How to Copy Text From an Image on iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac
To copy text from an image, open it in a tool that can recognize text (OCR), select the words, and copy them like normal text. Every major system has a built-in option, and a free browser tool like Image to Text works the same way on all of them, including for files a built-in tool can't open.
How do you copy text from an image on iPhone?
Open the photo in the Photos app, then touch and hold a word until the selection handles appear. Drag them over the text you want and tap Copy. This feature is called Live Text. It also works in the Camera app: point it at text and tap the text icon in the corner.
How do you copy text from an image on Android?
Open the image in Google Photos and tap Lens, or open the Google app and tap the camera icon. Switch to Text, select the words and tap Copy. On many phones you can also copy text from the recent apps screen by tapping Select on a screenshot.
How do you copy text from a picture on Windows?
In Windows 11, open the image or take a capture with the Snipping Tool, then click the Text actions button and choose Copy all text. The free Microsoft PowerToys app adds Text Extractor too: press Win + Shift + T and draw a box around any text on the screen.
How do you copy text from an image on a Mac?
Open the image in Preview or Photos and select the text with the pointer, just like in a document, then press Cmd + C. This is Live Text on macOS. If the pointer won't select anything, the image may be too small or blurry for the system to recognize the words.
When is a browser OCR tool the better choice?
- Same steps everywhereOne workflow on a work PC, a Chromebook or a friend's phone, with nothing to install.
- Whole pages at onceGet all the text in a box you can copy or download, instead of selecting it piece by piece.
- 14 OCR languagesPick the language manually, including Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
- Private by designThe image is processed in your browser and never uploaded to a server.
How do you copy text with Image to Text?
- Open the toolGo to Image to Text on any device.
- Add the imageDrop it on the page, browse for it, or paste a screenshot from the clipboard.
- Choose the OCR languageSelect the language of the text. Your choice is remembered next time.
- Extract and copyPress the extract button, then copy the result or download it as a text file.
Need just a phone number or an email address? See how to read phone numbers and emails from an image.
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