How to Scan Documents to PDF on iPhone
Your iPhone has a document scanner built into Notes and the Files app: it finds the page edges and straightens each page. File Acture's Scan Document uses the same camera, saves the pages straight to one PDF in the Files app at a size that is easy to email, and offers to make the text searchable, compress it or add a password right after.
Updated October 31, 20264 min read
By the File Acture team
A signed form to return, receipts for an expense claim, a page from a book: the phone in your pocket is already a good scanner. What matters is what you get afterwards: a single PDF, small enough to send, with text you can search. Here is how the built-in scanners work and how to go from paper to a finished PDF in one flow.
How to scan a document with Notes or the Files app
In Notes, open a note, tap the attachment button and choose Scan Documents. Hold the iPhone over the page: it finds the edges and takes the picture, or tap the shutter yourself. Tap Save when all pages are in. The scan stays inside the note until you share it as a PDF.
In the Files app, go to a folder, tap More (the circle with three dots) and choose Scan Documents. The same scanner opens, and the result is saved as a PDF in that folder.
Both are free and work well for a quick scan. Neither offers to make the PDF searchable, smaller or protected afterwards, so a long scan can be too large to email.
How to scan documents with File Acture
On File Acture’s home screen, tap Scan Document. The iPhone’s document camera opens: it finds the page edges, straightens and cleans up each page, and you can add as many pages as you need.
When you tap Save, the pages become one PDF named with the date and time, in On My iPhone › File Acture › PDF. Each page is laid out at A4 size and saved as a compressed image, so a multi-page scan stays small enough for email. Scanning itself does not use one of the free version’s daily runs.
The Scan Saved screen then shows the PDF with Share, and under Continue With offers the next step in one tap.
- OCR PDF: make the text searchable and selectable.
- Compress PDF: make the file smaller to send by email. More about compressing PDFs.
- Protect PDF: add a password. More about PDF passwords.
How to make a scanned PDF searchable
A scan is a picture of a page: you can't search it or copy its words. OCR PDF recognizes the text on the iPhone and adds an invisible text layer over each page, so the PDF looks the same but any PDF reader can find and copy its words.
The pages themselves are not redrawn, so the file stays about the same size.
Tips for better scans
Good light and a flat page matter more than any setting.
- Contrast: put the page on a dark, plain surface so its edges are easy to find.
- Light: avoid shadows from your hand or phone; daylight from a window works well.
- Several documents: scan each document separately, then combine them with Merge PDFs in the order you need.
- Sign afterwards: a scanned form can be signed and filled in with Edit & Sign PDF.
Is it safe to use a scanner app that uploads?
Many scanner apps send pages to a server to process them, and scans are often IDs, contracts and medical letters. File Acture scans, recognizes text and compresses on the iPhone itself; the pages never leave the device.
How to scan a document to PDF with File Acture
- 1
Start the scanner
Open File Acture and tap Scan Document on the home screen.
- 2
Scan the pages
Hold the iPhone over each page until it is captured, then tap Save.
- 3
Make it searchable
Under Continue With, tap OCR PDF and run it.
- 4
Shrink it if needed
For email, run Compress PDF on the scan with a target size.
- 5
Share
Tap Share to send the PDF, or find it in Files › On My iPhone › File Acture › PDF.
Scan paper into compact, searchable PDFs.
Free to try · on iPhone and iPad
| Method | Saves a PDF file | Searchable text | Compress or protect next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notes, Scan Documents | When you share it | No | No |
| Files app, Scan Documents | Yes, in the folder | No | No |
| File Acture Scan Document | Yes, in File Acture › PDF | Yes, with OCR PDF | Yes, one tap |
Questions
How do I scan a document into a PDF on my iPhone?
In the Files app, tap More and Scan Documents, or in File Acture tap Scan Document. Both save the scan as a PDF.
How do I scan several pages into one PDF?
Keep scanning page after page before you tap Save; all pages go into the same PDF.
Can I make a scanned PDF searchable on iPhone?
Yes. Run OCR PDF on it in File Acture. It adds a text layer, so the words can be searched and copied.
Why is my scanned PDF so large?
Each page is a photo. File Acture keeps scans compact by laying pages out at A4 size; run Compress PDF with a target size for strict limits.
Does scanning use a free run?
No. Scanning is free; the tools you run on the scan afterwards, such as OCR PDF or Compress PDF, count as usual.