How to copy text from a screenshot on Mac
Open the screenshot in Preview, move the pointer over the words until it becomes a text cursor, select them and press ⌘C. macOS reads text in pictures by itself; the feature is called Live Text. To skip the screenshot altogether, a text capture tool copies the words of any part of the screen directly.
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Copy text from a screenshot with Live Text
- Double-click the screenshot to open it in Preview, or select it in Finder and press Space for Quick Look.
- Point at the text: the pointer changes to a text cursor. Drag over the words, or press ⌘A to select all the text in the picture.
- Press ⌘C and paste the text anywhere with ⌘V.
If nothing can be selected, check that Live Text is on: System Settings › General › Language & Region › Live Text. It also works in Photos and on pictures in Safari.
Copy text from any part of the screen, in one step
A screenshot just to get its text is a detour. SimpleShot, a free capture app for Mac, has Capture Text (⌥⇧⌘T): select the part of the screen with the words, and they are on the clipboard, with a short preview of what was copied.
- Press ⌥⇧⌘T, or choose Capture Text in the SimpleShot menu bar icon.
- Drag over the text: an error message, a paused video, a scanned page, a slide in a video call, a photo.
- Paste it with ⌘V. If you selected a QR code, you get what it contains, such as a link.
- Read on your Mac: the text recognition runs on the Mac itself; neither the picture nor its words are uploaded to do it.
- The language is detected by itself, and the lines come back in reading order, row by row.
- Every capture is searchable: the Library finds a screenshot by any word on it, months later.
- Copy Text in the editor gives you all the words of a capture you already took.
Questions
Can you copy text from a screenshot on a Mac?
Yes. Open it in Preview or Quick Look and select the text like in a document: Live Text, built into macOS, reads it. Then press ⌘C.
Why can’t I select text in my screenshot?
Live Text may be off (System Settings › General › Language & Region), the text may be too small or blurry to read, or the language may not be one Live Text reads. Capture a larger, sharper area and try again.
How do I copy text from a video or a picture on screen?
Pause the video, then use a text capture: with SimpleShot press ⌥⇧⌘T and drag over the words. Or take a screenshot and open it in Preview.
Is my text sent anywhere to be read?
Not with Live Text and not with SimpleShot: both read it on the Mac. Websites that “convert a screenshot to text” usually upload the image to their server.
Can I translate the text from a screenshot?
Yes. Select the text with Live Text, right-click it and choose Translate, or paste the copied text into a translator.
Related
- OCR on Mac: text from any image, PDF or screen
- How to screenshot on a Mac
- A private screenshot app for Mac
Words from the screen,
on your clipboard.
Free · macOS 26 or later · Apple Silicon