Homework Photos Into One PDF

The Short Answer

Select all your photos in the Images to PDF tool, check the page order, choose Smaller file, and download one PDF. It works in the browser on a phone, a Chromebook or a laptop, with nothing to install and no account.

Haven't Taken the Photos Yet?

Your phone's built-in scanner is the easiest way. It straightens the page and saves a PDF directly:

• iPhone: open a note in the Notes app, tap the attachment button (the paperclip), then Scan Documents.
• Android: in the Google Drive app, tap the Camera button at the bottom right, then choose PDF when you save.

If you already have the photos, or your school device doesn't allow those apps, use the steps below.

Combine Your Photos Into One PDF

1. Open Images to PDF and tap Select images. Pick every page of the assignment.
2. Check the list. It shows the photos in page order. File pickers don't always keep the order you tapped them in, so use the ↑ and ↓ arrows to fix it.
3. Under Page size, choose Smaller file.
4. Tap Create PDF. The tool shows how many pages the PDF has and how big it is.
5. Tap Download PDF, then submit that file to your class.

The PDF is built on your device. Your homework is only uploaded when you submit it.

If the PDF Is Too Big to Upload

A phone photo is usually a few megabytes, and a PDF built from photos at full size is about as big as the photos added together. In our test, ten 12-megapixel photos of handwritten pages made a 35 MB PDF. Classes and schools set their own upload limits, and a PDF that size can hit them.

Smaller file scales each page to at most 2000 pixels on its longer side. That's plenty for handwriting and printed text. The same ten pages came out at 4.2 MB. If you made the PDF at original size, select the photos again, choose Smaller file and create it again.

Common Problems

• "This browser can't read" a photo. Newer iPhones save photos as HEIC. Safari reads them, but some other browsers don't. Open the page in Safari, or convert the photos with HEIC to JPG first.
• A page is sideways. Turn that photo the right way up with the Image Rotator, then create the PDF again. Next time, hold the phone upright above the page rather than lying flat, so it can tell which way is up.
• You need to add a typed page. Save that page as a PDF from Google Docs or Word, then join the two PDFs with Merge PDF.
• The upload is rejected anyway. Check which file types the assignment accepts. The Canvas invalid file type guide covers the common causes.

Photos That Are Easy to Read

• Shoot in daylight or good room light, and keep the phone's shadow off the page.
• Fill the frame with the page, and hold the phone parallel to it so the lines stay straight.
• Use dark ink or pencil pressed firmly. Light pencil can fade in a photo.
• Check each photo is sharp before you combine them. A blurry page is the most common reason teachers ask for a resubmission.