You can scan documents in Google Drive for free, and it's surprisingly easy. Google Drive offers a built-in scanner that allows you to upload a photo of a document and convert it into a searchable PDF.
To get started, you'll need to open Google Drive and click on the "New" button. From there, you can select "Scan document" and follow the prompts to upload your document.
Google Drive's scanner uses OCR technology, which stands for Optical Character Recognition, to convert the text in your document into a digital format that can be searched and edited. This technology is quite accurate, allowing you to search for specific words or phrases within your scanned documents.
Getting Started
To get started, you only need to login to Filerev.
Select what you want to scan, and Filerev will take care of the rest.
You'll then be able to view and optionally remove the clutter from your Google Drive.
Filerev keeps your data private and secure, giving you full control over what is scanned.
Nothing is modified without your consent, so you can trust the process.
By signing up, you confirm to have read Filerev's privacy policy and agree to the terms of service.
Here's a quick rundown of the process:
- Login
- Select what to scan
- View and optionally remove the clutter from Google Drive
Using Google Drive
Using Google Drive is a great way to scan documents for free. You can use the Document Scan Feature in Google Drive for Android, but it only works on Android devices with a functional camera.
To get started, open the Google Drive app on your Android device and make sure you're signed into the correct Google Drive account. If you're signed into multiple accounts, ensure the correct account is the active one.
The scan-to-drive function uses the default camera app on your device, so if you're used to using a third-party camera app, it may not work. However, you can always try using the default camera app to see if it works better.
Here's how to scan a document in Google Drive:
- Open the Google Drive app and tap the plus sign (+) button in the bottom right corner.
- Tap the "Scan" button that has the camera or document icon.
- Use your phone camera to take a photo of the document you're scanning.
- Adjust the document as needed, using the crop icon or repeat icon if necessary.
- If you're in the United States, Google's built-in AI can offer a suggested title for the document; otherwise, you'll need to specify a title/file name.
- Tap the "Save" button to save the file directly to your Google Drive.
Preparing Files
To get the most out of Google Drive's OCR feature, it's essential to prepare your files properly. Make sure your file is high resolution with clear contrasts and even lighting, as this will ensure a successful conversion.
Standard typefaces like Helvetica and Times New Roman will produce better results than more obscure typefaces. If you have a document that's rather unreadable, you can still attempt to OCR it, but the results likely won't be that nice.
Google Drive supports OCR for many different languages, but OCR on languages that use non-Latin character sets may be buggy and may not produce desirable results.
Before We Begin
Unfortunately, some of you may be out of luck if you're using an Apple device, as Google Drive's built-in document scanning feature doesn't work on computers or iOS.
This means you'll need to use third-party software to scan documents directly to Google Drive, which, while not ideal, is still a viable option.
Some of the steps we'll be providing are generic, so you may need to check your device and app for specific instructions, as the actual process can vary depending on the device and app.
You might encounter some fringe cases or bugs when trying to interface multiple software systems, especially with something as complex as Google Drive.
This can be frustrating, but don't worry, we're here to guide you through it.
Prepare Files for OCR
To produce optimal results from OCR, make sure your file is high resolution with clear contrasts and even lighting. This is crucial for a successful conversion.
Standard typefaces like Helvetica and Times New Roman will produce better results than more obscure typefaces. These fonts are easy to read and recognize.
If you have a document that's rather unreadable, you can still attempt to OCR it, but the results likely won't be that nice. The text being scanned should also be horizontal and read from left to right.
Google Drive supports OCR for many different languages, but OCR on languages that use non-Latin character sets may be buggy and may not produce desirable results.
Document Scanning
You can scan documents directly into Google Drive using the Google Drive app on your Android device.
To do this, open the Google Drive app, tap the plus sign in the bottom right corner, and select the "Scan" option.
The scan-to-drive function only works on Android devices with a functional camera, and it uses the default camera app on the device.
If you're using a third-party camera app, it may not work.
You can also create a document scan widget on your Android device's home screen to quickly access the scan menu.
To set up the widget, touch and hold on an empty space on the home screen, select widgets, and find the "Drive Scan" option under Google Drive.
You can choose the Google Drive account and folder where the scanned documents will be saved.
The scanned documents can be saved in the root directory of Google Drive unless you've navigated to a specific folder.
Google Drive supports OCR (Optical Character Recognition) for .jpg, .gif, .png, and PDF files up to 2MB in size.
To OCR a document, upload it to Google Drive, right-click on the document, and select "Open with" > "Google Docs".
Google Docs will convert the PDF or image file to text, and you can edit and format the new text file as needed.
You can also use a scanner or your phone's camera to scan documents, and then upload them to Google Drive for OCR.
Some popular apps for scanning documents with your phone include Evernote's Scannable and other apps available in the App Store.
These apps can "scan" physical documents into clean PDFs using your phone's camera.
Image to Text Conversion
Google Drive's OCR feature is powerful and easy to work with, you can quickly take an image scan or PDF and convert it into a text document.
To start, make sure your file is in a supported format, such as .jpg, .gif, .png, or PDF, and is no larger than 2MB in size.
If you have a physical document, you can scan it onto your computer using a scanner or your phone's camera. There are apps like Evernote's Scannable that can "scan" physical documents into clean PDFs.
To convert your image scan to text, upload it to Google Drive using the Upload Files option. Find the file, click the Open button, and then right-click on the document to bring up a drop-down menu.
Click the Open with option and select Google Docs. Google will now convert your PDF or image file to text with OCR, and you can edit and format the new text file as you like.
The most important factors in ensuring a successful conversion are having a high-resolution file with clear contrasts and even lighting.
Supported file formats include .jpg, .gif, .png, and PDF, while languages that use non-Latin character sets may produce buggy results.
Standard typefaces, such as Helvetica and Times New Roman, will produce better results than more obscure typefaces.
Managing Documents
You can easily share the new document with whomever you need to by going to File > Share and adding collaborators by sharing a link or sending an invitation via email.
Google Drive's OCR feature allows you to export the document to another format by going to File > Download As and selecting the format you want, such as a Word Document or a Plain Text document.
To export a document, you can choose from various formats, including Word Document, Plain Text, and more.
If you want to convert multiple pages to text, PDF format is the most efficient as all pages can be uploaded in one batch.
You can also manage your documents by going to File > Download As and selecting the format you want, which is a great way to get your documents in a format that's easily editable.
Google Drive currently supports OCR for .jpg, .gif, .png, and PDF files up to 2MB in size, so make sure your files are within this size limit for OCR to work its magic.
Here's a quick rundown of the file formats supported by Google Drive's OCR feature:
- .jpg
- .gif
- .png
Remember, these file formats must be 2MB or smaller for OCR to work.
Frequently Asked Questions
¿Cómo descargar Google Drive gratis?
Descarga Google Drive gratuitamente en www.google.com/drive/download y haz clic en el botón "Descargar Drive para ordenadores". Sigue estos pasos para empezar a utilizar Google Drive de manera instantánea.
¿Cómo hago para escanear un documento y guardarlo en formato PDF?
Para escanear un documento y guardarlo en formato PDF, haz clic en "Archivo" y selecciona "PDF" como tipo de archivo, luego elige la carpeta de destino para guardar tus documentos escaneados.
¿Dónde está el escáner en Google?
Encuentra el escáner de Google en la Cámara de Google, donde puedes elegir entre el modo QR o la opción de foto predeterminada para escanear códigos QR
Sources
- https://filerev.com/blog/scan-documents-google-drive/
- https://ccscannow.com/document-capture-management/google-drive/
- https://business.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-ocr-documents-for-free-in-google-drive--cms-20460
- https://cloud.google.com/document-ai
- https://www.xatakandroid.com/aplicaciones-android/google-drive-convierte-tu-movil-maquina-escanear-documentos-su-escaner-renovado
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