Scan assignment guide

This page will cover how to use both Microsoft Lens and Adobe Scan to create digital copies of your handwritten notes.  These copies - saved as PDFs - can then be distributed electronically to others or submitted via Moodle for an assignment. 

Microsoft Lens is a scanning application which you can download onto your Mobile Phone. It lets you take pictures of paper documents and convert them into one PDF containing multiple pages. This PDF can then be downloaded, saved to OneDrive, or emailed to the user. 

1. To install the app, search Microsoft Office Lens - PDF Scan in the Apple App Store or Google Play.
2. Once the application is on your Mobile, launch it. 
3. When you open Microsoft Lens, you may be provided with the option to use five of the most recent images you have taken using the phone camera. These will appear above your circular Take Photo button.  If you do not want to use any of these images, swipe down to remove the option.
4. Make sure that the app is set to Document rather than a Whiteboard, or Business Card. This is visible at the bottom of the screen. The option that is highlighted is the current setting. To change this, select the setting you want. 
5. If you want to use an image that you have already taken but which is not automatically displayed, then select the picture icon to the left of Whiteboard. This will take you to your picture folder.
6. To choose a picture, select the image you would like to use then select the small orange > option at the bottom of your screen. You can select multiple images to create a multiple page PDF. Make sure the pages are in the right order, or use Reorder to rearrange the page order.
7. You also have the option to take a new picture using the app.

Scanning Documents

In order to take a picture so that it can be recognised and scanned by the app, you will need to make sure that the paper document is clearly visible and that the picture is taken from an aerial/birdseye view. 

When the scanning app has recognised the paper document in the picture, you should see a rectangle on the screen outlining the document that you are taking a picture of.

Once correctly identified, take a picture by selecting the round white circle at the middle bottom part of the screen.

Editing Scanned Documents

Once you have taken a picture of a paper document, confirm you are happy with it and Microsoft Lens will store this picture.

You will now have the option to delete, crop, or rotate the picture. These settings can be accessed at the bottom of the screen. 

You will also have the option to add filters, however we recommend that you do not do this. 

Make sure your pages are in the correct order. If not, select More and then use Reorder to rearrange them.

Do not select Done until you are ready to finalise the scanning and go to an Export To menu.

Creating a multi-page PDF scan 

To add multiple pictures into the same PDF, take each picture one after the other by selecting the Add New icon in the bottom left of the screen. This will allow you to take another picture, and edit it per the above steps.

Repeat these steps until you have taken a picture all of your documents. The limit is 30 pages.

When you are taking a picture you will notice that you now have an orange > option in the bottom right corner. The number in that icon represents how many pages your PDF currently has. If you select this option, you will be taken to the Export to section.

Do not click Done until you have scanned all of your documents.

Finalising document

Once you have scanned all of your documents, select Done in the bottom right of the screen. This will take you to the export to menu.

If you have selected to take another picture, but no longer need it, you can select the Orange > Option in the bottom right hand corner. This will also take you to the export to menu.

If you need to rotate, delete, or re-order the pictures, select the More while viewing the image, and choose the appropriate option.

Exporting your document

For Android:

1. Select the Person icon in the top right corner to sign in to OneDrive.
2. Sign in using your university email credentials.
3. We recommend that you save it to your OneDrive so that you can upload the document to Moodle using a computer.
4. Once signed in, press PDF and then press Save. This will take you to a My Files page where you can see all your scanned PDFs.
5. In your OneDrive, there should be a folder titled Office Lens, where your PDF file will be saved.
6. Depending on the length of the assignment, give the app a few minutes to process the PDF before checking your OneDrive.

For iOS (iPhone/iPad):

1. Select PDF. You will be given the choice to either save the PDF to your iPhone Storage or your OneDrive. We recommend that you save it to your OneDrive so that you can upload the document to Moodle using a computer.
2. Once selecting OneDrive, you will be asked to sign into your student email, if you have not already done so.
3. You will then be taken to a My Files page where you can see all of your scanned PDFs. The PDF will be saved to a folder named Office Lens, within your OneDrive.
4. Depending on the length of the assignment, give the app a few minutes to process the PDF before checking your OneDrive.

Adobe Scan is a scanning application which you can download onto your portable device. Adobe Scan recognizes text automatically (OCR) and allows you to save to multiple files formats including PDF and JPEG. The PDF or JPEG can then be downloaded, saved to OneDrive, or emailed to another user. 

If you are an iOS user and wish to use your City account, you will first need download the Creative Cloud app, and then follow the rest of the instructions. If you are an Android user, this is not necessary.

Once this step has been completed, follow these main instructions that apply to both operating systems.

1. Search Adobe Scan: Mobile PDF Scanne‪r in the App Store (iOS: iPhone/iPad) or Adobe Scan: PDF Scanner with OCR, PDF Creator in the Google Play Store (Android).
2. Once the application has installed, launch it. 
3. When you open Adobe Scan, sign in with either your City account, Google account, Facebook account or Apple ID. 
4. Once you have signed in, a welcome message will remind you that all scans will be processed to your Adobe Document Cloud. You will then be asked if you give permission for the app to access your camera/photos.
5. Please make sure that the app is set to Document rather than Whiteboard, Form, or Business Card. These options are visible at the bottom of the screen. The option that is highlighted in blue is the current setting. To change this, simply select the setting you want. 
6. If you would like to use an image that you have already taken that is stored on your phone, select the small picture box found in the bottom left of the screen. This will take you to your Photos/Pictures folder.
   • You can select up to fifty photos.
   • A blue number (denoting the order of the photos as they will appear in your final document) will show in the corner of each picture you select.
7. When you are happy with your selection, select the small blue tick in the top right of the screen. This will create your document, which you can then edit and save.
8. You also have the option to take a new picture using the app.

Scanning Documents

In order to take a picture so that it can be recognised and scanned by the app, you will need to make sure that the paper document is clearly visible and that the picture is taken from an aerial/birdseye view. 

When the scanning app has recognised the paper document in the picture, you should see four blue circles appear in each corner of your document. A message will pop up saying - "Capturing....hold steady"

Once the document has been scanned you will be able to adjust the borders of the document to fit to your preference, crop and adjust the lightness/darkness of the image.

When you have finished, select Save PDF.

Creating a multi-page PDF scan

To add multiple pictures into the same document, take the first picture and then select Keep scanning until you have captured all the pages. The app will label each page as, e.g., page 2 of 2. This shows how many pages you currently have in your document. You can edit each page as you go.

You can repeat this step until you have taken pictures all of your documents. The limit is 50 pages total.

Once you are ready to create your document, select Save PDF.

Finalising document

You will be taken to the app's home screen where you will see a list of your scans. 

Select the PDF and Modify to make any further changes.

You have the option to Add page, Reorder, Crop, Rotate.. and more. These settings can be seen at the bottom of the screen. 

You can go back and add more pictures to the document by selecting the Keep scanning option.

Once you are ready to save your document, select Save PDF.

Exporting your document

1. Go to the app's home screen where you will see a list of your scans
2. Next to each document there is the option to share.
3. Select Share a copy. There are several different mechanisms you can use
   1. Email a copy, either to yourself or someone else
   2. Use the default suggested apps, if you have OneDrive or Teams installed you can use those in addition to Mail, WhatsApp, or Outlook

You can upload PDFs to Moodle from a computer or mobile. However, we do not recommend using the Moodle app. 

1. Once you are ready to submit your assignment, log into Moodle.
2. Open the relevant module and assignment.
3. Select the add file icon.
4. Select Microsoft OneDrive and sign into your student account.
5. Locate the Office Lens folder in your OneDrive. This folder contains your scans from the Microsoft Lens App.
6. Select the relevant file and then Select this file.
7. Once you have uploaded the file, select Save changes .

We recommend you go through the PDF file before submitting to Moodle in order to check for any issues.

To submit to Moodle Assignment, please have a look at the Student Guidance for Submitting Assignments.