Copy text from an image on your Mac.

In Preview

Open the image in Preview and hold the pointer over the text. Drag to select it, Control-click the selection, and choose Copy Text. Then paste it into a document or another app.

If you can’t select the text, choose Tools › Text Selection to turn on the Text Selection tool.

In Photos

Open a photo with text in it, move the pointer over the text, and select it. Control-click the selection and choose Copy Text, or press ⌘C.

The same menu can also look the text up, translate it, search the web for it, or share it.

In Safari

Move the pointer over the text in a picture on a webpage and drag to select it. Control-click the selection and choose Copy.

If the picture holds a phone number, an email address, a website or a street address, click the down arrow that appears beside it to call, write, open the site or see a map.

If you can’t select the text

This is Live Text. To check it’s on, choose Apple menu › System Settings, click General in the sidebar, then click Language & Region. Live Text is listed there, to select text in images to copy or take action.

Live Text isn’t available in all languages or regions.

From anywhere on the screen, with Tilora

Live Text works in the apps that support it. To copy the words from anything on the screen, a paused video, a slide in a call, or a window that won’t let you select, Tilora has Capture Text. Hold ⇧⌥Space for the action ring, let go on the text action, and draw around the words. They go on the clipboard, and the notch says so.

The text is recognized by macOS, on your Mac; nothing is uploaded. Capturing needs Screen Recording access, which the notch asks for the first time. More about screenshot and text capture.

Questions