How to copy text out of a screenshot or scan
OCR turns the text inside a screenshot, photo or scan back into editable words. Here's how to do it in your browser, with nothing uploaded.
You've got text stuck inside an image (a screenshot, a photo of a whiteboard, a scanned page) and you need it as real, editable text. That's what OCR does. It reads the pixels and hands you back words you can copy.
When this is handy
- Pulling a quote out of a screenshot instead of retyping it.
- Getting the text off a scanned receipt or form.
- Grabbing notes from a photo of a whiteboard or a book page.
How to do it
- Open Image to Text and drop in your image (JPG, PNG, or a screenshot).
- Give it a second to read. The first run loads the OCR engine into your browser, so it's a touch slower.
- Copy the text out, and tidy it up if the source was messy.
It all happens in your browser, so a photo of a private document never gets uploaded.
Getting good results
OCR is only as good as the image you give it. A few things help:
- Sharp focus and decent lighting. Blurry photos read badly.
- Straighten a tilted scan before you run it.
- High contrast. Dark text on a light background reads best. Faded text is where OCR struggles.
Handwriting is hit or miss. Neat printing sometimes works, cursive usually doesn't. For printed text, it's genuinely reliable.
Pull text out of an image here. Free, runs in your browser, nothing uploaded.
Try the tool
Do it now — free, in your browser, nothing uploaded.