Scan books and magazines to read on your Android device

Ctrl+F is the standard keyboard shortcut to search for specific terms in your browser, documents or PDFs. The free Android app CTRL-Fuses the same premise, except that it lets you search for words within the pages of books or magazines that you scan using the app. The app converts any scanned pages to a high-resolution PDF, which means it’s ideal for saving pages you may want to read later on your phone and tablet, without having to carry the book or magazine around with you.

Install and open the app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ctrlf.app), then tap Skip to bypass the introductory screens. Next, tap the Camera icon at the bottom right, point it at a book or magazine page (ensure you’re standing directly above it in a well-lit room), then tap the shutter icon to take your photo. If your photo appears blurry, tap the X icon and retake it.

Otherwise tap the tick icon to save it. Using the on-screen grid, move the dots to frame the text you want to read, then tap the arrow. Next, tap ‘Always use English’, then tap OK. The app will now scan and display a high-resolution PDF of your document that you can zoom into and read on the go. Use the search icon at the bottom right if you want to find specific text within your scanned document.