How to Extract Text from an Image on a Mac
On a Mac, Live Text lets you select and copy the text in one image at a time in Preview, Photos or Quick Look. For many images at once, File Acture's Extract Text reads them on your Mac, saves the text as .txt files and copies it to the clipboard.
Updated September 25, 20265 min read
By the File Acture team
A photo of a receipt, a screenshot of an error message, a letter scanned as a JPG: the words are right there, but you can't always select them. Text recognition, or OCR, reads the letters in the picture and gives them back as text you can paste, edit and search.
Why can't you copy text from an image?
An image stores colored pixels, not letters. To your Mac, the words in a screenshot or in a photo of a page are shapes like any other, so there is nothing to select or copy until something recognizes them.
That recognition step is OCR. It looks at the shapes, works out which letters they are and writes them out as plain text, which you can then paste into an email, a spreadsheet or a document.
Can a Mac copy text from an image by itself?
Yes, one image at a time. With Live Text, open the image in Preview, Photos or Quick Look, hold the pointer over the text until it turns into a text cursor, drag across the words and press Command-C. Control-click the selection for more, such as translating it or looking it up.
The Shortcuts app can do it too: its Extract Text from Image action gives you the text of an image you pass to a shortcut.
These are handy for one phone number or one paragraph. They stop being handy with twenty receipts or a folder of screenshots: every image is opened, selected and pasted by hand, and nothing is saved as a file.
How to extract text from images on a Mac with File Acture
File Acture's Extract Text reads the text in photos, scans and screenshots with the text recognition built into macOS, on your Mac. Drop one image or a whole batch, and each one comes back as a text file named after it, like receipt-text.txt.
Under Options, Multiple images decides what a batch becomes: Separate text file for each image, or Combine into one text file, where each image's text sits under its file name (the file is called Extracted Text unless you change File name under Result). Copy text to clipboard is on by default, so the text is ready to paste as soon as the run ends.
The text files are saved to Documents › File Acture › Images unless you choose another folder, and your images stay as they are. JPEG, PNG, HEIC, WebP, TIFF and the other image formats the app opens all work.
Which languages can it read?
Those listed under Document Language. Automatic Detection works out the language for you; pick it by hand when the result looks wrong, which helps most with accents and non-Latin scripts.
Tips for better results
Text recognition reads what it can see, so a sharp, straight image gives the cleanest text.
- Pick the language. If Automatic Detection guesses wrong, choose the text's language under Document Language.
- Use sharp, straight images. Blurry, tilted or tiny text is easy to misread. Crop to the text or retake the photo if you can.
- Expect plain text. Lines come back in reading order, but tables, columns and fonts are not kept; check numbers before you rely on them.
- Handwriting is hit and miss. Printed text reads well; handwriting often does not.
- Need a searchable PDF instead? Put the photos into one PDF with Images to PDF, then run OCR PDF: the pages keep their look and the text becomes searchable.
Is it safe to use online image-to-text sites?
Online converters need your image on their servers, and screenshots and photos of documents often hold more than you meant to share: account numbers, addresses, names in the background. File Acture recognizes the text on your Mac, so the images never leave it; the free version needs an internet connection only to count its runs.
The free version includes 3 runs on each Mac, with up to 5 images per run. For bigger batches, see pricing.
How to extract text from images with File Acture
- 1
Open Extract Text
Choose Extract Text and drag in your images, or click Choose Files….
- 2
Set the language
Leave Document Language on Automatic Detection, or pick the language of the text.
- 3
Choose one file or many
For several images, choose Separate text file for each image or Combine into one text file under Multiple images.
- 4
Extract the text
Click Extract Text. The text files are saved, and with Copy text to clipboard on, the text is ready to paste.
Turn photos and screenshots into text files, right on your Mac.
Free to try · runs on your device
| Method | Several images at once | Saves text files | Stays on your Mac |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Text (Preview, Photos) | No, one image at a time | No, copy and paste | Yes |
| Shortcuts, Extract Text from Image | With a shortcut you build | With a shortcut you build | Yes |
| Online converters | Varies | Varies | No, the image is uploaded |
| File Acture Extract Text | Yes | Yes, one per image or one for all | Yes |
Questions
Can a Mac copy text from an image without extra software?
Yes, one image at a time. Open it in Preview or Photos, drag across the text with Live Text and press Command-C. For many images, or for text saved as files, you need another tool.
Can I extract text from several images at once?
Yes. Add them all to Extract Text and choose a separate text file for each image or one combined file. The free version takes up to 5 images per run.
Does it keep tables and formatting?
No. You get plain text, line by line in reading order. Columns and tables come out as separate lines, and fonts and colors are not kept.
Why is some text missing or wrong?
Blurry, tilted, very small or handwritten text is hard to recognize. Use a sharper image, crop to the text and choose the language by hand if automatic detection guesses wrong.
Are my images uploaded?
No. File Acture recognizes the text on your Mac with the text recognition built into macOS, and the images never leave it. The free version goes online only to count its runs.