How to copy text from a screenshot on a Mac

Method 1: Live Text in Preview, Photos, or Quick Look

1. Open the screenshot in Preview, or select it in Finder and press Space for Quick Look.
2. Hover over the text. The cursor changes to a text cursor when Live Text recognizes it.
3. Drag to select the words you want and press ⌘C.

Note. Live Text needs macOS Monterey or later. It works in Photos and Quick Look as well as Preview.

Method 2: Live Text inside web images in Safari

In Safari you can select text directly inside images on a web page, the same way you would select normal text. Right-click an image for Copy Text options when they appear.

Method 3: The Shortcuts app

Shortcuts includes an Extract Text from Image action. Build a shortcut that takes the clipboard or a chosen file, runs Extract Text from Image, and copies the result. It is a good fit for batch jobs, less so for a quick one-off.

Method 4: OCR straight from the screen with Shotnix (⌘⇧O)

1. Press ⌘⇧O or choose OCR capture from the Shotnix menu bar.
2. Drag a selection over the text on screen, whether it is a dialog, a paused video, a protected PDF, or a remote desktop window.
3. The recognized text is on your clipboard. A toast shows what was read. Paste it anywhere.

Note. No screenshot file is created unless you want one. If nothing is recognized, your previous clipboard is left untouched.

OCR capture in Shotnix →

Copy text from screenshots you already took

In Shotnix, use Copy Text on the post-capture overlay, or open the history panel and search. History is OCR-indexed in the background, so you can search for a word and find the screenshot that contains it.

Tips for better accuracy

• Zoom the source in before capturing. Bigger glyphs recognize better.
• Prefer high-contrast text on a plain background.
• Straight text recognizes better than rotated or skewed text.
• For code, paste into an editor and check quotes and brackets; OCR engines sometimes confuse similar glyphs.

Questions