Google Adds Useful Features For Chromebooks

Google continues to refine its formula for the Chromebook. In case you didn’t know, it’s a family of laptops that rely on the cloud for most of its functionality. Now, you can use its built-in camera to scan any document and turn it into a PDF or JPEG file. If said Chromebook has both a front and rear camera, you could use either one to scan.

To do this, open the Camera app and select “Scan” mode. When you hold out the document towards the camera, it automatically detects the edges and neatly arranges the document into frame. Once it has been captured, you can easily share it on Gmail to social media, nearby Android phones or other Chromebooks through Nearby Share.

If you use an external camera with your Chromebook, then you can make use of the Pan-Tilt-Zoom functionality as well. It gives users more control over what it captures. It gives you the ability to crop and angle the camera the way you’d like. This configuration will be automatically saved and used the next time you start a Google Meet call or make a video.

Besides this, there are a few other notable features worth mentioning:

Video mode – Click on “Video” mode to record a quick clip

Self Timer: If you want to take picture, set the timer. The camera app will then countdown before it takes the [picture.

QR Code: Besides scanning documents, the same feature can be used to scan a QR code. Just hold it towards the camera and the information should be picked up.

Save for later: When this option is selected, all your pictures and videos will be saved to the camera folder automatically.

Google is also working on other features that should improve the Chromebook experience further. A feature coming early next year is the ability to create GIFs on the camera app. You can turn any 5-second recording captured on camera into a GIF.

The Search giant is currently testing another feature that integrates the Camera app with the Google Assistant. Instead of doing the work yourself, you could just say, “take a photo”, “record video” or “take a selfie” and the Google assistant will do the rest.

Users can join the Chrome OS Beta Community to get a sneak peak at features before tehey are officially released for the platform. Sign up here to become a Chrome OS Beta Tester Product Expert