If you come across an image containing long text that you need to copy, there is no need to rewrite it manually as there are several tools and software available for extracting text from images using OCR technology, which recognizes the characters from the image and then extracts them as plain text that can be copied. There are a variety of programs available for this purpose, most of which are free, with one of the closest examples being the Text Extractor tool from Microsoft, which we have previously explained how to use. However, if you are using Windows 11, you do not need to install any additional software on your computer or browser extension, as users can take advantage of the new features in the system that allow for extracting text from images using artificial intelligence in any language, including Arabic, with ease and speed. Let us explain how from the following lines.
Converting Image to Text in Windows 11
First Method: Using Photos App
The Photos app has undergone a comprehensive redesign and many improvements in its Windows 11 version, making it more than just a regular photo viewer or even an organizer for photo and video libraries, but capable of replacing the need for downloading external tools and software. This led us to review “10 things Photos app can do in Windows 11 that you may not know” to demonstrate the capabilities of the app, including deleting the background from an image or removing people from photos. Microsoft continues to provide the app with new features that enhance the user experience, as it recently introduced a new version with support for OCR technology, meaning that if you review an image containing text using the Photos app, you can easily extract this text.
All you need to do is ensure you are using the latest version of Photos in Windows 11 by checking the app page on the Microsoft Store. Then, open any image on your device, whether it is a document, note, or a screenshot, as long as it includes text in any language. Once the app recognizes the content of the image and detects the text, you will notice the appearance of the “Copy all text” option at the bottom. Click on it to copy the text in the same format as in the image. Alternatively, use the mouse to select a specific portion of the text within the image – just like selecting text in a text editor! – and after selecting, right-click and select “Copy text” to save the selected text to the clipboard for easy pasting.
Second Method: Using Snipping Tool App
The previous method seems practical if the image is already on your device, but if you come across an image containing text that you want to extract while browsing the internet, you can rely on the Text Actions feature in the Snipping Tool app, which uses artificial intelligence to recognize the contents of screenshots and assist in various tasks such as extracting data tables, hiding personal information, reading QR codes directly from a screenshot image, as well as extracting text.
Simply, all you need to do is launch the Snipping Tool app through the Start menu or by searching for it after pressing the Win + S keys together, and once the tool window appears, click on the “Snip” button on the top bar, then click on “New” and select the area on the image you want to extract text from. After capturing the image, click on the preview that appears in the notification area to display the image inside the built-in editor in the Snipping Tool app, then click on the Text Actions button at the top.
After a few moments, the tool will automatically recognize all the texts in the image, then highlight the selectable parts. You can now simply select and copy a specific portion of text from the image using the mouse, then right-click and select Copy text or click on Copy all text from the toolbar at the top to copy all the recognized texts from the image to the clipboard.
After copying the text, all that’s left is to press Ctrl + V to paste this text anywhere, whether it’s an input field, Notepad, or your favorite text editor. The text will be copied from the image to the text file with near-perfect accuracy as the tool also preserves the formatting of the text itself, so if you want to extract programming codes from a video, when you paste them, the codes will be pasted in the same order as in the video.
