How to Copy Text from a Screenshot or Image on Mac
Error dialogs, slides in a video call, a PDF that's really a scan: the text is right there, but you can't select it. Here are three ways to get it out, from built-in to one step.
Option 1: Live Text in Preview (built in)
- 1 Open the image or screenshot in Preview.
- 2 Drag across the text. If you can't select it, choose Tools > Text Selection.
- 3 Control-click and choose Copy Text.
It's free and good for one-off images you already have saved. You need the image as a file first, and Apple notes Live Text isn't available in every region or language.
Option 2: Screenshot to the clipboard, then Live Text
- 1 Press Control-Shift-Command-4 and drag over the text. This copies the screenshot instead of saving a file.
- 2 In Preview choose File > New from Clipboard, then select and copy the text as in Option 1.
There's no file clutter, but it takes several steps every time, and the text isn't kept anywhere once you paste it.
Option 3: The Sane Way (SaneClip)
- ✓ Capture Text from Screen: pick it from the SaneClip menu, drag over the area, and the recognised text becomes a normal clip, ready to paste.
- ✓ Searchable screenshots: Capture Screenshot saves the image into your history with its text attached, so you can find it later by a word in it.
- ✓ On your Mac: recognition runs on-device with Apple's Vision framework. Pick an OCR language in Settings if auto-detect misses.
- ✓ Private by default: history can be locked with Touch ID and encrypted at rest.
OCR capture is a Pro feature. Every Pro feature is free for 14 days with no card, then $14.99 once. Needs macOS 14+ on Apple silicon and Screen Recording permission.
Questions people ask
How do I copy text from an image on a Mac?
Open the image in Preview, drag across the text, Control-click it and choose Copy Text. This is Apple's Live Text, and it isn't available in every region or language.
Can I copy text straight from the screen without saving a screenshot first?
Yes, with SaneClip Pro. Choose Capture Text from Screen, select the area, and the recognised text lands in your clipboard history as a normal text clip, ready to paste.
Is the text recognition done on my Mac?
In SaneClip, yes. Text recognition uses Apple's on-device Vision framework, and nothing is sent to SaneApps. SaneClip needs Screen Recording permission to capture the screen.
Can I search old screenshots by the words in them?
Yes. When SaneClip's Capture Screenshot is used, it saves the image to your history and, by default, attaches the recognised text, so searching your history finds the screenshot by its words.