How to Scan a Document Directly from Google Drive

For emails, you have Gmail, and for driving directions, you have Google Maps. But, for document scanning? Maybe the thought of having to install yet another app on your Android device makes you nervous. But, to scan a document, there’s no need to install another third-party app and run the risk of it having malware. You can scan your documents directly from Google Drive; how?

Google Drive: How to Turn Your Scanned Document into a PDF

Google Drive is capable of more than just saving your documents.  If you know where to look, it has a hidden scanner that will not just scan your document but also give you the option of turning it into a PDF as well.

To quickly scan a document on Google Drive, open Google Drive, and tap on the New Button (the colorful plus sign at the bottom right).

After you tap on this option, a window from below will appear with various options. On the first row, tap on the Scan option.

When the camera opens, take a picture of the document you want to save as a PDF. If you don’t like how Google Drive saved it, you can make some changes if you want. For example, in the image below, Google Drive saved the image in black and white, but by tapping on the color palette, you can change that. You can choose from options such as:

• None
• Black and White
• Color
• Color Drawing

Next to the color palette option, you can rotate your image in all directions. The final option allows you to crop your image.

Final Thoughts

Thanks to the built-in scanner option in Google Drive, you can turn any document into a PDF. There’s no need to install another app and then upload it to Google Drive. The scanner option might not have all the extras you might need, but it gets the job done. How often do you the scanner option in Google Drive? Share your thoughts in the comments below.