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Van Line Pro

Photograph items

Take or choose a photo and turn it into draft inventory items. With AI on, one room photo can list every piece it sees.

Photographing items is the fast way to capture things LiDAR can't easily isolate, like boxes, lamps, and electronics, or to inventory a whole room from a single wide shot. You take or choose a photo, the app identifies what's in it, and each piece lands as a draft item with an estimated cube you confirm before adding.

Who this is for: Crew and estimators. You'll need: A camera for live capture. Without one (for example on the Simulator), use Choose photo to pull an image from your library instead.

Before you start

  • Name the room first. When you launch from the job screen, the app asks which room, then opens the capture screen. The room name defaults to Photographed Items if you don't set one.
  • AI is a company setting. How photos are analyzed depends on whether your company has AI photo analysis turned on (see the two modes below). Either way, the size is an estimate and you review the list before adding.

Take or choose a photo

  1. Open the job and tap Photograph items. Pick the room.

  2. On the capture screen, adjust the Room name if you want.

  3. Tap Take photo to shoot one, or Choose photo to pick from your library.

  4. The app processes the photo. You'll see "Analyzing items…" (AI on) or "Identifying…" (AI off).

What each mode does

AI on (company has photo analysis enabled). The photo is analyzed in the cloud and returns all the items it sees, each with a name, category, quantity, and cube estimate. Loose goods like books, magazines, and bags don't get their own sticker; they come back as the cartons needed to pack them, listed on the line (for example "Carton, 4.5 — books, magazines"). The screen footer reads: "Photograph a whole room — AI lists the pieces it sees, and loose goods (books, bags…) come back as the cartons needed to pack them. Sizes are estimates; confirm them or re-measure with a LiDAR scan."

AI off. The photo is identified on-device by Apple Vision, which returns a single best-guess item for the most prominent thing in the frame. The footer reads: "Each photo is identified on-device. The size is an estimate from a catalog — confirm it or re-measure with a LiDAR scan."

Note: You can take several photos in a row. Each one adds to the same list, so you can shoot a room wall by wall and build the list as you go.

Camera modes and controls

When you shoot with the built-in camera, a mode label shows at the top. The camera supports several modes:

  • Standard — normal shots.
  • Ultra Wide — tight spaces and whole-room context.
  • Macro — fine detail like serial numbers (on devices that support it).
  • Scan Barcode — reads QR codes and barcodes on inventory tags.

In the camera you can pinch to zoom and tap to focus (a yellow focus square appears where you tap). Flash fires automatically in low light for clear documentation.

Review the list

Each identified piece appears with an include toggle and a one-line caption showing its category, cube estimate, and quantity. Before adding:

  • Fix the name by tapping it and typing.

  • Include or exclude a piece with its toggle. The section header shows how many are selected, e.g. "Items (3 selected)".

  • Swipe to delete any row you don't want at all.

Add the items

Tap Add N in the top corner (N is the number selected). The chosen pieces are imported into the room, each as an individually numbered item with its estimated cube and derived weight. Add is disabled until at least one item is selected.

Result: Each included piece becomes a numbered inventory item with source Photo (est.). Open any one in the Item Editor to correct the cube, add pre-existing damage, or re-measure with a LiDAR scan.

Good to know

  • The cube is always an estimate. A photo tells the app what a thing is, not how big it is. Only LiDAR measures volume. Correct the cube by hand, or scan the piece, when the exact size matters.
  • Weight is derived from the cube. You don't enter weight; the app computes it from the cube and the item's category. See Categories & how weight is estimated.
  • Damage is added afterward. Photographing an item here identifies it; you code pre-existing damage per item in the Item Editor.

Troubleshooting

  • "No movable items were found in that photo. Try a wider shot." — AI didn't find anything to inventory. Step back and reshoot with more of the room in frame.
  • "AI couldn't analyze that photo. Added a single best-guess item instead." — the AI call failed, so the app fell back to on-device identification and added one best-guess item. Review it, and try another photo if it's wrong.
  • No "Take photo" button — this device has no camera (for example the Simulator). Use Choose photo to pull an image from your library.

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