannot export the scan as-is from the Notes app; the resulting file is padded weirdly for whatever stupid reason. No such ”feature” is forced on the scans via the Files app scan.

jdwithit 4y ago

Holy hell, I'm glad I clicked on this story. Had no idea this feature existed, I've been using much clunkier solutions to get a photo or document over from my phone. Thanks!

apnsngr 4y ago

There is also the built in Image Capture app that works with most flatbed scanners or printer/scanner combos. It has its own quirks, but works better than any manufacturer software I’ve ever tried.

JKCalhoun 4y ago
Agree. Works out of the box with every Epson flatbed scanner I've attached.

saagarjha 4y ago

The Scanner feature is actually PrinterProxy.app, rather than Preview.

robin_reala 4y ago

Oh wow, I use iPhone Notes to scan documents when out and about quite often, but I had no idea Preview could connect to it. Thanks!

ask_b123 4y ago

For scanning there's also Image Capture.app which also comes with the OS. I haven't tried using it with the phone though, just a normal printer/scanner.

haroldp 4y ago
I like Image Capture.app when I want to scan a multi-page document to one PDF

kccqzy 4y ago

I've always used the built-in Image Capture app to do tjr scanning, mainly because the app seems to open automatically when I plug in my USB flatbed scanner.

skrtskrt 4y ago

People probably forget that because the Preview UI is extremely minimalist, like it doesn't want to tell you about all its capabilities

specialist 4y ago

> ...rather than using whatever shitty software came with yours. I just helped a friend setup a Brother all-in-one for use with their newish Lenova Windows 11. Two hours. No way they could have figured this out on their own. So many hoops, glitches. Everything was ... so ... slow. With Mac & iPhone, printing and scanning Just Work. Having not used Windows for ages, I can't believe how bad that stack, ecosystem, tech culture remains. Just turrible.