Office Lens takes text from your camera to OneNote

By Seth Brodeur
last updated

Office Lens for Windows Phone 8 is a beta app that lets you snap pictures of text and turn them into OneNote notes. Using OCR technology, Office Lens instantly recognizes text in documents, business cards, and even whiteboards, and then converts them into searchable electronic files. It is also one of the features that was listed as part of the Windows Phone 8.1 SDK late last week.

The app has two different settings. Whiteboard mode removes glares and shadows from writing surfaces, while Document mode captures the text and color and fits trims them to size.

Here's a glimpse of Office Lens' controls

Both allow you to save directly to your camera roll or Microsoft OneNote, where you can organize and share your scans.

Office Lens is currently in internal beta testing, but you can keep an eye out for the app going public here in the Windows Phone Store.

Thanks, rdw, for the tip!

QR: Office Lens

Seth Brodeur
Seth Brodeur
86 Comments
  • The app link is missing a colon https://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/office-lens/43c017e4-c7b2-4...
  • Link fixed. Thanks!
  • By the way Microsoft has finally added a few more familiar items to its outlook.com menu. Word, One Note, Power Point and Excel have been added to the party. They are no longer hidden. http://64bitarena.blogspot.com/2014/02/microsoft-office-online-at-outloo...
  • Thats a Nice change, Outlook.com get better and better
  • Sounds like a really interesting app but why did the developer put those picture as a preview has nothing to do what the app do
  • Why did MS do it❔.. Because they aren't ready to show the app yet... It probably won't work until the 8.1 update anyways.... IDK..
  • I dont have permission to download app?
  • You don't get permission to download until you read the entire article.
  • I read the article, but I still can't download it. Why did you lie to me Sam?! :'(
  • How does it feel when the whole world laughs at YOU!(
  • lol :)))
  • I'm sorry Sam. I usually read the articles- wpcentral addict here. Love Windows Phone. Visiting my brothers and had a little to drink. Responsible of course ;-)
  • Tell it to the judge....
  • I cant download it, says i dont have permission to download
  • You also don't get permission. I'll give you permission if you read the article :)
  • Lol Sam :D
  • Same here.
  • I also have no permission. I read the article twice even just to make sure.
  • Can't download as well
  • Lmao. This time read it for REAL. Arse.
  • Read the details of app, there's a link for solution
  • It1s in private beta. Screenshots don't matter. But you need at least one to upload an app.
  • This could actually be the final nail in the evernote coffin for me.
  • This app doesn't add anything OneNote doesn't already offer (except the image enhancing and auto-cropping perhaps). OneNote can already search text in graphics. You can also search for words inside audio and video recordings. I left Evernote some time ago. Haven't looked back.
  • With Bing Lens, you can already do this... just click, copy, paste. This app will remove a step, but we do have the functionality on WP.
  • Holy cow, how did I never think to do this before? Thank you Nerdy Woman!!!!
  • Sounds like it will be very useful can't wait for it to be available for everyone's use
  • I thought One Note did this already? I took a picture of the phone list at work and converted it to text, to in turn copy and paste into my contacts.
  • In fact, the only thing I was disappointed by was I couldn't tap and dial right out of One Note
  • My thoughts exactly. Using this app would seem to be a case of working harder, not smarter.
  • Download & Install Manually 
  • Says , " Sorry you don't have permissions to download this app"
  • Wow...!! Seems great and a lot useful too.. Eagerly looking forward this app..
  • No love for Windows Phone 7? :(
  • This isn't for Wp lol
  • Acutally it is for WP although I guess it will be WP 8, maybe 8.1, only.
  • Oh wow, I feel retarded, oh wait! I didnt get the 1520 or the ICON LOL
  • What's with the creepy Grudge screenshot? I feel like it's going to start crawling out of my phone screen
  • It ll suck u in and spit out a more polished usable u.
  • Seems real good for free. Can't wait until update to download this on my sdorage. Synchronization to onenote is a great platform for this though.
  • I'm loving how no one read the entire article. It's In PRIVATE BETA. Its not available to the public yet.
  • Lol READ THE ARTICLE
  • the icon look so similar to the app HD Photo Viewer  
  • This article is an exercise in outing the WPCentral users who lack reading comprehension...
  • Nigga you ain't lyin'
  • Lmfao
  • Unable to download it
  • you need to give your microsoft account username and password here... we'll enable the download for you  
  • bill.gates@outlook.com
    Password: billieboy1955
  • I hope that isn't that guys real email account.
  • If you read closely ul get the answer :3
  • UC Browser Beta^ :
    1.Save your downloaded files to SD Card or Picture Folder for better file management.
    2.Bluetooth or QR Code File Sharing
    3.Photos Uploading to Facebook
    4.Menu and Settings Optimization http://m.facebook.com/l.php?u=http2F2F1jW5kAl&h=pAQFWZfPO&... hope to get it soob
  • SPAM
  • What spam to the hell with ur assumptions
  • Well, for starters, a link to a site that isn't FB... Second, a bit.ly link, so we can't see where we're going to end up. If you must use a shortener, use a service that allows for inspecting the destination URL, I.e., TinyURL.
  • U guys are simply insane lol this one i copied from fb that is why its it starts from fb. Leave there is no point to argue with idiots here
  • Any love for Windows Mobile 6.1? LOL!!!!! Would love to install it on my Motorola A3100, lol!!! Can't wait! Looks great (for my Lumia of course).
  • Tried to download it on my l620 its shows that you dont have permission to download it
  • This is weird, because as stated a thousand times, everyone else was able to download it. Did you try to update to WP8.1 first?
  • Yeah, didn't you know aniket03 that you need the WP 8.1 update to download this.
    Get with the times..
  • At the start it is written that it is a windows phone 8 beta app.
  • But you missed the part about being able to download it. Reading comprehension: C-
  • Seems like a few people had a good night out on the town heh lol
  • That screen looks like some bitch hair..
  • Its top quality vapalum material that ll be used on the surface 3. This is a teaser.
  • Yes! I love this function in OneNote, it is so useful. In fact I used it yesterday to take photos of a new class schedule for a friend and myself with my Surface, and she went 'Wow' when I was just taking photos and it automatically cropped and adjusted each photo.
    Now I won't have to wield a whole tablet to do this!
    Hopefully WPC will tell us when it's out of beta..
  • This functionality is buildin the OneNote modern UI app. ScreenShot whiteboard option. Really useful. (Windows 8.x)
  • This is awesome.
  • Can't wait for it , one more great app for WP
  • Also, has anyone taken a pic and looked at it on their One Drive? If you check the pic, in the details, it will report readable text. You can then copy and paste that. If noticed this for some time now. Seems MS has been working on this and not really said much about it.
  • http://www.wpcentral.com/extract-text-photos-skydrive-new-optical-charac...
  • LOL, Joe. I never saw the article, but I got my 920 3 days before Sam posted this. The Bing Lens/OCR capability was the first feature I discovered and the one that made me fall in love with my phone. I am, after all, the Nerdy Woman. ;-)
  • How is this different from Bing vision? Why make a separate app?
  • This thread is a prime example why this world is screwed.
  • Excel needs this also.
  • It should be integrated with Bing Vision.
  • Agreed
  • +1020
  • I wonder if it can take multilingual input. I have a bunch of notes in a foreign language class I need to convert :O
  • Google translate, copy/paste that bitch!
  • D/L Bing Translator. Cam shot and done!
  • Is it public yet? :)
  • Impossible app office lens download! Message: You have not credentials.....I've log in in Wp central but nothing happen! Posted via the WPC App for Android!
  • I don't download
  • Its so easy to spot the ones who haven't read the article or even the several mentions that its not open to everyone yet