How to Copy Text from a Screenshot on Mac
Text in screenshots can't be selected or searched. Drop the image below and OCR (optical character recognition) turns it into editable text on your Mac.
Drop images or screenshots here
PNG, JPG, WebP, HEIC… or paste with Ctrl+V / ⌘V · nothing is uploaded
Text is read on your device. Your images are never uploaded.
Step by step: Copy Text from a Screenshot on Mac
- 1
Open this page in Safari, Chrome or Firefox on your Mac.
- 2
Drag the file from Finder onto the box above, or click the box to choose it.
- 3
Pick the language of the text if it isn't English (on a computer you can also paste a screenshot with Ctrl+V or ⌘V), and the text appears within a few seconds.
- 4
Copy the text, or download it as a .txt file.
Getting the best results
- Clear, straight-on images with dark text on a light background work best. Crop out anything that isn't text.
- Screenshots usually come out almost perfect because the text is crisp. Photos of paper work well if they're in focus and evenly lit.
- Handwriting is hit and miss – neat block capitals work better than joined-up writing.
Tips for Mac
- macOS Live Text lets you select text in Preview. This tool is handy for batches, other languages and a .txt you can save.
- The first time you use a language, its recognition data (a few MB) is downloaded. Your image is never sent anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Which languages are supported?
English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Turkish, Swedish, Russian, Ukrainian, Arabic, Hindi, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean and more – pick one from the language menu.
Can it read handwriting?
Sometimes. It's built for printed text; neat handwriting may work, joined-up writing usually won't.
Is my image uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion runs in your browser using your device's own processor, so your image never leaves your device. You can even disconnect from the internet once the page has loaded.
Need more options? Open the full Image to Text (OCR) tool →