How To Use Your iPhone As a Scanner For Your Mac

[@Bidouz79]

What I love about Gary is that despite I know how to do most of the things he shows but I know that I’ll always learn something new in the videos. Great content!

[@Erin-Thor]

Yes, his skill at teaching me something new every episode is both unique and awesome! 😎

[@garynagle3093]

Same for me. Love his lessons

[@toddt6730]

That is true, but one day I may need to scan something that way and I'll remember that it can be done, I'll have to watch the video again though

[@Nutwigg1]

I had no idea this existed. In fact, I was contemplating buying a scanner ‘just in case.’ I’ll keep this in mind when I need to scan something. My needs are generally very basic and simple (like needing to scan a page or two). This will definitely suffice. Thanks for all you do, Prof.

[@madsbechmadsen]

Thanks Gary ! - I'm gonna be a restored hero in the family - One is study at the Uni - she can really use this feature - now she can get documents etc. direct to the m.pro as pdf. - and not just as photos on the phone.

[@rhondamoore9842]

Perfect timing for this to pop up in my recommended videos! I need to scan tax documents for our tax preparer, and you made it easy!

[@ianh2674]

Thats a very useful feature, did not know it existed. Thanks for sharing Gary

[@axelBr1]

Have recently done this; I didn't realise you could turn off the auto scan, which can be a bit fast especially with the phone fixed in place and moving pages to scan into frame, (I tried making a home made scanner, based on units that can be found on line, but it didn't work well as the angle of the camera and the page must be the same as the depth of focus is very narrow), and got lots of duplicate scans or scans of document with my hand in the way.

[@csmith3564]

“. . . with the phone fixed in place and moving pages to scan into frame . . .” There is a remote shutter release for the iPhone that *reputedly* works: the Zuma Photo Video Bluetooth Remote Release. So a two-person operation with auto-scan turned off - - one person moves pages out of and into position, one person fires off the Zuma - - in theory could be fast. I have no idea if the theory would hold up in practice.

[@axelBr1]

P.S. And I didn't realise that a new document can be created directly in Finder, I had been opening a new Preview document for each document scanned.

[@MikeBeltracchi]

I've been scanning from my phone for a few years, but have now learned about Continuity, which is very cool.

[@Canadian_Living_in_Mexico]

Very good feature. I like how you show multiple ways to use the feature. Quick, but dumb question. I use list view in Finder and sometimes I cannot find any white space when I want to use the context menu. Am I missing something simple?

[@macmost]

There's always a sliver of space above the first item and below the last one.

[@Canadian_Living_in_Mexico]

@@macmost Thanks Gary, I had increased my pointer size to large in the accessibility settings and I was not able to find that sliver of space. I changed the pointer size and I can now find the white space above the first item and use the context menu.

[@JoelJacksStudio]

I've been scanning into my iPhone for a few years now but figured I could learn more from you, boy was I right! Man you once again completely opened my eyes to a MUCH better way to doing something I do almost daily. Thank you!

[@nicfarrow]

BRILLIANT YET AGAIN! I pay all this money for Apple, but barely know half the potential functions. Thanks to Gary, I am getting more bang for my buck!

[@AbdulRahman-ur9bw]

I have begun to realise that there are so many features that I did not know existed. This justifies the price we pay for Apple products, not just for the hardware but also for the software and applications that come with it. Thanks; I learnt a lot.

[@PhilChandlerArts]

This is really handy. I never knew it could do this. This is going to save a fair bit of time now. Cheers!

[@philiprand3720]

Nothing happened if I right-clicked or control-click - no menu invited me to scan..No problem, the initiate scan-in-iPhone worked and out came the document I had photographed from iPhone.

[@Patrick462]

As an Old, I recognize fellow Olds as we are the only ones who worry about file size.

[@sniffdogma]

Really loving this. Here I was going to buy a scanner and looking at reviews when I found your page, so Big Thanks. At first it didn't work, got error msg after my iPhone took the scan and/or said it timed out. So I updated to iOS 17.5 and voila. Thx so much from Vancouver, Canada, Jul. 2024, MacMost (trying to digitize all my lesson plans and years of forgotten papers) ~

[@alribisi]

Gary, can I use this to scan to text? I know I can do that in Notes

[@macmost]

You can use Live Text if you just want to capture some text from something with your camera. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWnUd4qHnst9r9E

[@BillSaltbush]

Sensational! I don't own a scanner and was just about to go running all over town to scan various documents for an application to the probate court. Now, I can do it at my desk. Whoo hoo!

[@zornanrichards]

This is brilliant. Didn’t know this was an option.

[@mehmd1913]

I use this almost every day. Arguably one of the most important features on the iPhone, at least for me. It is an indispensable tool.

[@elessar_111]

Great tips! I like this function but is there an automatic setting wherein it will automatically compensate to exclude the part of the photo/scan view that is beyond a page and send it as an already cropped/framed document page, eg. letter, business card, receipt (without that black border and curved page edge)? I use an app in my iphone called TurboScan that automatically excludes the surrounding area and crops it to the designated page dimensions (eg. letter, business card, etc., as set up in settings). I can also edit the framing. But in this case the file is saved in the phone so I would have to manually transfer it to my MacBook.

[@macmost]

Yes, it does this. Try it.

[@elessar_111]

Thank you I will.

[@ralphhennen5769]

As always, great video Gary - stuff I never knew - thanks. Question in the spirit of cross device scanning: is there any OCR function on the Mac end of this process - taking handwriting to text, say?

[@macmost]

There is no OCR, but once you have the scan on your Mac you can use Live Text to select text in images in the Preview app and most other places. But it probably won't work on handwriting as it is meant for printed text.

[@nfdavis1]

hey, I appreciate all your content. No matter what I do, I can't stop a blank sticky note from popping up on the desktop whenever I turn on my MacBook Pro. I've searched many help articles and can't seem to figure out what to do. Can you help me?

[@macmost]

Do you mean from the Stickies app? Or something else? Just quit the Stickies app if that is the case.

[@nfdavis1]

@@macmost the stickies app comes up and places and actual empty stickies in my desktop. I do quit it but it still Comes up every time I turn in my MacBook. Frustrating

[@macmost]

@@nfdavis1 How are you quitting Stickies? By actually going to Stickies, Quit Stickies? Or something else. Also, maybe check in System Settings, General, Login Items to make sure you somehow didn't add it there.

[@glenn_r_frank_author]

wow... why have I never known this was an option? I have been doing things the hard way! Thank you Thank you Thank you!

[@dansklrvids7303]

This channel is amazing

[@mendodsoregonbackroads6632]

I’ve been using Scanner Pro for a few years but I’m going to try this method now. I had no idea you could initiate a scan from a Mac.

[@TroyArn]

awesome. what about scanning pages from a book? If it's a dictionary for example, it doesn't come out right. cropping the corners helps, but doesn't account for the curvature of the page. is apple working on this, or is there an AI scanner app that automatically fixes this? thanks

[@macmost]

No, it's not meant for that. I would use a book scanning app (and probably hardware meant for books too).

[@gauravchopra181]

Amazing video. So clear, to the point. Can show how to add a network printer to a Mac?

[@macmost]

System Settings, Printers & Scanners, look for the button. If you can't find it there, check with the printer manufacturer as they should have instructions and may require you to download something first.

[@gauravchopra181]

@@macmost ok noted this did not work for some reason i will check with the manufacturer. are you able to help me connect to a server via ip address it says the folder has moved or no longer there where as there are no amendments done to it, please help

[@macmost]

@@gauravchopra181 Sorry, I don't know what you are dealing with. Not something I can help with here over comments.

[@LetsTravelThisYear]

Do you have any videos on how to make wifi calls from a phone(Samsung)?

[@macmost]

Samsung? No, wrong channel for that.

[@LetsTravelThisYear]

@@macmost Oh ya.. I guess so.

[@vincentcollin6490]

I'm learning a new trick!

[@greebo7857]

Now that's cool. Gary, you often surprise me. I've been a Mac user for 25 years and an iPhone user since they first came out, and I was still using an app for scanning on my phone and sending it to my Mac with AirDrop. Thanks.

[@BrendaAnderson]

I've been doing that as well! Learned something new today. Thanks @macmostnow

[@pamclare6222]

Gary is such a treasure. Who knew yo could do this!!?

[@nfdavis1]

what dock would you recommend for a MacBook Pro with the MagSafe charging chord. I have a 2021 MacBook Pro with Apply M1 Pro chip running Sonoma 14.3

[@macmost]

I don't use a dock so I don't have a recommendation, sorry.

[@wbshappy1]

This is a really cool function! I could use it in my garden--I get bugs, and need to scan pics of them into my records; along with technical advice of getting rid of them. However, I am using Sonoma 14.5, on a MacBook Air, And it seems to be a 2024. Anywho, I didn't see the menu popup when I two-finger clicked in Finder as you said to do. I tried Command click, and same thing. What am I doing wrong? Do I have an unsupported version of something? thanks for your videos; always helpful! :)

[@macmost]

See the requirements at 1:30 and go through the list. Maybe you have something tuned off. It seems to me though that working in your garden you'd want to just take a regular picture with your iPhone and then later take it from your Photos library and add it to your document.

[@DrMemory99]

Really enjoy and learn from your time (and frustration) saving Tips! Thank You

[@mihailskulbanskis6541]

Another useful minitutorial for us. Not too complicated but shiny as usual. Thanks a lot, Gary!

[@LynnsLaunderette]

Ya learn something new everyday! My husband will love this tip. Thanks for sharing.

[@Drunkmonkey8294]

I've been scanning documents using your tip regarding Image Capture. This seems to be much easier. Just goes to show that I should start to look at some of the menus on my Mac. Thanks so much Gary. You are most helpful!

[@davidwright6105]

Gary I love your videos but I can't get this to work consistently. I used my iphone with much success, but when I tried it again I got a device timeout message on the Mac. So I tried my iPad and it seemed to work but the file never showed up in the finder. I tried again but got another device timeout message. I guess I am SOL.

[@macmost]

Try some restarts. Maybe you've got a lot of wireless interference around? If you can't get it to work, you can always try Apple Support. Also note that you can connect your iPhone with a cable to your Mac and it should work that way too.

[@davidwright6105]

@@macmost Thanks, I will give that a try.

[@bradley7506]

Too bad it’s has those black border lines when scanning….extra tedious step to crop it out. But still a handy feature. Thanks for this video!

[@zoltanzana]

I never have that line. It depends on how precisely you focus on the document.

[@BobbieGWhiz]

I use the Scannable app on iPhone. The PDF’s it makes look much better.

[@carolinebarlow4795]

Thanks very much, Gary, for this informative video! This is fantastic 👍

[@defenderv8]

I've actually been using this for a while but have never noticed the sketch option. I've just updated to a Mac Studio with macOS 14.4.1 so maybe the sketch option wasn't available on my older 27" iMac

[@serge3333]

your channel is a gold mine! Keep going Gary !

[@MVMike62]

Thanks Gary. Incredible feature that will cause me to donate my flatbed scanner. ( much better than the three-step Photo Xfer from iPhone to Mac. Boy, theres a long era that's come to an end. I've bought scanners for 40 yrs.

[@back-seat-driver1355]

does not work for me - still on Ventura, maybe that is the reason? I do not even see my iphone nor my ipad in the context menue… any help or infos? thanks so far!

[@macmost]

Could be a factor that you are behind. Try connecting with a cable to see if that helps.

[@back-seat-driver1355]

@@macmost thanks a lot, Gary - i will try that out. Although i have Dropcopy which helps me a lot for such transfers!

[@THE_HMRC]

Thank you sir! I learn something new from you at least once a week.....

[@MarioEZambrano]

I ALWAYS find something USEFUL and new in ALL your shows. Thanks a lot.

[@tonisyrmopoulos5607]

Thank you SO much! Such a useful bit of info for me! Fairly new to Apple products, I'm definitely checking out your other videos because there's so much I only know the basics! This was a life saver!

[@petr8068]

Hello Gary, when I make double-click on a file in documents, so option in the context menu "Import from iPhone or iPad" is missing. I have Mac with Sonoma and iPhone 7 on same wi-fi. Could you please advise me? Thank you

[@macmost]

iPhone 7 may be too old for this.

[@charlesmarkman9776]

Soooooo helpful. This should be great on an upcoming project where I want to scan and digitize pictures from and aging album without having to rip them off the page or balance the album on a flat bed

[@UrbanGarden-rf5op]

Great tip. Is there a way to set manual scanning as default? Google doesn't give any relevant answers. I've learned so much from you. Thank you. ✌✌

[@macmost]

No, I don't think so.

[@UrbanGarden-rf5op]

@@macmost Thanks for a straight and speedy answer.

[@kago9353]

Before your great tip I thought the Iphone needed to be connected via USB, or I Airdropped the scan, but this is much easier and you can put the scan directly where it is needed. Thank you so much!!

[@SummaGirl1347]

I prefer Adobe Scan for scanning of work documents. The results are uploaded directly to the Adobe Cloud and my scans never look blue, as they usually do with my iPhone. Plus, Adobe Scan does a MUCH better job of handling multipage documents and doesn't take random auto shots of whatever you happen to be pointing at, like the iPhone scan function does.

[@photographybymadeline5717]

Thank you this is the best quick short cut for scanning documents.

[@bobandmarybutera]

I had no idea this feature existed before watching Gary in this video. Today I scanned some documents for my tax return using my iPhone and uploaded them to my accountant. What a great feature, thank you Gary!

[@60beats44]

Always looking forward to your regular lessons, Gary and never depart unimpressed. How would you rate the quality of a conventionally scanned document against images taken by an iPhone/iPad*. I have yet to purchase one of these devices*, still using a conventional and large desk scanner. Thanks Gary.

[@macmost]

I'd say this is more for record-keeping where quality isn't so much an issue. If you want to scan some photos for archiving or something, I would go with a good flatbed scanner of some sort.

[@roycelabor4339]

Fantastic tip Sir! I never knew that I could do this with my iPhone or iPad. I'm in the market for a new combo printer so this just might save me some extra bucks! Keep up all of your excellent work!

[@loisskiathitis8926]

A very useful and informative video tutorial today! Thank you, Gary! 👏🏻❤️

[@mattprentice4347]

As usual with your great videos I knew these functions existed but I just never use them, now I will! Thanks

[@richard1113]

I have an older, but very good, Fujitsu ix500 scanner that I use for digitizing documents but this would be great for the occasional one-offs. I didn't even know this functionality existed. Thanks Gary!

[@abicat6158]

What a great tip. I often take a photo on my iphone & then use airdrop as had no idea you could save directly to my Mac. Same with scanned document. Thank you.

[@sulai6i]

Very helpful , thank you

[@travelman158]

Thank you Gary. This is an amazing feature. You’re the Best!

[@GregJohnson-g1i]

Hi Gary, As always great info. Thanks Greg from RIo de Janeiro

[@scorpio0155]

I have the latest 24-inch Imac M3 and it says that my Mac is not compatible? running the latest version of Samona

[@macmost]

Where does it say that? What does it say exactly?

[@scorpio0155]

@@macmost on my iPhone XR it says pairing unsuccessful This imac is not supported

[@scorpio0155]

@@macmost on my iPhone XR it says pairing unsuccessful this iMac is not supported

[@macmost]

@@scorpio0155 Pairing? This has nothing to do with pairing though. Are you trying to pair your devices? That's not a part of this.

[@scorpio0155]

@@macmost well I'm still not getting the option to import from iPhone when I right-click like what I see on your video.

[@bigwoz78]

Wonderful tip

[@stephenblank75]

I tried this with notes but the menu option is grayed out. Tried with Mail and it worked but only with one shot. Tried to add another but the menu option was grayed out again. Advice?

[@macmost]

Could be wireless issues? You can always connect with a cable too.

[@granbuhre459]

It seems that the text is an image not a editable pdf. Want to edit the text

[@macmost]

Yes. It is a scan, which is an image. Getting that to be an editable document is a whole other matter.

[@mhouslay7281]

Well well. I never knew that. I’d always been saving in photos and transferring. Duh 🙄 So useful. Such a wonderfully clear and measured video. I often, though, just want the ‘live’ text going into pages or notes. And was waiting / hoping that you’d discovered a scan to text with iPhone? Any suggestions?? Big thanks again …. Have a good weekend.

[@macmost]

In that case use Live Text in the Camera app on your iPhone to capture the text you want. Then the Copy button to copy to the clipboard. Then Paste on your Mac to put it somewhere.

[@mhouslay7281]

⁠ Thanks so much Gary for getting back to me and so quickly as well. Best wishes Miles

[@MightyJosh1985]

Gary, this was an awesome video. Cheers.

[@northsidecrates]

This came in so handy for me today! ......Thanks!

[@igweogba6774]

this is amazing

[@terryclair2914]

I have a iPhone XR and a MAC Studio both with latest sw and I get the error message on the iPhone that MAC Studio not supported. So the iPhone does see it but the MAC Stuido does not list the iPhone in the bluetooth as being available.

[@macmost]

Is your XR updated, or using an older iOS?

[@terryclair2914]

@@macmost Running latest iOS 17.4.1

[@macmost]

@@terryclair2914 Not sure what the problem could be then, sorry.

[@terryclair2914]

@@macmost No problem just wanted you to be aware if you hear from someone else, thank you.

[@estherkwok6492]

Really helpful ! Great Thanks!👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@BosAus]

Super helpful information- thank you!

[@stewarttaylor5522]

I never knew that was something that could be done. Very handy i think. Thank you.

[@garylaw5071]

I couldn't get the "Import to iPhone" item in the context menu at first. Turns out I have to enable Folder Action to get that feature. I'm probably not the only one that don't have the Folder Action feature enabled. Please add to the video to save others from spending time figuring out why that doesn't work for them

[@macmost]

Hmmm. Shouldn't have anything to do with that.

[@ernestoglesby5342]

These options DO NOT appear when I try and insert into a WORD document.

[@macmost]

Microsoft does its own thing and doesn't adopt many of the Mac system functions like this. So I'm not surprised.

[@FLYBOY123456789]

WOW - thanks...that was a great and very useful tip...so seamless...thanks Gary...

[@domi7171]

Great info, thanks!

[@bootsybero]

iPhone12 doesn't work on this? The contents of the document are not read. It will go into camera mode instead.

[@macmost]

Yes, it should work.

[@Davinger]

What a fantastic tip. Thank you

[@GregJohnson-g1i]

Great video. Tks

[@DannyMexen9]

Very helpful 😮

[@karayuschij]

I use my iPad for that, but I must say that it is very easier to "take a photo" than to "scan a document". Scan documents never frame my document correctly.

[@garynagle3093]

Very useful tool!

[@botabob]

Thanks for sharing this powerful tool Gary.

[@gerrynewnham9932]

I cannot get my iphone to link to my MacBook Air although my iphone is listed on my MacBook's list of Bluetooth devices. As a consequence I cannot get Continuity Camera to work. As far as I can see I do meet all the criteria for Continuity Camera. Can anyone help, please?

[@macmost]

First, don't worry about the list of bluetooth devices. That is not the kind of connection this uses. Not sure why you aren't getting a connection, but try double-checking everything and restarting both devices.

[@gerrynewnham9932]

Thanks, @macmost. The Import menu does show when the iphone and Mac are connected with a cable. Should it work over wifi/Bluetooth as well?

[@macmost]

@@gerrynewnham9932 Yes. Check the URL I show at about 1:30 for some requirements.

[@dwp2659]

wow that was great - well done

[@simonmorris8651]

Wow, this is brilliant, I never knew! Thanks so much Gary - great content, brilliant presentation style 👍👌👏

[@Chris-NZ]

incredibly handy Gary !!

[@RocknRollCEO]

Thanks for this!

[@defel1]

Useful. Thanks.

[@robertcook2680]

Brilliant!

[@rep10101]

Thanks

[@fredcasden]

I wish I had seen this yesterday when I had to scan a copy of my signature and 'sign' a document.

[@ermo2004]

NIce !!! Thanks

[@spudzwon8913]

I'm not seeing that option. My guess is one must be logged in to some Apple service for this to work.

[@macmost]

Yes. See the page I reference at 1:30 for requirements.

[@fahriyasa1753]

I just found out there is a menu to reduce file size, wow

[@avinashnagarale]

Hello sir.... You are fetching us all to create a Apple's Ecosystem...❤