How Can You Easily Extract Text from a Picture?

Images are sometimes used to save text on them. For example, students capture images from the classroom board when they are in a hurry to save the notes. Likewise, scanned documents, inspirational quotes, printed menus, etc.

And when text needs to be extracted from an image, there is no need to waste time retyping it or finding the original source of the image. Instead, there are plenty of ways to do this job using an automatic OCR tool or a technique in no time.

Online OCR Tool

Online OCR tools are web-based utilities that use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to detect text from an image and convert it into editable form.

Text extraction with OCR tools is recommended as it is easy and fast. Converting a picture to text with this method will take less than a few seconds. However, ensure that you choose a reliable tool that provides accurate output for this purpose.

Once you have selected a reliable OCR tool, follow these steps:

a. Open the tool and access the input box to paste an image in.

b. Submit the image into the input box. You can paste it directly, drag and drop it, or upload it from the system’s memory by clicking the Browse button.

c. Click on the Convert button given in the right-bottom corner of the image input box to start the text extraction process.

Wait for a few seconds until the process completes. Once the process completes, a new result window will show up, looking like this:

How to access the text? To access the text, click on the Download icon to download a ready-made TXT file in your system’s memory. Alternatively, click on the Copy icon to save the text into the clipboard. To repeat the process, select Start Over.

NOTE: This method not only works best on PCs, but also on mobile devices. All you need is a stable internet connection to access the tool. If on a mobile device, follow the same steps we just discussed; they remain the same.

Microsoft Word

Although Microsoft Word is a word processor, not an image-to-text convertor, its PDF reader feature can be used for this purpose.

PDF reader feature is used to convert PDF files into editable document files. What we do is paste the image into a PDF file and open it in the PDF reader. It automatically converts the image into an editable document file.

Feel a bit confused? Well, no need to be. Here are the steps to explain the key concept and convert an image into editable text via Word:

a. Open the Word application on your PC.

b. Head to the New section and click on Blank Document. A new document file will soon be created.

c. Paste the image into the document or upload it. To upload the image, click Insert > Picture > This Device. Go to the image location, select the image, and click Insert.

d. Save the file now in PDF format. Click File > Save As > This PC > choose your desired location. Select PDF from the file type.

e. Right-click on the PDF file you just saved. Select Open with > Choose another app, and choose Word.

Wait until the PDF file converts and opens in Microsoft Word in document file format. Once the text is fetched, you can both copy it and edit it.

NOTE: The method of using Microsoft Word to convert an image into text is recommended for a PC. It is better to stick to the Online OCR method we discussed above if you’re using a mobile device.

Conclusion

Online OCR tools and Microsoft Word are two reliable methods to extract text from a picture. Online OCR tools are web-based utilities that use Optical Character Recognition to quickly convert images into editable text.

On the OCR tool, upload the image into the input box and click the Convert button to start the process. Once completed, you can either copy the text or download it. This method works well on computers and mobile devices.

Alternatively, you can use Microsoft Word. Paste the image into a blank document, save it as a PDF, and then open the PDF with Word to convert it into editable text. This method is best suited for use on a PC.