How to Scan to PDF on Windows 10/11 (Free Way With Guide)

When it comes to converting physical documents into digital formats, it can be a difficult task to sort out exactly what to do. Figuring out how to scan directly to PDF can be a long and confusing process for Windows users.

This article will guide you on how to scan to PDF Windows 10/11 quickly and easily with step-by-step instructions and screenshots.

Part 1. How to Scan to PDF on Windows 10/11 for Free

Scanning directly to PDF is easy and completely free to do. This can be done using the Windows Fax & Scan app which is included with Windows 10/11. Read on to learn how to scan to PDF on Windows.

Step 1: Open the Windows Fax and Scan app by searching the name on your device.

Step 2: Now, you need to click "New Scan" in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

Step 3: Now, you are in new window. Click on the "Change" icon to select your scanner. Choose "Documents" in the profile part, Feeder or Flatbed in the Source, customize paper size, and change the file size to "JPG". And click the "Scan" button in the bottom right-hand corner. Now, it starts scanning. Wait till it stops.

Step 4: Once you have completed the scan, select the scanned document and click the "Print" button at the top of the page.

Step 5: From the drop-down list of printers, select Microsoft Print to PDF. Click Print.

Step 5: Save your new PDF file. A window will open asking you to name and save your file to the desired location on your computer.

Congratulations! You now have a newly-scanned PDF file.

Part 2. How to Scan Multiple Pages to PDF on Windows 10/11 for Free?

Scanning multiple pages to PDF on Windows can be done using the same Windows Fax and Scan app as used above. Follow the steps below to scan multiple pages to PDF on Windows 10/11.

Step 1: The first step is same to scan to PDF. Open the Windows Fax and Scan App on your device. Now, you need to click the "New Scan" button in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. Connect your scanner via "Change", customize other setting and click "Scan" in the bottom right-hand corner to scan all pages into images.

Step 2: Once you have scanned all the pages you loaded in your scanner, you will see each page is one picture in the Windows Fax and Scan. Select one page image and double click to open it in Windows Photo Viewer. All the scanned images will be listed in the Windows Photo Viewer. Now, you can click "Print". Select one place to save your PDF. Congratulations! You have now successfully scanned multiple pages to PDF on Windows 10/11.

Part 3. How to Edit Scanned PDF on Windows 10/11

Now that you have successfully scanned your paper to PDF, you may want to edit it. For this, you will need a PDF editor with OCR. Luckily, UPDF can do this for you!

UPDF is a simple-to-use PDF editing tool that enables you to edit your scanned PDF. The seamless experience provided by UPDF allows for:

• Editing scanned PDF text and images.
• Converting scanned PDF into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other formats
• Translating, summarizing, and rewriting scanned PDF using UPDF AI

Download UPDF's free trial now to test it – no credit card required.

Once downloaded, you can follow the steps below to edit your scanned PDF using UPDF.

Step 1: Install UPDF onto your device.

• Step 2: Once installed, click "Open File" at the top of the screen. Select the scanned PDF you would like to edit.
• Step 3: To make the PDF editable, select the "OCR" option on the right-hand side.

Step 4: To use the OCR function within UPDF, you will need to download the OCR plugin. Click "Download" to proceed.

Step 5: Once you have installed the plugin, click the "OCR" button again and select your preferences from the dialogue box. Click "Perform OCR" and save your new editable PDF to the desired location on your device.

Step 6: Congratulations! You now have a searchable and editable PDF document. Click "Edit PDF" on the left-hand side of the page to get started editing your scanned PDF.  

UPDF has many other features. For a more detailed review of UPDF's many features and abilities, read this article featured on How-To Geek Or, for a video review, watch this YouTube video from Cybo Tech:

Final Words

Now you know exactly how to scan to PDF Windows 10/11 and how to scan multiple pages to PDF on Windows10/11 using Windows Scan & Fax by following the above steps. And in many cases, you may need to edit the scanned PDF. For this case, you can use UPDF to make your scanned PDF into editable easily.UPDF is AI PDF editor with OCR which can help you make your scanned PDF editable, convert them into other formats and do anything you like.  Download UPDF here to use it now.