A Comprehensive Guide to Extract Text from Images on Various Platforms

No doubt that images are everywhere around the digital world. However, the time comes when the information we require is packed within those images as text.

Extracting this embedded text, a process known as OCR (Optical Character Recognition), functions to turn the information (data) into a usable, editable format. In this informative context, we are going to highlight the popular methods that function to extract text from images, catering to various devices as well as preferred workflows.

1. Extract Text on Windows

1.1 Use OneNote on Windows

OneNote, referred to as a digital note-taking app from the source of Microsoft. It provides you with a convenient built-in OCR tool to extract text from images. Here’s how it works:

1. Open your OneNote and start with creating a new note.
2. Click on the “Insert” tab and choose the “Picture” button to choose the image that embedded the text.
3. Now, make a right-click on the inserted (added) image and choose the “Copy Text from Picture.”
4. The newly converted (extracted) text will be copied to your clipboard, click to paste it anywhere.

1.2 Use Microsoft PowerToys

PowerToys is another source that allows you to extract text from images on Windows. It refers to a full-fledged collection of utilities that is mainly developed by Microsoft to enhance the Windows experience. One of its tools works as a text extractor that lets you grab text directly from your screen.

1. Download and install Microsoft PowerToys from the official GitHub repository.
2. Once you have installed it, activate its Text Extractor by using the designated keyboard shortcut (Win+ Shift + T).
3. Now, just drag a selection box over the image file that is packed with the text.
4. The newly converted or extracted text will appear on your system screen, it is ready for copying and pasting.

2. Extract Text on Mac

2.1 Use Preview on Mac

Preview, one of the well-known default image viewers on Mac, is loaded with a built-in OCR function to make text extraction. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open the image embedded with the text in Preview.
2. Navigate to the “Tools” menu and make a selection for the “Text Selection” option or use the shortcut “Command + Option + T”.
3. Just make a click and then drag your cursor to choose the text within the image.
4. The generated (converted (text will be displayed that you can copy and paste as your preference.

2.2 Use Photos on Mac

Photos indicated as the default image management application on your Mac device, comes with basic OCR functionality. Here’s how you can use it to extract text from photos:

1. Open your image that contains the text in Photos.
2. Now, make an instant click on the information icon (“i”) that is provided in the top right corner.
3. If the text is properly recognized, it will be shown below the image details. Then, you can select and copy the extracted text.

Note: The OCR capabilities of “Photos” may be limited as compared to “Preview”.

3. Extract Text on Android

There are various OCR-based applications available for Android devices. Here are the general steps that you have to follow while using an app for extracting text from an image:

1. Download and install a desired app for OCR from the Google Play Store.
2. Very next, launch the app and grant it permission to access your photos.
3. Choose the image file that contains the text. There are some apps that function to capture the text directly from the screen or add it from local storage.
4. The image text extractor app for Android will process the image and show the extracted text. Then, you can make a tap to copy and paste it elsewhere.

3.1 Popular OCR Apps for Android:

• Google Lens (pre-installed on many devices)
• Text Fairy
• CamScanner

4. Extract Text on iPhone and iPad

Similar to Android applications, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) functionality on both iPhone and iPad can be attained via dedicated image-to-text conversion apps:

1. First, you need to download and make an installation of an OCR app from the native App Store.
2. launch the app and simply grant it access to your device photos.
3. Make a selection for the image that is packed with text or just navigate using the app’s screen capture feature.
4. The OCR image text extractor app for iPhone and iPad is capable of processing the image and shows the newly extracted (converted) text to copy and paste.

4.1 Popular OCR Apps for iPhone and iPad:

• Text Scanner by Readdle
• TextGrabber by Abbyy
• Scanbot

5. Extract Text Using Google Apps

Google provided you with a bunch of tools that are contained within its ecosystem, it allows you to extract text from images:

5.1 Use Google Drive and Google Docs

1. Add (upload) your image file to Google Drive.
2. Just right-click on the uploaded image and proceed with “Open With” > “Google Docs”.
3. Google Docs will process with OCR to recognize the text and show it next to the image. Then, you can edit and format the extracted text to your preference.

5.2 Use Google Keep

1. First, you need to open (launch) the Google Keep and create a new note.
2. Tap on the given camera icon or simply attach an image that contains the text.
3. This app will automatically start with attempting to make text extraction from the image.
4. The extracted (converted) text will display within the note, which you can then edit and utilize for further actions.

Note: when it comes to the accuracy of Google Keep’s OCR, it may vary depending on image quality as well as text complexity.

6. Extract Text Using an Online Converter

These are some full-fledged OCR-based image text extractors that let you extract text from images and scanner documents for free. We are going to mention the three most popular options:

6.1 CardScanner:

Cardscanner’s image to text converter is well-known for extracting text from images and scanned documents (PDF). It can handle different image formats including JPG, JPEG, WebP, PNG, and more for the ease of image text conversions. Loaded with a user-friendly interface and offers a few simple steps to extract and copy text from images:

Steps:

1. Open your browser and visit the CardScanner.co > Image to Text Converter.
2. Click on the “Choose File” button to add your image containing the text.
3. Click “Convert” and wait for the text extraction to complete.
4. The extracted text will be displayed on the main toolbox. Simply copy & paste it elsewhere or save (download) it in text (notepad) format.

6.2 Imgtotext.net

This is another one of the most powerful image-to-text online converters that use OCR processing for conversions. It supports various image formats as well as languages for the user’s convenience.

Steps:

1. Open your browser and navigate to the Imgtotext.net website.
2. Drag and drop your image file and choose the image that is embedded with text.
3. Click “Convert” and wait for a while.
4. Save the extracted text that is shown within the toolbox or copy it directly with a single click.

6.3 Theonlineconverter.com

The Online Converter is revealed as the comprehensive suite of conversion tools that lets you proceed with OCR functionality for extracting text from images. It is 100% free even for batch file processing and lets you export the converted text into various formats.

Steps:

1. Navigate the Theonlineconverter.com website and fetch its “image to text converter”.
2. Click “Choose File” or drag and drop the image file to proceed with text extraction.
3. Click “Convert” and wait for the image text conversion to complete.
4. The converted (extracted) text will be shown directly in the tool section, copy it or directly download it into the desired text format.

With the above-mentioned methods, you people can easily extract text from your images regardless of your device or workflow. The thing you need to remember is that the accuracy of the OCR process can vary based on certain factors such as text complexity, quality of the image, and chosen tool.

All you need to proceed with the methods that best suit your needs and experiment to find the most effective solution for image text extraction tasks.