Merge scans and convert a file

The last group on the Add sheet, Make from what you have, works with documents you already have: Merge scans combines several scans into one, and Convert a file turns a document into Word, Excel or PowerPoint, or a PDF or Office file into a scan.

What it is

Merge scans

Pick two or more documents in your vault, in the order you want. Paperwise makes one new document with all their pages, in that order. It works with scan documents (anything with pages: scans, ID cards, book scans, imported PDFs that you made into scans). The merging happens on your iPhone.

Convert a file

Convert a file offers four choices:

Choice	What it does	Where it happens
A document to Word	Makes a .docx from a document’s pages and text	Our server, after you agree
A document to Excel	Makes a .xlsx, with tables from the pages	Our server, after you agree
A document to PowerPoint	Makes a .pptx with the pages as slides	Our server, after you agree
A PDF or Office file into a scan	Turns a PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, RTF, text or OpenDocument file into a scan document with pages	Your iPhone

When to use it

Merge: a contract scanned in two goes, a form and its attachments, all the payslips for a year in one file.
To Word or Excel: you need to edit the text of a letter, or work with the figures from a printed table.
To PowerPoint: you want pages as slides for a meeting.
Into a scan: you want to sign, annotate, split or merge a PDF or an Office file you received.

Step by step

Merge documents

Tap + at the bottom of the Vault.
Under Make from what you have, tap Merge scans. The Merge scans sheet opens.
“Tap documents in the order their pages should appear.” Each document you tap gets a number. Tap again to take it out. Use the search field (“Search your scans”) to find documents quickly.
Optional: turn on Remove originals to move the documents you merged to Recently deleted.
Tap Merge 3 scans (the button shows how many). You see “Merged 3 documents”.
The new document opens. It’s named after the first one, with “(merged)” at the end, and it’s in the first document’s folder.

You need at least two documents. You can also merge from inside a document: Edit → Merge with…. See Split and merge.

Convert a document to Word, Excel or PowerPoint

Tap +, then Convert a file.
Choose A document to Word, A document to Excel or A document to PowerPoint.
Pick the document from the list of your most recent scans. Protected documents (IDs, medical, bank and tax papers) aren’t listed; convert those from their own Share button.
The Share screen opens with that format chosen. Check the options and send the copy.
A sheet titled Converted on our server explains what happens (below). Tap Continue to go ahead, or Cancel. It comes back the first time you convert that document in each session, unless you turn on Don’t ask again for this document.
When the file is ready, the share sheet opens so you can save it to Files, mail it or open it in another app.

Word and Excel files are built from the page text, so they leave out signatures and annotations you added with Markup. PowerPoint slides include them.

To convert a document that isn’t in the recent list, open it and tap Share, then choose Word, Excel or PowerPoint. See Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Turn a PDF or Office file into a scan

Tap +, then Convert a file.
Choose A PDF or Office file into a scan.
Pick a PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, RTF, text or OpenDocument file.
If the PDF is locked, type its password and tap Unlock.
Paperwise converts it on your iPhone and opens the new document (“Imported 12 pages”).

Office files are always converted on your iPhone; they’re never sent to our server. If your iPhone can’t convert a particular file, Paperwise says “Paperwise can’t convert this file” and suggests saving it as a PDF (Share → Print → Save to Files, or Export as PDF in the app that made it), then importing that.

The new document keeps the file’s text, so it’s searchable straight away. Pages without text are read on your iPhone. It goes into your vault and shows in All items.

To keep the original file as it is instead, use + → From Files. See Import from Files.

Free and Pro

Merge scans, converting to Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and turning a file into a scan are all free.

One limit on Free: when a page has no recognised text, our server reads it for the Word or Excel file. Without Pro, a conversion can include at most 5 such pages; with more, the file isn’t made and the plans screen opens. Let Paperwise finish reading the pages, or convert fewer pages.

Pro: Keep the layout for Word and Excel uses AI to rebuild the page layout more faithfully. It asks twice: once for the conversion on our server, then for AI. See Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Privacy

Merge scans and A PDF or Office file into a scan run on your iPhone. Nothing is uploaded, except an Office file your iPhone can’t convert, and only after you agree.
Word, Excel and PowerPoint files are made on our server. The sheet tells you first: “The pages are sent there to build the file and deleted right after; they aren’t end-to-end encrypted while that happens.” For Word and Excel, the server gets the document’s title, the recognised text of each page and, only for a page without recognised text, a picture of that page (Word also gets your language setting). For PowerPoint, it gets the title and the full page images. Our server handles it in memory for a few seconds and keeps nothing after it sends the file back.
Basic conversion doesn’t use AI. Only Keep the layout (Pro) sends pages to our AI provider, after its own consent sheet.
A merged document is never named automatically by AI, and it keeps the protection of the documents it came from: a protected type (ID, medical, bank or tax) and Never send to AI.

See What we can and can’t see.

Tips

In Merge scans, tap documents in reading order; the numbers show the order the pages will follow.
Turn on Remove originals only when you’re sure. If you change your mind, the originals are in Recently deleted for 30 days.
For an Office file you only want to keep, From Files is quicker; convert it into a scan only when you need its pages.

What if…

What if a document I want to merge isn’t in the list?

Merge scans lists scan documents only. Notes, cards and kept-as-is files don’t appear. Open the file and tap Make a scan first (PDF, image, Word, Excel or PowerPoint), then merge.

What if it says “Scan or import a document first.”?

Convert to Word, Excel or PowerPoint needs a scan document in your vault. Scan one, or turn a file into a scan first.

What if it says “Paperwise can’t convert this file”?

Your iPhone couldn’t convert that Office file, and our server couldn’t take it (or couldn’t be reached). Save it as a PDF (Share → Print → Save to Files, or Export as PDF in the app that made it) and import that.

What if it says “That file is too big”?

A PDF or Office file into a scan takes files up to 40 MB. Try a smaller or compressed copy. For longer PDFs, only the first 200 pages are imported, and Paperwise tells you so.

What if the Word or Excel file can’t be made?

Converting to Office needs an internet connection. Check your connection and try again.