Tablet Grandpa-Technology for Beginners: FAX at Home. Use You Smart Phone or Tablet

Ever been asked to FAX something to someone, an important document, drivers license, etc. but didn't have a FAX machine handy? Try taking a picture of it and send by e-mail. Many can convert that photo into a document and you're done. However, I use a handy piece of software to take the picture, quickly save to a PDF (Portable Document Format used by many FAX machines, etc.), save and then e-mail. You even have the original for your records. I mentioned this handy feature in a previous article titled "what other things can you do with a smart phone camera."

There are a few software titles that do this but this is the one I use now. It is easy to use, I can do multiple pages and even re-order the pages once I've taken all of the pictures.

Handy Scanner (FREE or Pro version for 3.99), CamScanner HD (FREE or Pro version for 4.99), DocScanner S (FREE or 3.00 for pay version), DocScanner for 1.99.

I use Scanner Pro and CamScanner Pro. I have been using both of these tools. So far, I just can't decide which one to stay with. I have been using CamScanner on both my Android smart phone and my iPad and Scanner Pro for the iPad for a year or so.

3 Easy Steps

Take a picture of the page
Use the scanner software on your smart phone or tablet to convert to a PDF.
E-mail the result right from the software.

Most of these softwares are so intelligent they can examine the picture to detect the edges of the page too. If the software didn't do this correctly or if you only want to save a portion of the picture, you can make those corrections.

What can you get done with software like this?

Send a copy of a contract or important document.
Get a copy of the menu from your favorite restaurant, snap a picture of each page.
Need a copy of something you just signed? Take the picture and convert it later to a PDF and save.
Save important receipts for business or tax purposes.
Scan your important forms of identification like Passport and Drivers License and save to an on-line service like Evernote, Dropbox, SkyDrive, etc. for easy retrieval in case of emergency.

I don't use this software as frequent as every week but when I use it I continue to be grateful that I have it with me. it is a life saver.