Copy Text from Image — Select and Copy Text in Any Photo

Upload your image and choose the language shown in it. The tool runs OCR, then overlays the recognized words back onto the picture as invisible but selectable text. Drag across the words to highlight them and press Ctrl/⌘+C, or click "Copy all text" to grab everything at once — exactly like selecting text on a normal web page.

A photo or screenshot is just pixels — there are no real characters underneath for your cursor to grab. This tool uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to detect each word and its exact position, then places real selectable text on top of every word so highlighting and copying works just like it does on a web page.

The Language picker lists more than 30 languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Punjabi and Russian. Pick the language that matches the text in the image for the most accurate reading; changing it clears the current result, so run the extraction again.

Yes. App screenshots, website captures, WhatsApp chats, scanned pages, receipts, product labels and street signs all work as long as the text is readable to a human. If the result looks off on stylised fonts or tougher images, switch from Engine 1 (fast) to Engine 2 (better accuracy) and re-run.

The selectable text is positioned using the coordinates the OCR engine reports for each word, scaled to your screen. Alignment is very close but can drift slightly on heavily skewed or curved text. Copying still returns the correct words — and you can toggle "Highlight detected words" off if you prefer a cleaner view while selecting.

The tool is free to use without creating an account; copy the result directly from the page. Your image is uploaded over HTTPS and handled under our Security policy. Service providers may process it only as needed to deliver the requested extraction. Pixoate does not sell files or use them for model training. Retention follows the Security policy; a share link you explicitly create can be opened by anyone with the link without automatic expiration while Pixoate provides the sharing service.

Yes. Open the tool in your phone's browser, upload a screenshot or photo from your camera roll, and pick the language. The recognised words are laid over the image as selectable text — long-press to start a selection and drag the handles to grab the part you want, or tap 'Copy all text' to copy everything at once. No app to install.

This tool keeps the words in place on your image as selectable text, so you can highlight and copy just the part you need — like selecting text on a web page. If you instead want the whole image turned into one block of editable, exportable text, use our Image to Text converter, which runs the same OCR and returns the full recognised text ready to paste or download.

Two settings drive accuracy. First, set the source language to match the text in the image — this is the biggest factor, because the engine then expects the right alphabet. Second, if the result looks wrong, switch the OCR engine: Engine 1 is fast and great for clean screenshots, while Engine 2 is more accurate on stylised fonts, low contrast or tougher photos. Toggle 'Highlight detected words' on to see exactly which words were read and spot anything the engine missed before you copy.

Default is a modern general-purpose recognition engine and gives the most accurate result for most photos and screenshots — it's the best starting point. Engine 1 is a fast, lightweight pass that's solid on clean, high-contrast scans, while Engine 2 tends to do best on stylised fonts or lower-contrast images. If Default doesn't read an image well, try Engine 2 next.

Not every language is supported by every engine — for example Punjabi, Greek and Hebrew currently only work with Default or Engine 1, not Engine 2. If you switch to an engine that doesn't support your chosen language, the tool automatically falls back to English so the request still runs; switch back to Default or Engine 1 to use those languages again.

No — the Default engine doesn't support Punjabi, Hebrew or Bengali, so all three currently only read correctly under Engine 1. Bengali also works under Engine 2, but Punjabi and Hebrew do not — if you're working in one of these languages, pick Engine 1 rather than Default or Engine 2.

Yes — Pixoate supports batch and bulk processing. Switch to Batch mode, add up to 60 images on Premium or 200 on Pro, set your options once, and every image is processed with the same settings before you download one spreadsheet — extracted text per image. Bulk processing is a Premium feature; the output uses the same quality and settings as single mode.

Yes — with bulk processing you configure the settings a single time and they apply to every item in the batch — up to 60 images on Premium or 200 on Pro. There is no need to repeat the setup per item, and Temporary uploaded and generated files are processed securely and deleted automatically.

Almost always one of three things. The file is over the 20 MB free upload limit — Premium takes 50 MB and Pro 120 MB. The format is not one this tool accepts, so check the list shown on the upload panel. Or the file is not really the format its name says: renaming a file does not change what is inside it, and that is the reason a valid-looking scan or photo gets refused.

Accuracy tracks the source image more than any setting. Shoot or scan straight on rather than at an angle, get even light with no shadow falling across the page, and fill the frame with the document. Set the language before you run it — OCR guessing the wrong alphabet is the usual cause of output that looks like nonsense. Always read the result before you rely on it.

Copy Text from Image shows its result on the page. Standard use does not require signup; this workflow does not offer a file download. Premium supports batches of up to 60 files, with the applicable plan limits shown before processing.

No — Copy Text from Image runs in the browser on desktop and phone. There is nothing to install, no trial to start, and no license to buy before you can see whether it does what you need. Try it on the file you are actually stuck with rather than a sample.

Your browser cannot display some formats, such as HEIC outside Safari, so the Image tab stays unavailable. The words are still read and appear in the Text only tab, where you can select and copy them. To highlight words on the picture itself, convert the photo to JPG with HEIC to JPG and upload that.

The Text only box is read-only and the words on the picture cannot be edited here. Paste the text into your document and correct it there, or use Image to Text, where the result sits in an editable box.

Select the words on the Image tab or choose Copy all text, then paste with Ctrl+V on Windows or Cmd+V on a Mac. You get real, searchable text only: the font, color and layout of the original do not come with it, and the tool does not identify typefaces.

Use the zoom buttons on the Image tab to enlarge the picture up to 400%, then drag across the words. Scroll inside the picture to move around while it is zoomed. If the words still look too small to read, a sharper or larger original gives the reader more to work with.

The page itself is the tool, so no extension or app is needed. Open it in any browser on a phone or a computer, add the picture and select the words on it. Standard use needs no account.

Open the page in a desktop browser, set Image language, drop in the picture and choose Extract text. On the Image tab, drag across the words and press Ctrl+C on Windows or Cmd+C on a Mac, or choose Copy all text for the whole picture. Paste into your document with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V. Only plain text comes across, so apply your own fonts and layout afterward.

There are three. Drag across words on the Image tab to copy one passage, select words in the Text only tab, or choose Copy all text for everything. For corrections or a saved file, run the picture through Image to Text instead.

Add the picture, choose Extract text and wait for the words to be highlighted. Select the part you need on the Image tab, copy it and paste it into the message, email or form field. The recognized words are real text, so nothing is retyped, and the pasted result is plain text: compare names and numbers with the original.

Choose the photo from your phone library, set Image language and choose Extract text. The Text only tab is easier to read and select on a small screen, or you can choose Copy all text. Then paste the words into your chat, note or form.

A picture is only pixels, so a browser has no words to select. This tool reads the picture once and places the recognized words invisibly over it, so you can drag across them and copy as if they were on a web page. Choose Extract text first, then select the words you need.

Yes. Any picture you can add as a JPG, PNG, WEBP or similar file works, including a photo from your camera roll or an image saved from a chat. A sharp, upright picture gives the cleanest read.