Scanning Guidelines

This article covers using the PaperScorer mobile app to scan answer sheets — the scanning screen interface, the capture workflow, best practices for clean scans, batch scanning rhythm, and what to do when you’re offline. For overview/install info, see Getting Started with the PaperScorer Mobile App.

The Scanning Screen

When you open the app, you’re taken straight to the scanning screen. It shows your phone’s rear camera view with a guide overlay.

Key interface elements you’ll see:

• Camera viewfinder — the live view from your rear camera.
• Guide box — shows where to position the sheet for capture.
• Auto-detect indicator — turns green when the app has found a valid sheet in frame.
• Capture button — for manual capture (usually not needed; auto-capture is faster).
• Flash toggle — turn the flash on if your environment is dim.
• Recent scans counter — shows how many sheets you’ve scanned in this session.

Your First Scan

1. Place a completed answer sheet on a flat, well-lit surface.
2. Hold your phone directly above the sheet, about 12–18 inches away.
3. Keep the phone parallel to the sheet — don’t tilt it.
4. Wait for the guide indicator to confirm detection (typically by turning green).
5. The app will auto-capture once the sheet is aligned and recognized.
6. You’ll see a brief confirmation and the session counter will increment.
7. Move on to the next sheet.

Best Practices for Mobile Scanning

Frame the Entire Sheet

The mobile app needs to see the entire answer sheet — every corner marker and the QR code — to recognize it. Position your phone so the full sheet fills the frame without anything cropped off. A bit of white margin around the sheet edges is fine, and even helpful.

Lighting

Use bright, even lighting. Avoid:

• Direct sunlight creating glare or hot spots on the sheet.
• Shadows from your phone, hand, or head falling over the bubble area — shadows can register as filled bubbles.
• Dim rooms — the camera will struggle to distinguish light pencil fills from blank paper.

A well-lit desk or table indoors usually works well. If you’re in a dim space, turn on additional lights, move closer to a window, or toggle the flash on (use as a last resort — it can wash out faint bubble fills).

Surface and Positioning

• Use a contrasting background — a white sheet on a darker desk or table is ideal so the engine can detect the sheet edges clearly.
• Flat surface only. Don’t scan sheets held in your hand — they’ll be warped.
• One sheet at a time. Scan a single sheet; don’t leave a stack underneath where the edges might be ambiguous.
• Don’t cast your own shadow over the sheet — stand to the side rather than directly above.

Hold the Phone Steady

A blurry scan is the most common cause of a red indicator. Either hold the phone with both hands and pause briefly before capture, or prop the phone against a stable surface so you don’t have to worry about hand shake.

Camera Angle

Aim the phone roughly straight down at the sheet. A small angle is fine — the engine corrects perspective automatically using the corner markers — but extreme angles (more than ~20 degrees off-vertical) can make the markers harder to detect.

Don’t Crop or Edit Before Uploading

The mobile app submits the raw camera frame for processing. The engine handles perspective correction, rotation, and background detection internally — manually cropping or rotating the photo first can interfere with that. Just frame the shot and capture.

Batch Scanning Rhythm

The app is designed for rapid back-to-back capture:

1. Scan a sheet.
2. As soon as you see the capture confirmation, pull the sheet aside.
3. Slide the next sheet into position.
4. Wait for auto-capture.
5. Repeat.

With practice, you can move through a stack of sheets quickly — a smooth in/out rhythm is the goal. Wait for the indicator to land between each sheet rather than rushing — a steady cadence is faster than fast-then-retry.

Wait for the Indicator Before Moving On

A green indicator means the scan was accepted; a red indicator means the sheet needs to be re-scanned. See Understanding the Mobile App Status Symbols for more on what each color means.

Where to See the Results

After scanning, results appear in the web app, not in the mobile app. To view them:

1. Open PaperScorer on your computer or mobile browser.
2. Open the assessment.
3. Check the assessment’s scan history or the per-student view for grades.

Your mobile-app scans appear alongside any bulk-uploaded or email-scanned sheets — they all land in the same place once processed.

Scanning Without Internet

If you lose connection mid-session, captures may queue locally until you reconnect. Once you regain Wi-Fi or cellular, the app uploads the cached scans automatically — if you see a pending-uploads indicator in the app, you can also tap it to push the queue manually.

If You Keep Getting Red Indicators

1. Check that the entire sheet (all four corner markers) is in frame.
2. Improve lighting or move to a brighter area.
3. Clean your camera lens.
4. Hold steadier — rest your elbows on a surface, or prop the phone.
5. Confirm the sheet itself is in good condition — no folds, smudges, or stray marks. See Mobile Testing Guidelines for what students should do before the scan.
6. If the problem persists, contact PaperScorer support with a sample sheet and a description of what you’re seeing.

Troubleshooting

Auto-capture isn’t working.

Improve lighting — the app needs to see the QR code and corner markers clearly. Hold the phone steadier. Make sure the whole sheet is in frame.

I keep getting blurry captures.

Clean your phone’s camera lens. Hold the phone steadier (rest your elbows on the desk). Increase the light level. If blur persists, try the manual capture button while holding still.

I scanned a sheet but it’s not in the web app.

Check your internet connection. Make sure any pending uploads have completed — if the app shows a pending count, tap it to push the queue. Wait a minute or two; uploads can take a moment to appear in the web app.