How to extract text from an image and copy it

01

How to copy from an image to text you can edit

To copy words out of an image, you need text recognition, also called OCR (optical character recognition). A photo or a screenshot is only colored dots, so there are no letters to select. OCR looks at the shapes, decides which letters they are and writes them out as real text. Then you can paste, search, fix or save them.

02

How to extract text from an image on iPhone

On iPhone, use Live Text in the Photos app. It finds the text in a photo, a screenshot or a paused video.

1. Turn on Live Text

   Open Settings, tap “General”, then “Language & Region”, and turn on “Live Text”.

2. Open the picture

   Open the photo or screenshot in Photos. Pause a video first.

3. Show the text

   Tap the text button in the corner of the photo. Apple’s current iPhone User Guide calls it the Detect Text button; an older Apple article calls it the Live Text button.

4. Copy it

   Touch and hold the text and move the grab points to choose the words. Tap “Copy Text” (older versions say “Copy”), or “Select All” for every word. Then paste it in any app.

03

Google Lens: extract text from an image on Android

On Android, Google Lens reads the text for you. You find it in Google Photos and, on some phones, in the Google app.

1. Open Lens

   Open the Google app and tap the Lens icon in the search bar.

2. Choose the picture

   Under “Search with your camera”, tap “Search”. Take a photo with the shutter button, or pick a saved picture under “Screenshots”.

3. Select the text

   Tap the text, or drag the corners of the box over it, until the “Select text” button appears. Tap “Select text”.

4. Copy it

   In the menu around the text, tap “Copy”. Then paste it where you need it.

04

Extract text from an image on Mac

On a Mac, Live Text works in Preview and in Photos. You select the words with the pointer, like text in a document.

1. Open the image in Preview

   Open the picture in the Preview app.

2. Select the words

   Hold the pointer over the text, then drag across the words you want.

3. Copy them

   Control-click the selection and choose “Copy Text”. Then paste the text in any app.

05

Extract text from an image on Windows 11

On Windows 11, use the text actions in Snipping Tool. They read anything you can see on screen, so open the picture first.

1. Take a snip

   Open the picture. Press the Windows logo key + Shift + S and drag over the text. You can also open Snipping Tool from Start and select “New”.

2. Open text actions

   Open the snip in Snipping Tool and select the “Text actions” button.

3. Copy the text

   Select the words you need and copy them, or choose “Copy all text”.

06

Extract text from an image online, without uploading it

Our AI Text Scanner extracts text from an image in your browser, on a phone or a computer. The picture is not uploaded: the text recognition runs on your device. The first time, the page loads the reading engine and a language file, and your browser keeps the language file for next time. It helps when your device has no built-in option, when you have several pictures or when you want a text file.

1. Add the picture

   Drag it onto the page, press “Choose images”, or paste it with Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on a Mac) or the “Paste image” button where your browser shows it. On a phone, “Take a photo” opens the camera. Several pictures are read one after another.

2. Pick the language

   Under “Text language”, choose the language of the text: English, German, French or Spanish.

3. Help it where needed

   Under “Prepare the image”, “Boost contrast” helps with photos and shadows, and “Enlarge small images” helps with tiny text. Use “Rotate left” or “Rotate right” for a sideways picture. To read only one part, drag across it; on a touch screen, tap “Select part” first.

4. Read and copy

   Press “Read text” and fix any mistakes in the result box. Then press “Copy text”, or “Download .txt” to save a file.

07

Why is the extracted text wrong? Tips for better results

Most mistakes come from the picture, not from the reader. Blur, shadows, tilted lines and tiny letters make the shapes hard to recognize.

• Printed text works best; neat handwriting only sometimes. The Tesseract project, whose engine our scanner uses, says it is designed for printed text.
• Take the photo straight from above, in even light, without the shadow of your hand or phone.
• Make the letters big enough. Google’s help for its own text recognition asks for text at least 10 pixels high. Zoom in before a screenshot, or turn on “Enlarge small images” in the scanner.
• Crop to the text. Leave out photos, logos and busy backgrounds, or select only the part you need.
• Pick the right language. With the wrong one, letters such as é, ü or ñ often come out wrong.
• Dark text on a light background is easiest. The Tesseract documentation recommends it.