Use camera features on your Chromebook

You can use the camera on your Chromebook to take photos or videos, edit and print photos, and scan documents.

Take a photo or video, or scan a document with your Chromebook

In the corner of your screen, select Launcher .
Open Camera .
At the bottom, choose an option:
- Select Photo Take photo .
- Select Portrait Take photo .
- Select Video Start recording .
- Select Scan Document or QR code Scan .

Make a Time Lapse video or GIF animation

You can create a Time Lapse video on your Chromebook.

To make a Time Lapse video, select Video Time Lapse.
To make a GIF animation, select Video GIF.

Tip: You can create a GIF animation that lasts up to five seconds, but shorter videos are better for compatibility.

Learn more about Time Lapse videos

Time Lapse videos are created automatically by speeding up a video so that it fits into a length of between 15 and 30 seconds. For example, if you take a 100-second Time Lapse, it'll be sped up four times and the final video will be 25 seconds long. There's no limitation on how long you can take a Time Lapse video for, but for the best results, make sure that your Chromebook is plugged into a power source.

Change how photos or videos are captured

Change your settings: Select Settings . Change the size of the grid, the length of the timer or the camera resolution.
Flip your photo from left to right: Select Mirroring .
Use gridlines to straighten photos: Select Grid .
Switch between cameras: At the left, select Switch camera .
- Tip: You can only switch cameras if you plug in an external camera or your Chromebook has two built-in cameras.
Take photos with a timer: Select Timer .
Take photos with the volume buttons: When your Chromebook is in tablet mode, you can press the up or down volume button to take a photo. Learn more about tablet mode.
Take a photo while you record a video: While you record a video, select Take video snapshot .
Pause a recording: You can pause a recording and continue recording on the same video later.
- Important: When you pause a video recording, your Chromebook will save the video unless you delete it.
Pan, tilt and zoom your camera: Select Pan, tilt and zoom .
- To zoom in: Select Zoom .
  - Digital zoom can expand the image by a factor of several times.
- To pan within a zoomed-in image:
  - To pan left: Select Left arrow .
  - To pan right: Select Right arrow .
  - To pan up: Select Up arrow .
  - To pan down: Select Down arrow .
- To take a photo of a zoomed-in image:
  1. To the section of the image that you want, zoom in and pan.
  2. Select Take photo .
    - To make the image clearer and text more readable, gen AI improves resolution when you take a photo of the zoomed-in image.
Tip: If you don’t have this option, your camera doesn’t support pan, tilt and zoom.

Use the camera to copy text

You can copy the text from the preview detected by your camera:

On your computer, at the bottom left, select Launcher .
Open Camera .
Select Photo.
By default, 'Text detection in preview' is turned off. To use your camera to copy text:
1. At the top left, select Photo settings .
2. To turn on 'Text detection in preview', select the tick box.
Place the image with text.
When text is detected in the image, select Copy .
- To expand the text, select Drop-down .

Tips:

You can copy text with your camera without capturing the image.
Text contained in QR codes may also be copied.
You can select text from the expanded section.

Find or save your photos or videos

Find your photos and videos: In the Camera app , on the bottom right, select your most recent photo or video.
Find new photos and videos: In Files , select My files Camera. Older photos and videos may be found in the 'Downloads' folder. Learn how to store your downloaded files.

Edit, delete or print your photos

Select the photo that you want to edit.
- Tip: In the Camera app , at the bottom right, you can select your most recent photo or video.
Choose an option:
- Rename a photo: At the top left, select the filename. To save the new name, press Enter.
- Crop or rotate your photo: At the top, select crop and rotate .
- Change your photo’s width and height: At the top, select Rescale .
- Adjust contrast or brightness: At the top, select Lighting filters .
- Undo or redo changes: Select Undo or Redo .
- Delete a photo: At the top, select Delete .
- Print a photo: At the top right, select More Print.

Tip: To do more advanced photo editing, you can use an app like Google Photos, Pixlr Editor or Sumo Paint.

Scan a document

Important: For best results:

If available, use your external or back camera to scan.
Use a background that’s a different colour from your document.
Align all edges of the document within the camera frame.
Scan in a well-lit space.

To scan a single page:

Open Camera .
At the bottom, select Scan Document.
Place the document to be scanned inside the viewfinder.
Once detected, press the shutter button .
To save your document, select Save as photo or Save as PDF.
- To recapture, select Retake.

To scan multiple pages:

Open Camera
At the bottom, select Scan Document.
Place the first document to be scanned inside the viewfinder.
Once detected, press the shutter button .
Instead of saving, select Multi-page .
Repeat steps 3–5 until each page has been scanned.
- To remove pages, select Bin .
To save your documents, select Save as PDF.

Scan a QR code

Open Camera .
At the bottom, select Scan QR code.
Position the QR code in the viewfinder.
- The recognised URL, text or Wi-Fi connection prompt will appear.
To use the code, tap the text or URL.

Tips:

To scan without selecting the QR code scanning mode, you scan the QR code directly from the viewfinder.
The ‘Save as photo’ option is only available for single pages.
You can also scan documents with your printer.

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