Live Text: copy text out of a photo or screenshot

Steps

1. 01

   Open the picture anywhere that shows it full size

   Photos, Preview and Safari all support this

   • Apple's guides cover Live Text in Photos, in Preview, and for images on web pages in Safari — so a screenshot you have just taken works the same way as a photo from your camera roll

   ✓You should see: The picture on screen at a readable size.

2. 02

   Hover the words, then select them

   • Position the pointer over the text in the picture
   • The pointer changes to a text cursor where your Mac has found readable writing — drag across it exactly as you would select text in a document

   ✓You should see: Words in the picture highlighted as a selection, not the whole image.

   Why?

   If the pointer never changes, the Mac has not found text there. That is usually resolution or handwriting, not a setting you can switch on.

3. 03

   Copy it

   • Control-click your selection, then choose Copy Text — or press Command-C
   • Paste it wherever you need it, like anything else you have copied

   ✓You should see: The text pasted as real, editable text in your document.

   Also see: Universal Clipboard: copy on one device, paste on another

4. 04

   Use the other things it offers

   The same Control-click menu does more than copy

   • Apple lists looking up a definition, translating the text and choosing a language, searching the web, and sharing it
   • A phone number in the picture can be called, FaceTimed or texted; an email address can be written to or added to Contacts; a web address offers Open Link or Quick Look Link

   Why?

   Apple notes translation is not available in every language, and may not be available in some countries or regions.

5. 05

   Know when it will not help

   Live Text reads printed, reasonably sharp text — it is not a handwriting recognition tool

   • It needs macOS Monterey or later, on Intel and Apple silicon Macs alike, and it reads text in the languages Apple supports

   !Careful: Check anything you copy from a photo before you rely on it. A misread digit in a serial number or an account number looks exactly like a correct one.