Optical Character Recognition or OCR is a technology of converting text content to machine readable code. There are many mobile apps available for Android and iPhone to extract text from images using this OCR technology. Earlier it was difficult to grab text from images on Windows computers and you need a third-party app for that. Now this has been part of Windows and here is how you can use when needed.
Text Extraction Options in Windows 11
Apple macOS comes with an in-built text extraction feature called Live Text which you can use on any system apps like Photos, Preview and Safari. There is no such default feature available in Windows. However, you can use one of the following options:
- The latest OS version included this feature as part of Snipping Tool with the name as “Text actions”.
- You can still use Microsoft PowerToys app for this purpose (though the tool will recommend using Snipping Tool).
- Use any third-party app like Snagit.
1. Using Snipping Tool to Extract Text from Screenshot
This is useful option after capturing a screenshot with text content.
- Keep the screen portion of the app which you want to capture.
- Press “Windows Logo + Shift + S” keys to open Snipping Tool and select the mode of capture.
- Capture the required portion or window and then click on the floating preview of the screenshot to open it.
- Click “Text actions” button and the tool will process the image and highlight all extractable text in the captured image.
- Select “Copy all text” option to get all text content in your clipboard.
- Alternatively, use mouse to select any highlighted text, right-click and select “Copy text” or press “Control + C”.
- Open an app where you want to paste and press “Control + V” to paste the copied content.
Note: “Quick Redact” button and “Redact text” in right-click context menu allows you to blur sensitive information in the image.
1.1. Extract Text from Existing Image with Snipping Tool
It is also possible to use Snipping Tools with an existing image.
- Use Copilot or Windows Search or Start menu to find and open Snipping Tool app.
- Click the “See more” icon and select “Open file” option.
- Find and open the image from which you want to extract the text.
- Click “Text actions” to highlight text content and click “Copy all text” button.
- Alternatively, select only the required text using touchpad or mouse and press “Control + C” to copy.
2. Extract Text Using Microsoft PowerToys App
This is an alternate option for grabbing text from an existing image that you have received in email or from social media apps. PowerToys app is an official app from Microsoft (but not part of Windows OS).
- Download and install Microsoft PowerToys app from Microsoft Store app.
- Open PowerToys and go to “Text Extractor” section.
- Turn on “Enable Text Extractor” option.
- “Windows Logo + Shift + T” is the default shortcut for activating the feature. However, click on the pencil icon to assign a new shortcut if required. If you have multiple languages installed, select the “Preferred language” from the dropdown. PowerToys will only work for the installed language packs with OCR support.
- Open your image with text in Photos app and press “Windows Logo + Shift + T” keys. Select the language if you want to change and choose the formatting style (either singles line or table).
- Now the cursor will change to crosshair style and select the text content you want to extract. When you leave the mouse click, selected content will be automatically copied to clipboard.
- Press “Control + V” on any other app to paste the extracted text.
3. Using Third-Party App Like Snagit
Though PowerToys and Snipping Tool are easier to use, they are inconvenient when you want to edit the extracted text before copying. For example, you may want to delete few words before sharing the text in a social app. In this case, first you need to paste the copied text in Word or Notepad app, modify the content and then copy/paste in social. Here is how a third-party app like Snagit can help to avoid this long process. However, Snagit is a paid screen capturing and screen recording tool and there is no free version available (though you can use the free trial for 15 days). So, purchase and install Snagit app from TechSmith website.
- Either open an existing image or capture a screenshot with Snagit.
- In Snagit editor, go to “Edit” menu and select “Grab Text” option.
- The app will process the image and show all extracted text content in a “Grab Text Results” pop-up editor.
- Edit your text and click “Copy All” button to get the text in your clipboard or select the edited text and only copy that content.
Final Words
So, here is a summary of three options:
- Snipping Tool – in-built and useful for grabbing text from new screenshot or from an existing image. No text editing is possible.
- PowerToys – official Microsoft app but need to install it manually and useful only with existing images.
- Snagit – premium third-party app and useful to grab all text content with editor option to correct the mistakes in extracted content.
If you see junk characters in the extracted text, then you may need to install the required language pack with OCR support.
