As many of us continue to work from home, accessing the right tech tools — software and hardware — is essential but not always easy. For instance, how do you share digital scans of printed documents without having access to a document scanner? Of course you can always buy a desktop scanner or an all-in-one printing device, but perhaps you need to scan on the go, or you just don’t want to spend money on hardware that takes up space and might not be needed once we all return to work. As an alternative, the Harris County Law Library recommends Microsoft Office Lens, a free scanning app for your Apple or Android device that allows you to scan on the go and save your scanned documents to your phone, tablet, or the cloud. It also integrates with Microsoft’s Office 365 software, the cloud-based suite of office applications that’s available by subscription for an annual or monthly fee.
Office Lens is our scanning app of choice for its quality, reliability, consistency, and ease of use. Other scanning options do exist, and you may find one that you like better, but we’ve been using — and recommending — Office Lens to library patrons who need a quick and easy scanning solution from a trusted brand ever since a solo attorney at one of our Hands-on Legal Tech Training classes suggested that we try it out. We did, and we liked it!
It’s a great tool for digitizing and storing receipts, business cards, or other printed documents. Simply snap a photo using the camera on your phone or tablet, capturing it as a whiteboard, a document, a business card, or a photo. Then, edit the image by cropping, rotating, or adding text. Finally, store the image as a PDF file or a Word document, and share it as needed.
There are many other reliable and recommended scanning apps available, but Office Lens is our app of choice. For a good list of additional tech tools and resources, take a look at the ABA Legal Technology Buyer’s Guide as well as the Harris County Law Library’s Legal Tech Institute page of Legal Tech Links.
