Going Digital: Upload Hard Copies of Documents with Filestack

All kinds of businesses focus on document digitization to reduce paperwork in this digital era. Document digitization refers to converting hard copies of documents into a digital format using different techniques and tools. This helps reduce storage costs and makes accessing or retrieving documents easy. Moreover, digital documents are easier to share with anyone in any part of the world. Simply put, digitizing hard copies of documents makes document and information management easier and more efficient. One way to digitize and manage your documents is to use an app to upload documents. An efficient document upload app like Filestack provides an easy way to digitize, store, and manage your documents.

This article will discuss the features you must look for in a document upload app. We’ll also show you the best upload documents app and the process of uploading documents.

What is a document upload app?

A document upload app is a software application that enables users to upload documents from their local device to cloud storage, such as Google Drive or Dropbox. Sometimes the app also compresses big files into smaller sizes to transfer files quickly. You can also use a document upload application to digitize and store hard copies of your documents. For example, you can use your mobile phone’s camera to take pictures of documents or scan them and then upload them using the upload document application. The app sends the uploaded files to a remote server (cloud storage),  making it easy to access your documents anytime, anywhere.

Efficient document upload apps offer additional valuable features like document organization, sharing, search capabilities, and collaboration features. Thus, these apps enable businesses to reduce paper clutter and manage documents more efficiently.

What features should you look for in a document upload app?

When choosing a document-uploading app, consider the following options and features:

Security

Due to rising cyberattacks, data privacy and security are huge concerns when uploading documents to a remote server. Security ensures that your important documents and sensitive company data are safe and protected during transfer and storage. Fortunately, reliable file-uploading apps like Filestack use industry-standard security measures to protect your files. For example, these apps encrypt your documents and ensure that only authorized users can access them.

Drag & drop upload documents interface

Drag-and-drop functionality is now an essential part of document and file upload apps. A drag-and-drop file upload interface is more user-friendly as it allows users to drag multiple files and drop them on the uploader easily. Moreover, it also shows a document preview, so users can ensure they uploaded the correct file. Thus, it saves time by avoiding complex and lengthy file-uploading procedures.

Handy UI for uploading documents

A user-friendly and handy UI enhances the user experience by making it super quick and easy to use the app. For example, a good UI makes it easy for users to find any feature or option they need while uploading documents.

Format conversion

When choosing a document uploading app, check if the app supports document format conversion. This means the app should allow you to convert your documents from one format, such as Docx, to another format, such as PDF. This makes your files compatible with various devices.

Image editing

Many document-uploading apps are file-uploading apps, allowing users to upload different types of files, including documents, images, and videos. Thus, it’s essential to consider whether the app supports image uploading and offers built-in image editing features so you can enhance your images without the need to use a third-party app.

How do I upload a hard copy of a document?

To upload a hard copy of a document, you first need to digitize it.

Digitize and upload documents using a camera

One of the quickest ways to digitize your documents without spending any extra money is to use the camera of your mobile device, such as an Android device. You can take a picture of your document with your smartphone’s camera, then upload the image using a document upload app and store it in cloud storage.

For example, you can use the Filestack file uploader service to upload your files quickly using a beautiful drag-and-drop interface and store them on a remote server. You can also integrate the uploader with your already existing cloud storage solution, such as AWS, Azure, or Google Drive. Moreover, the uploader also supports file previews and multiple file uploads.

Digitize and upload documents using a scanner

 

A scanner is a device that enables users to convert a hard copy of their documents into digital information. To do this, you need to place the paper documents on the scanner bed and start the scanning process. The scanner then processes the documents and converts them into digital formats, such as PDF or image files. You can then upload those files from your computer to a remote server using an upload document application.

However, nowadays, smartphones have built-in scanner apps that allow you to scan your documents using your smartphone camera instead of buying a scanner device separately.

What file formats can you upload using the upload documents app?

Different file-uploading apps support different file types. For example, some apps allow you to upload only PDF and Docx files, while others only support image files. However, if you’re using a sophisticated file uploader like Filestack, you can upload all the different types of files, such as:

PDF files

PDF, or Portable Document Format, is a common file type compatible with almost all devices. Businesses prefer PDFs as they maintain the original formatting of the document.

Doc or Docx

It is another typical text file format that MS Word uses as the default file format. With Filestack, you can upload any Docx file easily to cloud storage.

Image files

Filestack supports all the different image file types, including PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, TIFF, BMP, and many more. It also enables users to transform and enhance images using features like crop, rotate, compress, use filters, and more. However, users can also convert image files to other formats.

Audio and video files

With Filestack, you can quickly upload various video and audio files, including MPEG, Avi, and Ogg.

How do I upload documents with Filestack?

To upload files with Filestack, you first need to add the Filestack File Uploader, called the File Picker, to your web application.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>

<head>
   <script src="//static.filestackapi.com/filestack-js/3.x.x/filestack.min.js"></script>
</head>

<body>
    <script>
   const client = filestack.init(API_KEY);
   client.picker().open();
    </script>
</body>

</html>

The code above will add the following file uploader to your app:

 

Next, you can start uploading different file types using the drag-and-drop interface. Once your files are uploaded, Filestack provides a CDN URL that you can use to deliver files in your app or transform them using various transformation features. Filestack also allows you to customize and configure the uploader and add more sources. For example, you can configure the uploader to enable file uploads through the device camera. This way, you can easily digitize your documents and store them in cloud storage. Filestack also supports the integration of many other popular platforms, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Instagram, Facebook, and more. Moreover, Filestack makes it easy to handle large file uploads by enabling chunk and parallel uploads.

Filestack offers state-of-the-art document detection and preprocessing solutions using sophisticated machine-learning algorithms. With Filestack document detection, you can accurately detect folded, rotated, or wrinkled documents that you upload. You can then use Filestack OCR to convert hard copies of your document into editable digital files.

Managing documents with the Filestack document upload app

Filestack makes managing your files and documents simple and efficient. You can easily retrieve your documents by appending their handle:

https://cdn.filestackcontent.com/HANDLE

Moreover, automated tagging for uploaded files makes organizing and finding your desired files super quick. You can use tags to group and categorize your files and later search for files within folders easily.

Collaboration features

Filestack allows you to share your uploaded files easily with others. For example, when you upload files using Filestack, you can store them in a remote server or cloud storage platform like Google Drive. Once the file is uploaded, Filestack returns a unique URL of that file that you can share with others. Users can view or download those documents or even collaborate, comment, and view changes made to them.

Security features

Filestack offers end-to-end secure and reliable file upload services through security policies and cutting-edge malware and virus detection technology. Additionally, Filestack supports encryption in transit and at rest to ensure a high level of data security. The Filestack platform securely manages the encryption keys for both in-transit and at-rest encryption.

Performance and scalability

Filestack is designed to handle large-scale operations and grow with your needs. Whether you’re a small startup or a large enterprise, Filestack can handle your document upload needs. Here’s how:

Performance: Filestack’s infrastructure is built for speed. With fast upload speeds and the ability to handle large files, Filestack ensures that your document upload process is smooth and efficient. Filestack’s technology also includes features like automatic file compression and image optimization, ensuring that your files are not only uploaded quickly but also optimized for performance.

Scalability: As your business grows, so do your document upload needs. Filestack is designed to scale with you. With the ability to handle millions of uploads, Filestack grows with your business. Whether you’re just starting out or handling millions of documents, Filestack has you covered.

Reliability: Filestack’s infrastructure is designed for high availability. With multiple data centers and automatic failover, you can trust that Filestack will be there when you need it. This reliability is crucial for businesses that depend on document uploads for their operations.

Integration with CDN: Filestack integrates with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to ensure fast delivery of your files around the globe. This means that no matter where your users are, they can access your documents quickly and efficiently.

Conclusion

A document upload app enables businesses to digitize hard copies of their documents and upload them to cloud storage or remote server. This makes files accessible from anywhere and reduces paper clutter and storage costs. However, when choosing a document upload application, it’s crucial to consider the app’s security, ease of use and features like drag-and-drop UI, image editing, etc. Filestack is a leading file uploader and file upload API that offers all the features you would need in a file upload app. It offers a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface and returns a CDN URL to retrieve or deliver your files. It uses industry-standard security measures to protect all your files from cybercriminals. Moreover, it offers advanced image transformation and editing features.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How can I upload documents easily?

You can use a document uploader like Filestack to add a file uploader to your app. You can then upload documents using the uploader and store them on a remote server.

How can you upload a PDF?

You can use Filestack file uploader to upload various file types, including PDFs, MS Word documents, images, audio files, and more.

Which app is used to upload documents?

Filestack is a leading file/document upload solution that enables you to upload and store files to an S3 bucket and deliver them using a CDN. When you’re using Filestack File Uploader, you can integrate it with 20+ sources to upload documents. These include Google Drive, Dropbox, Instagram, Facebook, and more.

Sign up for free and try the Filestack File Uploader today!