Document Scanner Online
Turn photos of paper into a clean, straight PDF. Auto-crop, remove shadows, go black and white, add many pages, and keep the file small. Free, no app, and your pages never leave your device.
دستاویز کو فوٹو سے صاف پی ڈی ایف میں اسکین کریں۔ مفت، اور صفحات اپلوڈ نہیں ہوتے۔
- Auto-crop
- Remove shadows
- Many pages
- Small file size
- No upload
Scan your first page
Take a photo, choose photos from your gallery, or drop them here. You can also paste one with Ctrl + V
1 Fit the corners
Drag the four corners onto the corners of the paper. The page is straightened for you.
Your scan
2 Choose the look (all pages)
3 Save the scan
Several pages as JPG or PNG download as one ZIP. A size limit applies to the PDF and to JPG, not to PNG.
Made on your device. Your pages are never uploaded to FileXL.
- 0 bytesuploaded, ever
- PDF, JPG, PNGone page or many
- Under 100 KBif a form needs it
- No watermarkand no sign-up
How do I scan a document to PDF with my phone for free?
Open this page on your phone, tap Take photo (or choose photos from your gallery), and let the scanner find the edges of the paper. Pick Clean or Black and white, add more pages if you need them, then tap Download PDF. There is no app to install, no sign-up and no watermark, and your pages are never uploaded.
FileXL Document Scanner: key facts
- Price
- Free, no watermark, no sign-up, no daily limit
- Input
- Photos from your camera or gallery: JPG, PNG and WebP. Drop, paste or choose them
- Pages
- Up to 40 pages in one scan. Reorder, turn or delete any page
- Page finding
- Smart find (small AI model that runs on your device) or standard edge detection, then four draggable corners with a magnifier. Straightens a slanted photo
- Looks
- Original, Clean (shadows gone, white paper), Grey, Black and white, Vivid, plus brightness, contrast and sharpen
- Output
- One multi-page PDF, or JPG or PNG pages (several pages come as one ZIP). Print or share straight from the page
- PDF page size
- Same shape as the scan, A4, A5, Letter or Legal, with a margin of your choice
- Quality
- Standard (150 dpi), High (200 dpi) or Max (300 dpi)
- File size
- Optional limit: make the PDF or the images under 100 KB, 200 KB, 500 KB, 1 MB or 2 MB, for online forms
- Upload
- None. Your pages stay on your device, and so does the AI that finds the paper
- Works on
- Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, Chromebook
- Last updated
- November 2026
How to scan a document to PDF in 4 steps
No app, no account and no upload. A page takes about a minute.
-
Add your pages
Tap Take photo, or choose, drop or paste photos of the paper. You can add many at once, and add more later.
-
Fit the four corners
Smart find uses a small AI model on your device to find the page, and straightens it. If it misses, drag the four corners onto the corners of the paper.
-
Pick a clean look
Choose Clean for colour with white paper, Black and white for text, or Grey. Adjust brightness and contrast if you like.
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Save the scan
Choose the paper size and quality, set a size limit if a form needs one, then download a PDF, or JPG or PNG pages, or print it.
How to photograph a page for a clean scan
A good photo does most of the work. These habits fix most poor scans.
Use a plain, flat surface
Put the paper on a table that has a different colour from the paper, such as white paper on a dark desk. This helps the scanner find the edges.
Use even light, no flash
Stand by a window or under a bright room light. Flash makes a white glare, and your own shadow falls across the page. The Clean look removes soft shadows, but not a dark one.
Hold the phone parallel to the paper
Shoot from straight above. The scanner can straighten a slanted photo, but a flat shot gives sharper text at the edges.
Keep all four corners in view
Fill the photo with the page, but do not cut off a corner or an edge. A missing corner has to be guessed.
Tap to focus and hold still
Wait a moment for the camera to focus on the text. Small print needs a steady hand, or rest your elbows on the table.
White paper on a white table still works
Smart find uses the shape of a page and not only its colour, so it can find white paper on a light table where plain colour detection fails. A dark table is still the safest.
Check the preview before you save
Look at small numbers, stamps and signatures in the preview. If they are faint, raise the contrast, or try Black and white.
What can you scan with it?
Anything on paper that you need as a PDF or a picture.
Bills, challans and receipts
Keep electricity, gas and school fee slips, and send expense receipts to your office as one PDF.
Degrees, marksheets and certificates
Admission, scholarship and job portals ask for scans. Make each one clear and small enough to upload.
Contracts and signed forms
Print, sign by hand, then scan it back to a clean PDF to email or send on WhatsApp.
ID cards and forms
Scan a form, a letter or a card. For a CNIC with front and back on one page, use the <a href="/tools/cnic-copy-maker/">CNIC copy maker</a>.
Notes, books and whiteboards
Turn handwritten notes, textbook pages or a whiteboard photo into a readable, straight PDF.
Going paperless
Scan old papers once, keep the PDFs on your phone or computer, and stop carrying files around.
Paper sizes and scan resolution
The PDF page can be A4, A5, Letter, Legal, or the same shape as your scan. The pixel sizes show what Standard (150 dpi) and Max (300 dpi) give you.
| Paper | Size | In inches | At 150 dpi (pixels) | At 300 dpi (pixels) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A4 | 210 × 297 mm | 8.27 × 11.69 in | 1240 × 1754 | 2480 × 3508 |
| A5 | 148 × 210 mm | 5.83 × 8.27 in | 874 × 1240 | 1748 × 2480 |
| Letter | 215.9 × 279.4 mm | 8.5 × 11 in | 1275 × 1650 | 2550 × 3300 |
| Legal | 215.9 × 355.6 mm | 8.5 × 14 in | 1275 × 2100 | 2550 × 4200 |
Scanning guides for phone, computer and forms
The quickest routes for the most common jobs.
Scan a document on an iPhone
- Open this page in Safari, tap Take photo, and photograph the page on a plain table in good light. Repeat for each page, or choose photos from your library.
- Check the four corners on each page, pick Clean or Black and white, then tap Download PDF.
- The PDF is saved in the Files app (Downloads). You can also tap Share to send it straight to WhatsApp or Mail.
Scan a document on an Android phone
- Open this page in Chrome, tap Take photo for each page, or choose photos from your gallery. You can select many at once.
- Let the scanner find the edges, drag a corner if one is off, and pick a look.
- Tap Download PDF. The file goes to your Downloads folder, and Share sends it to WhatsApp or email.
Scan from a computer without a scanner
- Take photos of the pages with your phone and send them to the computer, or use a photo you already have.
- Drop the photos on this page, or paste one with Ctrl + V. Add all the pages and put them in order.
- Download the PDF, or print it straight from the page.
Make a scanned PDF under 100 KB or 200 KB for a form
- Add and fit your pages, and choose Black and white. Text pages shrink the most.
- Under Save, set File size to the limit the portal gives, for example Under 200 KB.
- Download. If the limit is too tight for the number of pages, the tool tells you and makes the smallest file it can. Then try fewer pages, or run the PDF through the <a href="/tools/pdf-compress/">PDF compressor</a>.
Scan many pages into one PDF
- Add all the pages. Use Take photo again for each new page, or choose a whole set from your gallery.
- Use the arrows to move a page earlier or later, turn a page that is sideways, and delete a bad one.
- Download one PDF with every page in order, or all the pages as a ZIP of images.
Scan a signed contract or form
- Print the form and sign it with a pen, then photograph each page.
- Choose Clean to keep a blue pen and a stamp in colour, or Black and white for a plain office look.
- Download the PDF and email it, or use Share to send it on WhatsApp.
Is a phone scan accepted, and can I search the text?
A scan made here is a digital copy of the paper. Whether an office, bank or court accepts a scan, or wants the original or an attested copy, is up to that office, so ask before you rely on it.
The PDF is made of pictures, so the text is not searchable and cannot be selected. If you need the words as editable text, run the scan through the Urdu OCR tool, which reads Urdu and English from a photo or a PDF.
Check the preview before you send it. A shadow across a number, a cut corner or a blurry stamp can make an office reject the scan, and it is easier to fix now than after you have sent it.
Private by design: your pages stay on your device
Most online scanners ask you to upload your pages, and a page can hold an ID number, a salary, a bank detail or a medical report. This one does not. The photos are opened, straightened, cleaned and turned into a PDF inside your own browser, so they are never sent to FileXL or anyone else, and nothing is saved when you close the page.
The AI that finds the corners is a small model of about 3.5 MB. Your browser downloads it once from FileXL, and then it runs on your own device, so it works on your page without sending the photo anywhere. If you would rather not download it, untick the AI box under the tools and the scanner uses its standard detection instead.
Need something else? Use the PDF merger to join scans with other files, the PDF compressor to shrink a PDF further, the photo resizer to set a picture to a size in KB, or the passport photo maker. Each one runs in your browser too.
Document scanner questions, answered
How do I scan a document with my phone for free?
Open this page on your phone, tap Take photo for each page, and let the scanner find the edges of the paper. Choose a look, then tap Download PDF. It is free, with no app, no sign-up and no watermark, and the pages stay on your phone.
How do I scan a document to PDF without an app?
Use this page in your phone or computer browser. Take or choose photos of the pages, straighten them with the four corners, and download one PDF. Everything runs in the browser, so there is nothing to install.
Can I scan multiple pages into one PDF?
Yes. Add as many pages as you need, up to 40. Move them earlier or later with the arrows, turn or delete any page, and download one PDF with all the pages in order.
How do I make a scan black and white?
Choose Black and white under Look. It removes shadows, makes the paper white and the text dark, like a photocopy. Use the Darkness slider if the text looks too light or too heavy.
How do I remove shadows from a photo of a document?
Pick Clean, Grey or Black and white. These looks measure the uneven light across the page and flatten it, so the paper turns white and soft shadows disappear. A hard, dark shadow, like your hand over the page, is better retaken.
How do I make a scanned PDF under 100 KB, 200 KB or 1 MB?
Under Save, set File size to the limit you need. The tool lowers the picture quality and size step by step until the file fits. Black and white pages are the smallest. If many colour pages cannot fit, use fewer pages or a larger limit.
Does the scanner use AI to find the edges of the page?
Yes. Smart find is a small AI model (DocCornerNet) that looks at the photo and places the four corners on the paper. It also finds white paper on a light table, where colour-based detection often fails. It is on by default, and you can turn it off with the checkbox under the tools. You can always drag the corners yourself.
Is my document sent to an AI server?
No. The AI model is a file of about 3.5 MB that your browser downloads once from FileXL and then runs on your own device. Your photos are never sent to FileXL, to an AI company or to any other server, and the scanner works the same way without the AI if the model cannot load.
How do I auto crop a document photo?
Add the photo and wait a moment: the scanner finds the paper and crops and straightens it. Press Smart find to run the AI again on a page, or drag the four corners if one is off.
Is my document uploaded anywhere?
No. The photos are opened, straightened, cleaned and saved inside your own browser. They are never sent to FileXL or any other server, and nothing is kept when you close the page.
Is this a free alternative to scanner apps like CamScanner?
It does the same basic job: photos of paper become a clean, straight PDF. It needs no app, no account and adds no watermark. It does not store files in the cloud and does not read the text (no OCR), because everything stays on your device.
Is it really free, and is there a watermark?
It is free to use, with no watermark, no sign-up and no daily limit. FileXL does not add its name to your pages.
Can I save the scan as JPG or PNG instead of PDF?
Yes. Choose JPG or PNG to save each page as a picture. One page downloads as a single image, and several pages download as one ZIP file. PNG is lossless and larger, and JPG is smaller.
How do I scan an ID card or a CNIC?
You can scan it here like any page, but the CNIC copy maker is built for it: it puts the front and the back on one page at the real card size, and it can add an "only for" mark.
Does it recognise text (OCR) or make the PDF searchable?
No. The PDF holds pictures of the pages, so the text cannot be searched or copied. To turn a scan into editable text, use the Urdu OCR tool, which reads Urdu and English.
Which PDF page sizes can I choose?
Same shape as the scan, A4, A5, Letter or Legal. A fixed size places the page in the middle with the margin you choose, and Auto turn switches to landscape when the page is wider than tall.
How many pages can I scan at once?
Up to 40 pages in one scan. Very large photos use a lot of memory on an older phone, so if the page slows down, make one PDF for each part of the document and join them with the PDF merger.
The scanner did not find the edges of my page. What now?
Press Smart find to try the AI detector again, or drag the four corners onto the corners of the paper. Press Whole photo if the photo is already cropped. A plain table with a different colour from the paper helps the automatic detection next time.
What quality should I choose?
Standard (150 dpi) is fine for most forms and email. High (200 dpi) suits small print, and Max (300 dpi) is for printing or fine detail, but the file is much larger. If a portal has a size limit, set File size instead.
Does it work on iPhone, Android and a computer?
Yes. It works in the browser on iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac and Chromebook. On a phone, Take photo opens the camera, and Share sends the PDF to WhatsApp or email when your browser supports it.
Can I scan without a scanner?
Yes. A phone camera in daylight is enough. Photograph the page flat on a table, add it here, and the scanner straightens and cleans it so it looks like a flatbed scan.
Can I change the order of the pages or delete one?
Yes. Select a page in the strip, then use the arrows to move it earlier or later, the turn buttons to rotate it, or Delete to remove it. You can also drag a page to a new place on a computer.
Can I print the scan?
Yes. Press Print to print every page at the paper size you chose. In the print window, choose Actual size or 100%, and set margins to None or Default.
Which photo formats work?
JPG, PNG and WebP. For an iPhone HEIC photo, open it in Safari, or first convert it with the HEIC to JPG converter.
Why does my scanned PDF look blurry?
The photo was probably out of focus or taken in dim light, or Standard quality was too low for small print. Retake it in daylight with a steady hand, and choose High or Max quality.
دستاویز کو اسکین کر کے پی ڈی ایف کیسے بنائیں؟
اوپر Take photo دبا کر ہر صفحے کی تصویر لیں یا گیلری سے چنیں، ٹول کاغذ کے کنارے خود ڈھونڈ کر صفحے کو سیدھا کر دے گا۔ پھر Clean یا Black and white چنیں اور Download PDF دبائیں۔ کوئی ایپ نہیں چاہیے اور واٹر مارک نہیں لگتا۔
کیا میری دستاویز کسی سرور پر اپلوڈ ہوتی ہے؟
نہیں۔ سارا کام آپ کے اپنے براؤزر میں ہوتا ہے، اس لیے آپ کے صفحات FileXL یا کسی اور سرور تک نہیں پہنچتے۔
اسکین شدہ پی ڈی ایف کا سائز کم کیسے کریں؟
Save میں File size کے خانے سے حد چنیں، مثلاً 200 KB سے کم۔ ٹول معیار اور سائز آہستہ آہستہ کم کر کے فائل کو اس حد میں لے آتا ہے۔ Black and white صفحات سب سے چھوٹے بنتے ہیں۔
Need to send the scan to someone?
Upload the PDF to FileXL and share a link or a short code. Large files, no account needed.
Send files with FileXL I have a code