Adobe has discovered that people would like the ability to scan and OCR documents from smartphones and mobile devices, launching its own app to accomplish the task and provide functionality that has been available via Google Drive, Dropbox and countless standalone apps for the past few years.

Available on iOS and Android, the Adobe Scan app uses your phone's back camera and page edge detection to emulate the functionality of a normal document scanner.

The app requires a subscription to the Adobe Document Cloud to exploit the OCR functionality, although it is possible to sign up for a limited free account that allows you to save and share the scanned PDF file.

“Documents are the lifeblood of society, communicating information that spans contracts, textbooks, financial statements and everything in between,” said Abhay Parasnis, chief technology officer, Adobe.

“The challenge is unlocking the intelligence that lives in those documents, and extracting meaning that can be searched, analysed and incorporated into digital workflows.  Adobe Scan, powered by Adobe Sensei’s intelligent services, represents a critical step toward our broader innovation imperative for Adobe Document Cloud.”

Adobe has also updated the capabilities of its esignature offering.

Adobe Sign now offers cross-device signature capture. This is designed so if your computer isn’t touch-enabled, you can send a text message to your mobile device and sign with your finger or a stylus, then finish the job back on your desktop.  One tap adds it to your document automatically.

There are also new customisable email templates for requesting and confirming signatures. This gives your marketing department full control to use your logo, banner images, custom messages and other visual treatments to create an experience that is unique to your brand.