Feature Request - PDF Scanner?

5rlyn

I was attempting to scan a document using my phone last night and was pretty disappointed by the various offerings available in the Play Store. In the end, I opted to just head to the library and scan properly later today.
I'm sure that's the "correct" answer but I'm also sure there are situations that are time sensitive or when getting to a Printer/Scanner/Copier just isn't feasible. I'm wondering if it would be possible to implement PDF Scanner capability in Graphene Camera. Seems like a natural fit and would save users the trouble of finding one that worked and didn't ask for creepy permissions while scanning documents.

[deleted]

5rlyn F-Droid has several scanner apps. PDF Doc Scan isn't too bad. https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/com.littletrickster.scanner

Eury

5rlyn

I have been pleased with two closed source privacy-respecting apps: Genius Scan and QuickScan

I read about Genius Scan at macrumors; it's available for Android and iOS.

The limitation of Genius Scan is the camera, IMO, of the Pixel 6a and 7. The 7 takes outstanding outdoor photos by day and by night. But both phones in my experience are poor at focusing indoors and in making use of ambient light indoors.

The dev's privacy policy says the app only runs Firebase Crashlytics and Analytics, and App Manager seems to confirm that.

I downloaded it via Aurora Store and use it just fine with these permissions in GrapheneOS:
yes: camera, notifications
no: location, network, sensors

My second recommendation is QuickScan for iOS. In a subforum for apps at macrumors, it seems since May2020 to be a one-person operation; and the author states he does not collect any data.

Some people here use an iOS device. Compared to the camera limitations of my two Pixel phones I spoke of, my iOS device makes much better use of ambient indoor light and with QuickScan does a better job of rendering text sharply. I now just use QuickScan instead of Genius Scan for all my scanning needs.

links:
https://thegrizzlylabs.com/genius-scan/

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.thegrizzlylabs.geniusscan.free

privacy policy
https://help.thegrizzlylabs.com/article/369-privacy-policy
+
https://blog.thegrizzlylabs.com/2020/05/no-more-ads
|
--> Firebase Analytics
--> Firebase Crashlytics

https://github.com/muntashirakon/appmanager

QuickScan - a 100% free (no IAP nor ads) iOS scanner with OCR (text recognition), signatures, automation & cloud upload
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/quickscan-a-100-free-no-iap-nor-ads-ios-scanner-with-ocr-text-recognition-signatures-automation-cloud-upload.2237008/

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ocr-text-scanner-quickscan/id1513790291

5rlyn

Does it sound overly OCD to say that having two app stores on my phone bugs me? 😂
I used to try to separate the FOSS and proprietary apps on my phone and download each from F-Droid/Play respectively, but when Android Auto functionality came to Graphene I sort of gave up on that, as OSMAnd and a few others wouldn't show up on the AA interface (even with DevOps enabled).

mmmm

Eury I mean it’s a bit off topic as this is not even available on Android, but I also use Quickscan. The dev is also extremely responsive and has implemented several of my suggestions. It’s an excellent gem of an app. Alas iOS only for the moment.

minxes0v

Eury My second recommendation is QuickScan for iOS

iOS has PDF scanning built-in. Open Files app, tap the three-dot menu in the upper right, select “Scan Documents”. It will save as a PDF in whatever folder you’re in. You can also open the PDF scanner from the Notes app when you tap the camera icon, if for some reason you only want the PDF in Notes. (You can easily export it to Files, but it’s another step.)

goskm75f

i suggest Notebloc with Internet permission blocked. This app is like magic.

CyberOtter

I can recommend OSS DocumentScanner. It also includes OCR, editing options and save to PDF.

[deleted]

minxes0v even the built-in AOSP Gallery can do this. Simply take a photo, Share > Print > Save as PDF. Nothing new.

minxes0v

[deleted] If it's only converting JPEG to PDF, that's not quite the same. A proper PDF scanner will at minimum detect and crop to the paper, do some perspective adjustment if it's not perfectly overhead shot, image processing tailored for paper scans, maybe OCR, etc., which is I assume what OP wants. But taking good pictures, manually cropping (if needed), and then doing save as PDF is definitely an option that avoids third-party apps.

monero4freedom

There is OpenScan app. I think you can download it from the izzy repo for fdroid, or from google play store. F-droid sorely lacks pdf scanner camera apps.

dregrinfuces

I don't know if it would be possible, but instead of adding it to the GOS Camera app, perhaps add it to the GOS PDF Viewer app?

I've been using the free version of PDF Scanner from Tools & Utilities Apps (apparently toolsutilitiesapps.com). But, I have no idea how safe that is. It works fine. But, every update to it makes something in it more persnickety.

I've seen references to Open Note Scanner, but it seems to be dead. Then there's OSS Document Scanner. But, I saw a GOS-based review that scans from within the app are blurry and he had to take a photo with the camera and import it.

I'll take a look at OpenScan, but a native GOS app would be really nice.

Molasses

dregrinfuces

Why don't you try OSS Document Scanner and see for yourself? Just remove the Network Permission, if that's a concern to you.

It's actively maintained, available on the Play Store and has been working well for lots of people.