You have a screenshot, and you need the words inside it. OCR (optical character recognition) turns those pixels back into selectable text. On a Mac, open the image in Preview or Quick Look, drag across the words and press Command-C. On Windows 11, take a snip and use Text actions in Snipping Tool, or press Windows key + Shift + T with PowerToys installed. If you have not captured anything yet, InSnap does both at once: drag a region, click OCR on the capture toolbar, and copy.
Built-in tools are free. InSnap is faster when the text is already on screen.
On a Mac: Live Text
Live Text has shipped with macOS since Monterey and works in Preview, Quick Look, Photos and Safari.
- Preview: open the image, hover until the pointer changes, drag to select, and press Command-C. If nothing selects, use Tools › Text Selection.
- Quick Look: select the file in Finder, press Space, drag over the text, and press Command-C. The Live Text icon offers Copy All.
- Photos: open the photo and select text the same way.
Recognition runs on the Mac; available languages depend on your macOS version and region.
On Windows: Snipping Tool and PowerToys
- Snipping Tool (Windows 11): press Windows key + Shift + S, open the snip, click Text actions, then select words or use Copy all text. The Windows 10 Snipping Tool lacks this.
- PowerToys Text Extractor: a free Microsoft utility for Windows 10 (version 2004 or newer) and Windows 11. Enable it, press Windows key + Shift + T, and drag a box around the text. It uses the OCR language packs in Windows.
Copy text with InSnap, on Mac and Windows
InSnap is a screenshot and annotation tool for macOS 14.4+ and Windows 10+. Its OCR is free, local, and works the same on both platforms.
- Press Command-1 (Ctrl+1) and drag a box around the text.
- Click OCR on the toolbar; recognition runs in the background while the capture stays on screen.
- Select text as in a document: drag across characters, click a line to select it whole, or Shift-click to add more lines. The panel beside the selection lists the same lines.
- Press Command-C (Ctrl+C) to copy the selection. With nothing selected, copying takes all the text, and the panel has buttons to copy the selection or everything.
Get better recognition results
- Crop tightly. Select the text and little else.
- Capture at full resolution. A real screenshot beats a stretched copy; upscaling adds no detail.
- Keep text horizontal. A photo taken at an angle introduces skew.
- Avoid glare, shadows and moiré from photographing a glossy screen.
- Use readable text sizes. Very small text is where errors start.
Which languages are recognised
InSnap reads Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), English, and Latin-script languages including German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, accents included.
Japanese kanji are often recognised while kana frequently come out wrong. Korean and Russian are not reliably recognised yet. Lines mixing Chinese and English usually work; scripts the model cannot read will not.
Your image stays on your device
Recognition uses a bundled model and runs on your Mac or PC. Nothing is uploaded, no account is needed, and it works offline, which matters when a screenshot holds client names or internal tickets.
Built-in tools vs InSnap
| Built-in tools | InSnap | |
|---|---|---|
| macOS | Live Text in Preview, Quick Look and Photos | OCR on the capture toolbar |
| Windows | Snipping Tool text actions (Windows 11); PowerToys (Windows 10 and 11) | OCR on the capture toolbar |
| Select text on the image | Yes | Yes, on the image or in the panel |
| Languages | Depends on the OS and language packs | Chinese, English and Latin-script languages |
| Cost | Included with the OS; PowerToys is free | Free |
Troubleshooting
Nothing is recognised. Check that the selection contains text and is not a tiny box. Logos, handwriting and text drawn into an illustration are out of scope. Use a real screenshot, not a scaled image.
Characters come out wrong. Lookalikes such as O and 0, l and 1, or rn and m, plus stylised fonts, low contrast and small sizes cause most errors. Proofread codes and amounts before pasting.
Mixed languages. Select only the lines you need, with one script per selection where possible.
FAQ
How do I copy text from a screenshot without extra software?
On a Mac, use Live Text in Preview or Quick Look. On Windows 11, take a snip and use Text actions in Snipping Tool.
Is OCR free in InSnap?
Yes, with no Pro licence or account required.
Which languages can InSnap's OCR read?
Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), English, and Latin-script languages such as German, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. Japanese kana, Korean and Russian are not reliably recognised.
Does InSnap upload my screenshot for OCR?
No. Recognition runs on your computer, and the image never leaves your device.
Can I copy only part of the recognised text?
Yes. Drag over words on the image, click a line, or select in the panel, then copy. With nothing selected, everything is copied.
How do I extract text from an image on Windows 10?
Snipping Tool text actions are only in Windows 11. On Windows 10, use PowerToys Text Extractor, or capture with InSnap and press OCR.
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