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Box adds document support to iOS app Capture

Originally ​unveiled during last year's BoxWorks conference, Capture connects a user's smartphone camera directly to the Box platform.
Written by Natalie Gagliordi, Contributor
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Via Box

Online file-storage vendor Box is rolling out an update to its iOS-only app Capture that aims to turn the iPhone into a document scanner.

Originally unveiled during last year's BoxWorks conference, Capture connects a user's smartphone camera directly to the Box platform.

At launch, the app enabled users to take photos, videos and audio recordings from their iPhone and share them with team members via Box. From there, remote teams were able to discuss the captured content in real time.

With today's update, physical documents can now be shared between team members in the same manner as the aforementioned photos, videos and audio files.

While it may seem a bit odd for Box to release an app like Capture and not include document scanning at launch, the enterprise cloud company says there were complex technical reasons behind the decision.

In a blog post, Box mobile engineer Jim DiZogio said part of the challenge was building a pipeline that could support the transition between photo, video, audio and document scanning modes. The team ended up building the document scanning capability in-house instead of with an SDK.

Nevertheless, the addition of document scanning should greatly increase the appeal of Capture. Before, the app's user base was a bit more niche, with Box pitching it mainly to field workers in construction, emergency response or insurance.

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