Chromebook has a lot to offer its users with more improvements on its features, especially with the Camera app. Now, your Chromebook webcam can do more than just take and capture photos to save and share. With a Chrome OS software update, you can transform your Chromebook into a document scanner. That means you can scan a physical document, file, or photo and get them straight to your Chromebook even without a scanner.
There are times when you need to scan a physical document and upload it online to share via email or messaging app. If you don’t have a scanner at home, you can use the built-in camera on your Chromebook computer to scan it.
Google adds a Scan mode feature that converts captured documents and physical files and photos from your ChromeOS webcam into a JPEG, PNG, or PDF file. That way, you can easily save the file for storage or share it with others. Chromebooks lets you use both the front and the back-facing camera if you have both.
To access and enable the Scan mode feature on your Camera app, you need to update the software version of your Chromebook device first. Navigate to the Settings menu of your Chromebook. Select About Chrome and click Check for Updates. Install available updates and restart your Chromebook.
How to Enable the Scanner Feature and Scan Documents on Chromebook Computer Using ChromeOS Camera App
After updating the software version of your Chromebook computer, you can now see the Scan mode feature on your Camera app.
- To use the Chromebook Camera as a scanner, launch the Camera app.
- Go to the bottom row and click the Scan icon.
- Select Document.
- Point the camera to the document that you want to scan.
- Tap the Circle icon on the right side to capture and scan the document.
- Chromebook will then save the file.
Wrapping Up!
Google Chromebook computer also offers several other features on your Camera app. Using the Pan-Tilt-Zoom feature, you can angle and crop your camera view based on how you want it. Now, you can adjust the angle of the photo before you capture it to lessen the editing time later on.
Other ChromeOS built-in camera features that you can try out are the Self-timer, Save for later, Video Mode, and the QR Code. You can also look forward to creating GIFs on your Camera app in the future.
What do you think of the scanning feature on Chromebook? Is it the same with your physical scanner? We value your opinion, so please write one in the comment section.
So far my document photos are blurry. Maybe my fingers are in the picture and the camera focuses on them. I will try to mount my documents to a board and hold it from the back. I also have a bright light shining straight at the document to be sure it’s well lit.