How to Find Scanned Documents on iPhone [6 Ways]

iPhone can be used as a portable scanner, and the location of the scanned documents depends on how you scanned them. This article will detail how to quickly find scanned documents on an iPhone and provide you with specific steps.

How to Find Scanned Documents on iPhone in iCloud.com

To save iPhone storage space or to keep documents for a longer period, it is a good choice to save the scanned documents in iCloud.

iCloud will automatically keep your iPhone files and allows you to find them with the search feature.

Step 1. Visit the iCloud webpage.

Step 2. Log in with the iCloud account.

Step 3. Locate and open Notes.

Step 4. Open the search field, enter and select the note with the scanned document.

How to Find Scanned Documents on iPhone Notes

The Notes app is the quickest and most convenient way to scan and edit a document. It features a search function that allows you to easily find specific notes.

Moreover, you can filter your search by note type, like memos with scanned documents, narrowing down the search results.

Step 1. Open Notes > Click on the search box above.

Step 2. Enter the keywords of the scanned documents > Get the relevant results.

Or click “Notes with Scanned Documents” in “Suggested” > Swipe down and find the document you need.

How to Find Scanned Documents on iPhone in the Photos App

When you switch on the “Save to Photos” feature of Notes, it saves scanned documents directly to Photos without other operations. Then, you can find the scanned documents’ pictures in your camera roll.

Step 1. Go to Settings > Notes, scroll down, and enable “Save to Photos.”

Step 2. Open the Notes app and scan your document.

Step 3. Open the Photos app and check your scanned document images.

How to Find Scanned Documents on iPhone in PDFgear Scan

Although Notes is very convenient, it meets only basic scanning needs. Therefore, people often use a professional scanning tool like PDFgear Scan.

This scanner supports many advanced functions, such as scanned document editing, text extraction supported by OCR technology, signing scanned documents, etc.

The saving paths of this scanner are clear, and you can get the scanned documents in “All Files” or “Home” > “Recents.”

How to Find Scanned Documents on iPhone Files

The Files app on iPhone allows you to manage and organize various types of files, including scanned documents.

You can navigate to the location where the scanned document is saved to browse the files or search directly to find the scanned document.

Step 1. Open the iPhone Files app.

Step 2. Go to “Browse” > Go to the location where the document is saved, which can be iCloud Drive, On My iPhone, or any other connected cloud storage service.

Step 3. Scroll through the file list to find the scanned document you are looking for.

Or just type the name in the search box, and Files will show you all the matching results.

How to Find Scanned Documents on iPhone Using Spotlight Search

The last way to find scanned documents on an iPhone is to use Spotlight Search. This is the quickest way to search and find relevant scanned documents directly from the Home screen.

Step 1. Swipe from the middle of the Home screen to open Spotlight Search.

Step 2. Type the text related to the scanned document.

Step 3. Browse and find the document you need.

FAQs

Why Can’t I Find Scanned Documents From iPhone?

There are two possible reasons why you cannot find the scanned file on your iPhone:

1. The correct save path is not found: You need to verify the original scanning method, such as Notes, the scanning application, or the camera.

2. The scanned file has been deleted: You can go to iCloud or other cloud storage software to find out if there is a backup.

Where Do iPhone Scanned Documents Go?

Generally speaking, the scanning method determines the saving path. For example:

1. Documents scanned using Notes will be automatically saved in Notes. If iCloud is turned on, the scanned documents will also be automatically uploaded to the cloud.

2. If other scanning software is used, the scanned documents will be automatically saved in the corresponding folder.

How Do I Get Text From a Scanned Document?

To extract text from scanned documents, you must use professional scanning software, such as PDFgear Scan. It has advanced OCR functions that can quickly and accurately recognize and extract text from any document.

What Should Scanned Documents Be Saved As?

Generally, the most common option is to save the scanned document as PDF. PDF is the most popular file format and is very suitable for editing, saving, and sharing.

In addition, you can also save the scanned document as an image. Image formats are very easy to access and take up less space.