Can Evernote on Android scan a document directly to PDF?

[scerwin 14]

The subject says it all. It seems so obvious a need. But I have no idea whether Evernote can do this. Can it? 

[agsteele 3,059]

Yes. I use the CamScanner app. You could also manage it with the camera direct into Evernote.

[Dave-in-Decatur 4,006]

11 minutes ago, agsteele said:

Yes. I use the CamScanner app. You could also manage it with the camera direct into Evernote.

Really? The camera gets pics into Evernote, including images of documents, but doesn't convert them to PDF. Or have I totally missed something?

@scerwin, AFAIK you have to use another app to do the scan, then you can attach the PDF to Evernote. Evernote OCRs text within images (and PDFs and other attachments), and the text becomes searchable (if you're on a paid subscription), but prefers to let you create your attachments (other than images) elsewhere. I agree it would be very cool if EN did this.

[agsteele 3,059]

59 minutes ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

Really? The camera gets pics into Evernote, including images of documents, but doesn't convert them to PDF. Or have I totally missed something?

Correct. By the time I'd commented on my use of Camscanner, I'd forgotten that the OP wanted a PDF output.

Even so, the camera option does work well enough to capture data which can then be recognised and searched inside Evernote.

[scerwin 14]

But I want my scanned docs to be saved as pdf, not jpg. This is such a basic task that I find it incredible that Evernote cannot do it. 

[scerwin 14]

Apparently the answer to my question is "no, Evernote cannot do this." Incredible! 

[PinkElephant 8,780]

I told you how it is done, and your answer is „they can’t“ and „incredible“.

Let‘s say: Back to 1st grade, work on your „listen & comprehension“. Or you make a fool out of you, later in life (and especially when misusing a forum).

[WilliamL 666]

20 minutes ago, scerwin said:

Apparently the answer to my question is "no, Evernote cannot do this." Incredible! 

Im not sure what the issue is here? There is an abundance of scanner apps that save as pdf, many are free too. Use one of those, do your scans then upload them to Evernote. Easy.

[Dave-in-Decatur 4,006]

20 minutes ago, scerwin said:

Apparently the answer to my question is "no, Evernote cannot do this." Incredible! 

I disagree. There are lots of things that seem "obvious" for different users of Evernote that it can't do. It can't scan docs to PDF; it can't run formulas in spreadsheets; it doesn't offer equation-building facilities; it doesn't colorize computer code.... You and I would like it to scan PDFs. People who want it to do more with code or spreadsheets may think we're nuts. But Evernote's developers have always had to draw lines between what the app will and won't do, especially when there are existing programs that do it better than Evernote could be expected to. E.g., how many languages should Evernote's PDF scanner handle? English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, obviously. But what about Farsi, Hindi, Swahili? Oops, I left out Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Czech, Greek, and Hebrew. I can't imagine that it could be trivial to work up a PDF conversion module of Evernote (not a separate app!) that would handle all the languages Evernote's users speak and need. Existing apps do this job, and Evernote stores the results and makes them searchable. That's what we get, and (given everything that Evernote does do), IMHO it's not bad.

[s2sailor 2,426]

Does Scannable exist for Android?  It’s an Evernote product and exists for iOS.  It allows you to scan into either jpg or pdf directly into Evernote.  It seems strange to me that they have kept this as a separate app and not just included the functionality into Evernote.

[PinkElephant 8,780]

It’s iOS only, AFAIK.

And as a Scanner app it is on the weak side of all scanner apps, if I look at the features. Like legacy it’s an app frozen in time - practically unaltered since EN bought it a long time ago.

[gazumped 12,057]

I'd recommend taking a look at Adobe Scan or Microsoft Office Lens - both Android,  and both will scan to PDF using the device camera and share that document to Evernote.  I like those two because they correct for perspective - with a little car you always get images that appear square to the camera,  evemn if you shoot from an angle for better lighting.

As for "Evernote should do this" - Why?  There are plenty of free apps already out there,  why reinvent the wheel?  Plus:  take a look at the menu structure of any third-party app.  Now imagine that shoe-horned into Evernote on a mobile device's busy screen.  I prefer a separate app!

[laurence.glazier 144]

Also a note can be exported as PDF, which might help. The export could even be dragged back into Evernote as a PDF version.

Thanks @gazumpedfor suggestions of Adobe Acan and Microsoft Lens, I will try them out on my iPhone. I use CamScanner at the moment but the adverts get in the way, and the others might do the perspective correction equally well.

[scerwin 14]

After some struggle, I figured out a "zero-click" method for scanning documents directly into an Evernote pdf note.

It is by far the easiest method I can imagine. You don't need to fiddle with exporting or uploading or emailing or converting jpg to pdf. You simply point your phone's camera at the document, wait for it to take the picture, and a few seconds later your pdf note appears in Evernote like magic.

Extra credit to anyone who can figure this out. But I'm happy to explain if you're impatient.

[PinkElephant 8,780]

Very simple: On a phone there are no clicks, only taps.

[Dave-in-Decatur 4,006]

7 hours ago, scerwin said:

After some struggle, I figured out a "zero-click" method for scanning documents directly into an Evernote pdf note.

It is by far the easiest method I can imagine. You don't need to fiddle with exporting or uploading or emailing or converting jpg to pdf. You simply point your phone's camera at the document, wait for it to take the picture, and a few seconds later your pdf note appears in Evernote like magic.

Extra credit to anyone who can figure this out. But I'm happy to explain if you're impatient.

I'm impatient.

[scerwin 14]

Here's how I do it. On my Android phone, I use SwiftScan to scan documents because it can also auto-upload to various cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. I use Dropbox. On my computer, I installed Dropbox so that files in the cloud are synced to a local folder on my computer. Then I configured Evernote (on my computer) to watch this folder and automatically import new files when they appear there.

This sounds a bit complicated, I know. But in operation, it's dead simple. Here's how it works. I open SwiftScan, point my camera at a document, and wait for it to focus and take the photo. That's it. A few seconds later the pdf appears in Evernote like magic. Zero clicks, as promised.

[PinkElephant 8,780]

Rather complicated install to perform a simple task.

But why simple if you can do it complicated.

[gazumped 12,057]

As opposed to Adobe Scan (or any of the other similar apps in the Play Store) that can create the PDF,  then share it with Evernote in a couple of clicks.

[Dave-in-Decatur 4,006]

I don't think @scerwin's process sounds overly complex. A couple of installs, a couple of setups, and after that it just works, without extra clickage. Slightly complex setup leads to simple functioning, simple setup leads to slightly complex functioning: a classic tradeoff that will suit some one way, some the other.

[agsteele 3,059]

My guess is that this exactly what the OP wanted to achieve. A neat workaround in my view especially if this is something done regularly. Thanks @scerwin for sharing.

[scerwin 14]

You're very welcome, agsteele and Dave-in-Decatur. As you both sensibly pointed out, it really is worth the five minutes it takes to turn a 4-click process [*] into a zero-click one. I have scanned many thousands of documents to Evernote over the last decade. It's not even about the time saved, but rather saying goodbye to the infuriating ridiculousness of going through the same completely unnecessary steps every single time. 

[*] Here are the steps I used to perform to get each scan into Evernote. No longer!
1. Share (from SwiftScan)
2. Choose format: Document PDF (from SwiftScan)
3. Choose the service to share to: Evernote (from Android)
4. Save to default notebook (from Evernote popup)

Of course, some users may not be comfortable doing the 'rather complicated install' of Dropbox. I can only encourage them to try. It takes just a few clicks. But if they prefer to endlessly repeat the 4-click 'simple task' above, I will not try to dissuade them.

[JREwing 21]

I use Samsung Internet Browser to print-to- pdf. Works great, but only on Samsung devices. Beyond that, Microsoft Lens is great.