Scanner Pro

Scanner Pro $6.99 Dev: Readdle

Handy app to have to scan in documents. Recently updated, this app now includes support for you to upload your documents to Evernote, DropBox…. email… the list goes on.  Worth a look at if you ever need to input a document quickly. Do note that I tried it on the 3G device which has a poor camera, and it still worked fine.  The newer 3GS would be even more effective at clear capture.

Scanner Pro can handle any type of document ranging from simple one page letters to multipage agreements. You can add and remove pages, reorder them and even combine pages of different size, like A4 and A5, in one document. Being able to create multipage documents is a real bonus and some of the other apps out there do not add that functionality.

You can also set a password for the documents you create, allowing you to share with specific teams or people. You can also clean up the documents before you send them as you are given a preview window. This is great so you know exactly what they are receiving. Also you can send them via wifi to your machine for really quick and painless transfer.

Updated recently to include integration with Print&Share, and app that sends documents to your printer. Note that it is a separate purchase.

Lastly, and *maybe* less importantly, I feel like a 007 agent when I use it, it’s very James Bond being able to scan stuff with your phone!

Hope you like it as much as I do x

This is maybe not so clear and the apps general interface needs considering by the developers. I did mention this in my video review that I found it a bit confusing when I first started. It is worth persevering with though!

6 Responses to “Scanner Pro”

1. CMoz says:

   December 23, 2009 at 8:57 pm

   Really appreciate your comment. I hope some of the devs out there take note and maybe make us a more useful app. I do think overall this app is really useful and good, only the interface lets it down, but once you learn it then it’s no longer an issue.

   From what I have read into this one is the best at what they all offer. I will pick up a copy of the other main ones and have a play to see if they are any easier or clearer when they scan. Either way they all seem to cost a lot of money for something that still needs work. Would be nice if they let us try a lite version so we can decide for ourselves.

   Thanks again for your comment, it was really useful to hear your experience of it.
2. OHM says:

   December 23, 2009 at 6:39 pm

   I wish I had read this thread before buying :-/ This UI is INSANE! The workflow seems okay (not too bad but not very good either) once past the weirdnesses of the UI.

   Why is the Evernote link absent from the general upload option list and why is it instead hidden away under a button in the Preview screen is beyond me!

   Some basic functionality is missing as well, like the ability to
   . automate the contrast/luminosity, at least for B&W docs (most common docs likely to be scanned is white background, black characters. It would be good to let the app determine the best threshold filter settings to make the background uniformly white and characters uniformly black – or perhaps whatever color they are…)
   . allow page rotation for individual pages within a doc – at least 90 degrees clock/counter-clock-wise.
   . ability to resize the current scan and any page within an existing multipage doc.
   . allow multi-touch-zooming, at least in the preview mode (perhaps in the page display mode right before it as well)
   . allow some basic pencil operations in the preview mode (for example to finger-sign a doc prior to emailing it, doodle on top of a doc, highlight stuff, etc, …)

   Do you know if any other such app offers these features (this one was fairly expensive compared to others, so I hoped for more usability… I guess I was wrong. Or are other apps like JotNot Scanner just as bad? I don’t want to buy something else and find myself with 2 or 3 unusable apps!
3. CMoz says:

   December 10, 2009 at 10:10 pm

   I see what you mean. Again, unfortunately I think its due to their awkward interface

   If you click *twice* (first click puts you in that window with all the other save options, second puts you back into the original window after scanning) on one of your pre-scanned documents in that initial window (where all your scans are), it will put it back into “preview” screen.

   There it has the original screen so you can click on that icon in the top right, which does send it straight to Evernote if you choose… Hope that helps!
4. Barrie says:

   December 10, 2009 at 9:23 pm

   Thanks for your response. I’ve checked the version on my iPhone and it is the latest. So to the problem of uploading scans to Evernote. I’ve found the option to send to Evernote immediately after the document is scanned, but what about the documents I’ve saved?
   When I open Scanner Pro I’m presented with thumbnails of the documents I’ve previously scanned. I tap the document I want to upload to Evernote. It opens in a preview window.
   Using the icons along the bottom of the screen I can add a scan – add a picture – preview (again) – password protect – email – or upload (but not to Evernote).
   None of those options take me back to the screen with the “arrow out” button at the top right that allows me to send to Evernote. So it seems to me that unless I send it as soon as it’s created there isn’t another chance. Have I missed something?
5. CMoz says:

   December 10, 2009 at 7:21 pm

   Hello Barrie, thanks so much for your comment, I wonder if maybe you didn’t update the app? I went on it again to see if I had maybe missed something, but it is still the same for me. Once I have scanned, then gone through the process, I then have a link in the top right corner, which when I click gives me the options of Evernote or Photolibrary. If I click on Evernote, it asks for my login details if I haven’t used before. This can then be saved in the app.

   I hope this helps, I will amend the post I made to go through this step. I do agree with you about their interface, and I did mention in my video review that it is really bad an needs improving A LOT! I will email the developers and ask them if they will be working on this aspect of the app. I hope you give it another try because I have tried some others and this one I honestly feel is the best at the moment.

   ~ C
6. Barrie says:

   December 10, 2009 at 6:32 pm

   I bought this app and I’m sorry to say that it is one of the worst purchases I have made for my iPhone. The interface is incomprehensible. I am confused each time I use it. I am an Evernote user, but I find myself emailing the “scanned” (actually, photographed) document as a .pdf because I can’t find the Evernote button in Scanner Pro. Perhaps I need the espionage skills of 007 to locate the functions. Maybe Readdle could redesign the interface instead.

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