CamScanner is a popular mobile app that allows you to scan, store, and manage documents easily using your smartphone camera. But did you know you can also use CamScanner on your Windows or Mac computer?
In this article, we’ll look at how to download and install CamScanner for PC and Mac, as well as the key features it offers.
Downloading CamScanner for Computer Use
To use CamScanner on your laptop or desktop computer, you’ll need to download and install an emulator program first. An emulator allows you to run mobile apps designed for Android or iOS on a Windows or MacOS device.
Some good CamScanner emulator options include:
- Bluestacks (Windows, MacOS)
- Nox App Player (Windows, MacOS)
- MEMU Play (Windows)
- Andy (Windows, MacOS)
Once you’ve installed your chosen emulator program, you can then easily download the CamScanner mobile app file (known as an .apk or .ipa file) and open it using your emulator. This will install CamScanner within your emulator’s virtual environment.
Key Features of CamScanner for PC and Mac
Now CamScanner is set up on your computer, what can you actually do with it? Here are some of the key features available:
Document Scanning
Just like on mobile, the main purpose of CamScanner on PC/Mac is scanning paper documents and photos into digital format. Using your webcam or scanner device you can scan multiple pages into clear and legible PDF or JPG files ready for easy sharing and storage.
OCR Text Extraction
One of CamScanner’s best features is its advanced OCR (optical character recognition) technology. This can intelligently extract text from your scans, allowing you to quickly pull text out of documents, images, or even handwriting into an editable text format on your computer.
Annotations and Editing
You can use CamScanner’s annotation tools to add notes, sign documents digitally, highlight, crop pages and edit scans. This helps tidy up any imperfections from the scanning process. Edits are non-destructive so you can revert back to the original scan too.
File Management
CamScanner acts as a handy document manager, allowing you to categorize and tag files, search scans by keyword, add notes and sort into customized folders. This keeps all your scans organized in one easy to manage place.
Secure Cloud Storage
As well as local storage on your device, CamScanner provides secure encrypted cloud storage for your scans which you can quickly access from anywhere on your computer or mobile devices. Useful for backups and remote access to your files.
Collaboration Tools
You can add multiple users to your CamScanner account and share files securely for business or collaboration purposes. You can also send document links by email directly from the app and add electronic approval workflows.
How to Use Key CamScanner Features on PC/Mac
Now you know what CamScanner offers, let’s look at how you can use some of the key features step-by-step after installing it on your Windows or MacOS device via an emulator program:
Scanning Documents
- Open your emulator program (e.g Bluestacks) and launch the CamScanner app.
- Click on the “+” icon and select to scan from file or camera. Choose camera and allow app access if prompted.
- Position your document or photo within the viewfinder rectangle and click the circular capture button to scan.
- Review the scan, adjust corners if needed. Click confirm when ready.
- Repeat process until all pages are scanned. Select file export format e.g PDF.
Extracting Text (OCR)
- Open the scanned document file within CamScanner.
- Click the Text button near the top of the screen.
- The app will run OCR text extraction on your scan.
- You can now copy paste the extracted text outside the app.
Annotating Scans
- When reviewing a scan in CamScanner, click the Annotate button.
- Add text boxes, arrows, lines, stamps or signatures anywhere on the scan.
- You can move, resize or delete added annotations easily.
- Click Save once complete and annotations will be permanently part of the scan.
Tagging for Organization
- While browsing your CamScanner library, tap and hold on a file’s icon.
- Select the labeling option from the pop-up menu.
- Choose existing tags you want to assign or create new custom tags for the scan.
- Saved tags will show under that scan icon for easy search and organization.
And there you have it – a handy guide to using the powerful CamScanner app on your desktop or laptop Windows or Mac computer.
