How to Copy Text from an Image on Windows
A slide in a video call, an error message or a scanned PDF: here's how to copy its text on Windows 10 and 11 without typing it by hand.
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It happens all the time: the text you need is in an image. A slide someone shares in a meeting, an error message, a scanned invoice or a screenshot a customer sent you. You can't select it, so you end up typing it by hand.
Windows includes a text reader (called OCR, optical character recognition) that turns the image into text you can paste. We'll show you four free ways to use it, most of them offline and without uploading your image anywhere.
1The 4 ways at a glance
| How to use it | Offline | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snipping Tool | Take a screenshot and click Text actions | Yes | Not installing anything (Windows 11) |
| NexoPad | Alt+2, pick the area and Copy text | Yes | Copying text and also marking up or hiding data in the same screenshot |
| PowerToys | Windows + Shift + T and pick the area | Yes | People who already use PowerToys |
| OneNote | Right-click a pasted image › Copy Text from Picture | Yes | Images you already keep in your notes |
2With Windows Snipping Tool (Windows 11)
Take the screenshot
Press Windows + Shift + S, pick the area with the text and click the notification that appears to open it in Snipping Tool.
Click Text actions
In the Snipping Tool toolbar, click the Text actions button. The text it recognizes is highlighted.
Copy the text
Choose Copy all text, or select just part of it and copy it with Ctrl+C. Now you can paste it anywhere.
Important
Text actions arrived with recent versions of Snipping Tool on Windows 11. If you don't see the button, update Snipping Tool from the Microsoft Store.
3With NexoPad, from any screen
NexoPad for Windows is a free Microsoft Store app with text shortcuts and screenshots. Its Copy text option reads the area you pick with Windows text recognition, offline, and leaves the text ready to paste. You don't need to save the image or open another program.
It also reads the screenshot exactly as you edited it: if you first pixelate or cover a piece of data with Hide, that data isn't copied. That's handy when you copy text from a dashboard with customer data.
Copy the text with NexoPad
Press Alt+2 and pick the area
It works on anything you can see on the screen: a video call, a scanned PDF, a paused video or a program that won't let you select the text.
Open the Copy menu and click Copy text
The arrow next to Copy has Copy text. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+T directly.
Paste it anywhere
A notification tells you how many lines it read. Paste the text with Ctrl+V into an email, a document or a chat.
Download NexoPad for Windows
Copy the text from any screen, offline. Free on the Microsoft Store, for Windows 10 and 11.
4With PowerToys (Text Extractor)
PowerToys is a free set of utilities from Microsoft. One of them, Text Extractor, copies the text from any area of the screen: press Windows + Shift + T, drag over the text and it's copied.
It's fast and works offline, but that's all it does: it doesn't save the screenshot or let you mark it up. You have to install PowerToys and turn on Text Extractor in its settings.
5With OneNote
If the image is already in OneNote (or you paste it there), right-click it and choose Copy Text from Picture. Then paste it anywhere. It works well for photos of whiteboards or documents you keep in your notes.
Warning
Online tools like Google Lens also read text, but they upload your image to the internet. If the image contains customer data, passwords or internal documents, use one of the options in this guide, which work on your PC.
6If the text isn't recognized well
- Capture a bigger area or zoom in first. Small text is harder to read; zoom in on the page or the PDF before capturing.
- Look for good contrast. Dark text on a light background works much better than text over a photo.
- Install the text's language. Windows text recognition needs the language pack: Settings › Time & language › Language & region.
- Handwriting is harder. With printed or on-screen text the results are good; with handwriting, always check what was copied.
- Check numbers and symbols. Before pasting an amount, a code or an address, compare it with the image.
Tip
Want to do more than copy text? See how to take screenshots on Windows and edit them, or compare tools in Lightshot alternatives.
7FAQ
Does Windows have built-in OCR?
Yes. Windows 10 and 11 include a text recognition engine used by Snipping Tool, PowerToys, OneNote and NexoPad. It works on your PC, offline, as long as you have the text's language installed.
Can I copy text from a scanned PDF?
Yes. Open it, zoom in so the text looks big and capture it with any of these tools. If there are many pages, a PDF program with OCR will save you time.
Does it work with text from a video or a video call?
Yes, as long as the text is visible on the screen. Pause the video or wait for the slide to stay still, then capture the area.
Are my images uploaded to the internet?
With Snipping Tool, PowerToys, OneNote and NexoPad, no: the text is read on your PC. Online tools, like Google Lens, do send the image.
Does NexoPad copy text in other languages?
It reads text in the languages you've added in Windows (Settings › Time & language › Language & region). If Windows has no text reader for any of them, NexoPad lets you know and tells you where to add one.
Is copying text with NexoPad free?
Yes. The app is free on the Microsoft Store and the screenshot editor, with Copy text, is included in the free plan. You just need a NexoPad account.
Published on October 25, 20266 min read
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