Documents
Photo of a document to editable
A document that only exists on paper is a document nobody can update. A phone photo is enough to get the words back into something editable, and the whole job is making sure the words survive the trip.
The words are the source of truth
When you attach a photograph the extracted text becomes the content, and nothing is invented, summarised or reordered around it. That makes photo quality a content problem rather than a cosmetic one: a paragraph the camera could not read is a paragraph missing from your document, not a paragraph that looks slightly worse.
Page order is yours to control
Multi page documents are the common case here, and the order you attach them in is the order they are read. One multi page PDF removes the risk entirely. If you are attaching separate photographs, check them before you generate, because two pages the wrong way round in a policy or an agreement is much harder to spot afterwards than a missing word.
Folds, staples and stapled corners
Paper that has lived in a filing cabinet has a memory. A fold running through a paragraph breaks the line the camera reads, and a staple pulls the top corner out of plane so the first heading curls away. Flatten the page under something heavy for a minute before you shoot, and photograph a stapled set page by page rather than fanning it.
Check the numbering and the execution block
Two things decide whether a rebuilt document is usable. Clause numbering, because a policy or agreement that renumbers wrongly is worse than one nobody rebuilt. And the execution block at the end, which a tight crop loses and which is exactly the part somebody will look for. Read both against the paper once, then edit freely.
What you can attach
Up to five files per generation, 10 MB each, in PDF, plain text, PNG, JPG, WebP or GIF. Attaching files needs a paid plan. Handwritten notes, stamps and signatures on the page are marks on an image rather than content, so say in the prompt to ignore them.
How it works, in three steps
Step 1
Flatten the paper first
A fold or a staple curl costs you a line of text, and a lost line is lost content.
Step 2
Attach in page order
One multi page PDF is safest. Separate photos are read in the order you attach them.
Step 3
Check numbering and the last page
Clause numbers and the execution block are what make a rebuilt document usable.
The full walkthrough with screenshots is in the guide Turn a PDF or photo into an editable document.
Limits worth knowing
- Five files per generation, 10 MB each, in PDF, plain text, PNG, JPG, WebP or GIF.
- Attaching files is a paid plan feature.
- Handwriting is not read as content.
- Small print, rotated text and footers are where a photo is weakest.
See it on a finished piece
Questions people ask
What happens if the camera misses a paragraph?
It is missing from the document, because the extracted text is the content. That is why flattening the page and checking the result against the paper matters more here than it looks.
How do I keep multi page documents in order?
Attach one multi page PDF. If you use separate photographs they are read in the order you attach them, so check before generating.
Are stamps and signatures carried across?
They are marks on an image, not content. Say in the prompt to ignore them, and rebuild a signature as a proper signature block.
Make your own document
The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match yours, generate, then edit anything you like.
Create a document with OneCraftRelated pages
Recreate an existing document
Every organisation has documents nobody can restyle because nobody has the original file. Rebuilding one gives you the same words in a form you own, and then the look is one click.
Edit a flyer image by rebuilding it
A flyer you only have as a photograph is a picture of text. Nothing in it can be selected, recoloured or reprinted at another size. The way out is not to trace it, it is to read the words out of the image and rebuild them into a design that is editable from the first click.
Turn a price list into a flyer
A price list is easy to write and hard to lay out. The awkward part is not the design, it is arithmetic: a flyer slot holds a fixed number of rows, and your list almost certainly has more than that. Knowing the budget before you start decides whether you get a menu or a mess.
More finished work of this kind is on the document examples hub.