Scan to PDF: Scan Documents Online Free
Turn your camera into a document scanner: capture pages in the browser, apply grayscale or black and white, choose A4 or Letter, and download a multi-page PDF. No app, no account.
How to Scan a PDF in Your Browser
Three steps, no installation:
- Open the camera - Press Open camera and allow access. The live preview appears immediately; no QR codes, no phone pairing, no app store.
- Capture your pages - Choose a filter, frame the document, and press Capture. Every shot lands in the filmstrip where you can delete or reorder it.
- Build the PDF - Pick A4, Letter, or auto sizing with margins, then download the multi-page file with its SHA-256 hash shown for verification.
Camera Capture, Filters, and Page Setup
A scanner is only as good as its options. Here is what each control does to your final pages:
- Color - Keeps the original pixels: receipts, forms with stamps, or pages containing photos.
- Grayscale - The office-scanner look for text documents; smaller files and neutral tones.
- Black and white - Strong contrast for crisp text pages, ideal for signatures and printed forms.
- Auto size - Each page keeps its capture proportions at 150 dpi, the classic scan resolution. A4 and Letter enforce standard dimensions.
- Orientation - Force portrait or landscape for standard sizes; auto follows what the camera saw.
- Margins - None, small, or large white space around the centered image, so nothing clips near the edge.
- Filmstrip - Delete and reorder before building: page order in the strip becomes page order in the PDF.
Scan Documents Without an App
Scanning usually means downloading an app, creating an account, then hoping the watermark is removable. This page skips all of it: the browser camera feeds a local canvas, filters apply on-device, and pdf-lib assembles the pages before the file downloads. Photos taken earlier work too through the upload input. Keep the workflow going with JPG to PDF for existing pictures, Protect PDF for confidential scans, or the full PDF Tools hub. For site-wide checks, run the Free SEO Audit Tool or book our SEO audit services.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I scan a document to PDF with my camera?
Press Open camera, allow camera access, point at the page, and press Capture. Add more pages if needed, choose size and margins, then press Build PDF to download the multi-page file.
Do I need to install a scanning app?
No. The scanner runs entirely in this browser tab. There is no app, no QR pairing, and no account. If your browser blocks the camera, an image upload input is there as a fallback.
Which filter should I use for documents?
Grayscale looks closest to a normal office scanner. Black and white pushes contrast for crisp text pages. Color is best for photos, receipts with color ink, or pages where color matters.
What sizes and margins are available?
Auto keeps the capture's proportions at a realistic 150 dpi scan size, while A4 and Letter give standard page dimensions. Margins can be none, small, or large, and the image is centered inside the page.
Can I retake or reorder pages?
Every capture lands in the filmstrip. Remove any shot with its delete button and move pages with the arrow buttons before building the PDF, so order is always under your control.
Do my camera frames get uploaded?
No. Frames go from the camera stream straight to a local canvas, into the PDF, and download on your device. Nothing is sent to a server at any point.
Will the scanned PDF be searchable?
Not by itself. Captures are images, so the result has no selectable text. If you need searchable text, run OCR software on the output afterward; this tool focuses on clean, fast capture.