How to Scan a Document or Take a Photo Straight Into a Folder
Updated August 17, 2026
A scan usually arrives on a Mac the long way round: photograph it on the phone, then mail it to yourself, or open AirDrop, and finally move it out of Downloads into the folder it was always meant to be in.
It can arrive in that folder directly. Right-click where you want the file and choose Import from iPhone or iPad.
What you get
| Choice | What arrives |
|---|---|
| Take Photo | Photo.png — the picture your phone takes |
| Scan Documents | Scanned Document.pdf — one PDF, however many pages you feed it |
| Add Sketch | Whatever you draw on the phone, as an image |
Your iPhone or iPad opens the right screen by itself. Scan Documents finds the page edges, straightens the perspective and lets you keep going for as many pages as you like; when you finish, the whole thing lands as a single PDF.
The new file is selected in the list as soon as it appears, so it is ready to rename, and ⌘Z removes it if the scan came out badly.
Names never collide: a second scan into the same folder becomes Scanned Document (2).pdf rather than replacing the first, because feeding a stack of receipts through one at a time is the ordinary case.
It is also in the File menu
The same thing sits in File ▸ Import from iPhone or iPad, which is where to reach for it when you are working from the keyboard rather than the right-click menu.
If the rows are greyed out
macOS decides that, not ComfortFiles, and it greys them whenever no device is in reach. The requirements are Apple’s:
- both devices signed in to the same Apple ID, with two-factor authentication on;
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on for both;
- the phone nearby and unlocked.
Give it a few seconds after launching, too: your Mac looks for the device in the background, and the rows come alive on their own once it finds one. The quickest way to tell whether it is your phone or the app is to right-click on the Desktop in Finder — if the rows are greyed there as well, the device is what is missing.
Related
- The photo library — browsing the pictures already on this Mac, and getting them out as files.
- Image tools — rotating, converting and stripping metadata from what arrives.
- PDF tools — merging several scans, or shrinking one to fit an upload limit.
- Undo — what ⌘Z covers.
Frequently asked questions
How do I scan a document from my iPhone to my Mac?
Right-click in the folder where you want it, choose Import from iPhone or iPad, then Scan Documents. Your iPhone opens its camera, you photograph the pages, and the finished PDF appears in that folder on your Mac. Nothing is emailed, uploaded or AirDropped — this is Continuity Camera, the same mechanism macOS uses in Notes and Mail.
Why are Take Photo and Scan Documents greyed out?
macOS greys them when no device is within reach. Both machines need to be signed in to the same Apple ID with two-factor authentication, and have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on and be near each other. It can also take a few seconds after launch for your Mac to find the phone — the rows come alive on their own once it does.
Where does the scan get saved?
In the folder you right-clicked, as Scanned Document.pdf — or Photo.png for a picture. A second scan does not overwrite the first: it becomes Scanned Document (2).pdf. The new file is selected in the list when it arrives, and ⌘Z removes it.
Do I need to install anything on my iPhone?
No. Continuity Camera is part of macOS and iOS themselves, and needs no app, no account beyond the Apple ID you already use, and no cable.