How To Scan a Document and Create Office Docs in Dropbox App

Great ideas can pop up in your mind anywhere, anytime, and you need to be able to hold on that momentum when it happens. The new Plus Button Dropbox added to its mobile app can make your life easier capturing these momentums on the go whenever it happens.

Here is how you can use it.

Open the Dropbox app on the device, and tap the + button in the middle of the bottom screen.

There are three things you can do from here.

Scan Document

Tap Scan document in the list that pops out from the + button and either take a picture of the content you want to scan or select an existing image from the camera roll.

If you choose to take a picture, point the camera directly above the content and tap the round Snap button when ready.

Tap the + icon at the bottom left corner to scan or add more pages. If editing is needed, you can do basic rotating by tapping the icon at the bottom right corner or tap the middle Adjust icon to do more advanced editing. You can also re-organize the pages by switching to the Arrange view at the top.

When you are satisfied with the result, tap Next from the Edit screen to enter the Settings view where you can rename the file, select the file type (PDF or PNG), and choose the folder to save the final file.

Upload Photos

On July 22, 2016, Dropbox is changing the way Camera Uploads works in the Basic accounts. As of this date, Dropbox Basic users will need to have the Dropbox desktop application installed to continue using camera uploads.

If you prefer not to connect a computer or upgrade to a Dropbox Pro, you can use this Upload Photos button from the + button to manually upload photos from your camera roll to a folder of your choice in Dropbox.

Create or Upload File

This is where you can conveniently create Microsoft Office documents right in the Dropbox app. Well, the app only creates the new file in a specified folder but doesn’t have the editing feature directly for Office files. You will be directed to the appropriate Microsoft app, or prompted to install the app if they are not installed.

Also, on iOS Dropbox app, the Edit icon in the Dropbox app will appear for the known office file types.

Overall, the new + button opens a door to a lot more potential opportunities for great features. I particularly like the Scan Document feature, and I am sure I will be using it a lot more down the road.