Show HN: Open Scanner, an open-source document scanning app for iPhone

Not sure how this compares to the scanner in the native Files app? https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/scan-documents-ios-files-ap...

macrolime · a year ago

I think the fact this made it to the front page shows how many were unaware of the scanner in the files app. I have multiple times looked into ways to scan on iPhone and have only found the Notes app, which is kinda klunky, and Microsoft Lens.

nesk_ · a year ago

I agree, but what’s the solution then? Creating a new app doing the same job? Or writing a tutorial to explain how to use the native scanner?

nrabulinski · a year ago

TIL it’s in the files app. I always use the notes app for this. You can either long-press on notes and tap scan document or go into a random note, scan a document, and export it as pdf from there

mrunseen · a year ago

I did not check the source code but scanning UI and outcome is exactly the same as native iOS scanner.

taco_emoji · a year ago

In case anybody was wondering, you can also do this in Android via the Google Drive app. Click "New" and then "Scan".

dinnouti · a year ago

There is a shortcut for the native scan within Files. I usually add to the Home Screen.

ornornor · a year ago

I had no clue there was a scanner in the files app.

Thanks so much for crafting and sharing this app. Was just chatting with a friend about scanning via Notes[1], which is a little clunky for quickly and seamlessly sharing a scan.

A few feature suggestions:

* Allow setting default color mode (having to switch manually to B&W every time adds another step)

* Allow setting setting type (PDF, JPG, TXT) and size (Original, Medium, Small) in Sharing Options à la Scanner Pro[2]

* Allow sharing immediately after scanning rather than first having to tap Save then opening the image again

[1] https://support.apple.com/en-us/108963

[2] https://readdle.com/scannerpro

chazeon · a year ago

You can actually directly scan in the Files app from the triple dots menu in the upper right corner, this will allow you to directly scan as a PDF file.

toomuchtodo · a year ago

I love Apple, but this is so Apple: hidden powerful functionality you'll only know about through word of mouth or intentional exploration in the UI.

manmal · a year ago

And you can scan to any cloud provider that integrates with Files that way. Dropbox etc

nialse · a year ago

Mind blown. Thanks for telling me about this gem.

lobochrome · a year ago

And you can use the Shortcuts app to create a home screen shortcut for it.

wrs · a year ago

With an iPad, just open Camera. If it sees a piece of paper, you’ll get a yellow Scan Document button without doing anything.

cromka · a year ago

Also worth noting is that if you have a Mac, you can do the same from its Finder and a right click menu.

terraplura · a year ago

Came here to say the same. I wonder how this app compares. One perk this app provides is you have a button to press from your home screen. With the native feature, you could set up an Apple shortcut to start scanning a document and create a button on your home screen.

zamadatix · a year ago

Apart from being clunky Apple's Notes app has some just... odd limitations. E.g. you can only scan 24 pages in a note, because reasons?

miles · a year ago

theogravity · a year ago

Congrats on the release. Open Scanner looks like a good alternative to the paid TurboScan (it's what I've been using for over 5+ years):

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/turboscan-pro-pdf-scanner/id34...

AiAi · a year ago

Also have been using this for years (even knowing that there's this feature built-in in the Notes app).

bbor · a year ago

Looks incredible! As someone preparing a large iPhone-based scanning project, this couldn’t have come at a better time. I’m a longtime CamScanner user, but will happily move to something open source if it delivers on its promises. Will try it out asap!

Re:the common “why not just use the native functionality” questions, I think the simple answer is scale. If I want to scan a random receipt I’d use Apple, but as we all know well, Apple rarely caters to power users — someone scanning multiple times a day or for hours at a time will almost definitely be better served by a dedicated app.

Side note: these (two!!) devs are killing it. Great communication (their privacy policy is top-notch), great styling, and they have a whole roster of neat apps lined up, including an Apple Vision release. Thanks for putting them on my radar, OP! https://pencilresearch.com/

darknavi · a year ago

I am partial to QuickScan[1] as it is free and has no ads. It does not seem to be open source though.

[1] https://www.quickscanapp.com/

QuickScan looks great and has loads of features, but it might be more accurately described as "nagware" since a donation request is shown on every export until a donation is made (after which point it can be disabled via Settings > Other settings > "Do not show donation request"). Nothing wrong with that; if I were a user I'd certainly donate, just wanted to let other potential users know.

post_break · a year ago

It's funny how we tolerate Winrar doing that but on the phone it seems more annoying.

Good point. I must have donated at some point because I use it often and don't remember seeing that.

sandreas · a year ago

Does it support page dewarping[1] and 1bit color Palette PNG in PDF so shrink filesize[2]? I would love to See these features...

1: https://github.com/LittleTrickster/PDF-Doc-Scan/issues/17#is...

2: https://github.com/LittleTrickster/PDF-Doc-Scan/issues/7#iss...

dmd · a year ago

This functionality is already built into the iPhone - in the Notes app, and also in the Files app. What does your software add?

thefourthchime · a year ago

Why is my first thought that this has a clever backdoor to find passwords and crypto keys?

Obscurity4340 · a year ago

Probably one of many

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ein0p · a year ago

Integrated, single purpose app. Most people don’t even know Notes has OCR. I didn’t until late last year, even though I’ve been iPhone user since the original came out.

pjot · a year ago

The camera and photos.app has ocr as well.

Whenever im wanting to copy text on an app that hijacks the clipboard (LinkedIn/Slack) I take a screenshot, highlight the text, and copy as you would normally.

nashashmi · a year ago

Try searching universally for stuff like invoice and you will get a copy of the invoices you have taken a picture of.

Google photos has a feature where it recognizes documents like credit cards and so you can search for them.

Dead Comment

andrei-akopian · a year ago

For Android I recommend "OSS Document Scanner" it is just as good as MS Lens and CamScanner in my experience.

- https://github.com/Akylas/OSS-DocumentScanner

- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38848423