Image to Text: Copy Text from a Photo or Screenshot
Pull the words out of a photo, screenshot, or scanned page so you can copy, edit, and search them. Works best on clear, printed English text. The image is read on your device and never uploaded.
How to extract text from an image
- 1Add your image. Drop a photo or screenshot onto the box, or tap to choose one. JPG, PNG, and most common formats work.
- 2Let it read the text. Recognition takes a few seconds. The first use takes a little longer while the reader gets ready.
- 3Copy the result. Check the text in the box, fix any mistakes, and tap Copy.
Getting accurate results
Text recognition is only as good as the picture. These make the biggest difference:
- Shoot straight on, with the page filling the frame and the text in focus
- Use even light without shadows or glare on glossy paper
- Crop out everything that is not text with Crop Image, such as the desk or neighbouring pages
- For coloured or patterned backgrounds, try converting to grayscale first
- Use the largest, sharpest version of the image you have; tiny screenshots lose small letters
What it reads well, and what it struggles with
Printed text in documents, books, receipts, signs, and screenshots is recognised very reliably. Expect to fix the odd character, such as 0 and O or 1 and l, in codes and numbers.
Handwriting, decorative fonts, text on curved surfaces, and very small or blurry text give weaker results. Recognition is set up for English; other languages and scripts such as Hindi are not supported yet.
Everyday uses
- Copying a reference number, address, or phone number from a screenshot
- Turning a photo of a printed page into editable text instead of retyping it
- Getting the text of a receipt or bill into a spreadsheet
- Quoting text from a slide or poster you photographed
Working with PDFs
This tool reads images. If your document is a PDF with real text, Extract PDF Text is faster and exact. If the PDF is a scan, convert its pages with PDF to JPG first, then read each page here.
Frequently asked questions
Which languages are supported?
English. Other languages and scripts are not recognised reliably yet.
Can it read handwriting?
Neat, printed-style handwriting sometimes works. Joined-up handwriting usually gives poor results.
Does it keep the layout, such as columns and tables?
You get plain text with line breaks. Columns and tables need tidying after pasting.
Can I use it on a PDF?
Not directly. Use Extract PDF Text for normal PDFs, or PDF to JPG and then this tool for scanned PDFs.
Why are some characters wrong?
Blur, low resolution, and similar-looking characters cause most errors. A sharper, larger, well-lit image helps.
Is my image uploaded?
No. The text is recognised in your browser, so photos of personal documents stay on your device.
Want more detail? Read on our blog: How to Copy Text from an Image: OCR Tips for Accurate Results