I’ve been using an HTC HD7 running Windows Phone 7 for 6 weeks now, and I love it, rarely missing my iPhone. I discovered a very useful technique to digitize all my important papers and receipts using the phone, an application called Handyscan, and Google Gmail. This method allows you to scan papers with the phone, send the result as a .PDF via email to Gmail, and auto tag it for easier retrieval later. Here’s the steps:
- Set up a rule in Gmail under Options->Filters and set the parameters for any email with the word “Handyscan” in it which has an attachment to apply a label like “ScannedDocs”.
- Install the Handyscan application ( JDB Pocketware Handyscan ) onto the phone and start it up by clicking the “Scan New Document” button.
- Take a picture of the document/receipt. The new Windows Phone 7 has a good camera with LED flash so the results are excellent.
- The application presents three image optimizations for you to choose from, select the one which looks best to you.
- Save the picture in Handyscan and name it something logical related to the document…I also add the month & year at the end for future reference.
- Use the application’s menu (the three dots along the bottom right) and email the picture in Handyscan as a PDF (you could also leave it as a .jpg) to your google email account.
- When Gmail receives the email it will apply the label, making it easier to find later.
I’ve used this method to archive and digitally store lots of documents in the cloud for later retrieval and only takes a minute to complete…give it a try and see if it’s useful to you.
Note: The application currently costs $3.99 but there is a light version…I’m not associated with the company, just a satisfied user 🙂
Trev's Tech Tidbits 