Have you ever taken a picture of a sign or poster to have the information handy for future reference? Our smartphones have made it incredibly convenient to take photos of anything in an instant, and they also provide a quick and effortless way to extract information from those photos.
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Whether you need to retrieve a phone number or email address from a business card without risking a typo, or want to send information from a document without having to completely retype it, this feature is exceptionally useful and accessible on both iPhone and Android devices.
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What are the benefits of copying text from a photo?
There are a number of reasons why you might want to learn how to extract or copy text from a photo you’ve taken or saved.
- Instead of manually typing any text which takes time, you will save time and effort by using this trick
- You can send a text more easily than a photo
- You can extract a phone number from a panel and in some cases click to call it
- You may not want to email a photo to everyone, and you may only want to include part of the information, so sharing specific text will be much more convenient.
- You also help avoid errors by extracting the correct text and information rather than risking a typo by retyping it yourself.
- You can’t translate a photo of text, but you can translate actual text, so it’s handy if you’ve taken a photo of something in another language
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Copying text from a photo is possible on your smartphone. (CyberGuy.com)
To copy text from an image on iPhone using Live Text
This function is called live text, and it is available on iPhone XS, iPhone XR or later with iOS 15 or later. You can use Live Text to copy text in photos or videos, translate languages, etc. Although to use Live Text for video you need iOS 16 or later or iPadOS 16 or later. First, you need to activate Live Text for all supported languages:
- Open the Settings app
- Faucet General
- Faucet Language & Region and put the desired language and region setting, then enable Live Text (bottom row)
How to Copy Text from Image on iPhone Using Live Text
Make sure that if you extract text from an image you didn’t take yourself, the photo is saved in your Photos app.
- Open the photo in your Photos app and select a photo or video
- Use your finger to touch and hold a word in the picture and move it grab points to adjust the selection to cover all the text you want to copy. If the text is in a video, pause the video first.
- Then press Copy to copy the text or Select all if there is text on the photo, you want to copy everything.
- NOW dough in any other application where you would type any other text.
Note: Live Text is also available on 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation) or later, 11-inch iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air (3rd generation) or later, iPad (8th generation) or later, and iPad mini (5th generation). generation) or later with iPadOS 15.1 or later.
Use Live Text in Camera App on iPhone to Copy Text from Image
You can also use Live Text in the Camera app or when using the camera in apps like Notes or Reminders to copy text from an image.
How to Use Live Text in Camera App on iPhone to Copy Text from Image
- Point your camera at a photo or image with text, then tap the Live Text button
- Use your finger to touch and hold a word in the picture and move it grab points to adjust the selection to cover all the text you want to copy, translate, or share. If the text is in a video, pause the video first.
- Then press Copy to copy the text or Select all if there is text on the photo, you want to copy everything.
- NOW dough in any other application where you would type any other text.
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Screenshot instructions on how to highlight and select the text you want to highlight from a photo. (CyberGuy.com)
Prime: If you point your iPhone camera at a photo or image with a phone number Or website and press the Live Text button it will appear below the photo so you can tap it and be directed to this site or call this number or you can tap it directly on the photo or image and be directed to this site or call this number.
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Selecting Live Text may direct you to the selected phone number or website. (CyberGuy.com)
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Use Live Text on iPhone to translate
You can also use Live Text on your iPhone to quickly translate text.
How to Use Live Text on iPhone to Translate
- Open a photo or video, or select an image online. If the text is in a video, pause the video first.
- Use your finger to touch and hold a word in the photo, and move it grab points to adjust the selection to cover all the text you want to translate
- A menu will appear above the word. Press the arrow icon at the end of the line (looks like this >)display Translate
- A pop-up window will appear with the translation below. Then scroll down and you can select either, Copy translation Or Change language. You can even click the play button to hear the words sound in the other language.
For example, in the photo below of a recipe, I translated an ingredient into French.
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The Live Text feature on an iPhone allows you to translate text. (CyberGuy.com)
To copy text from an image on Android or iPhone to Google Photos
You can copy text from an image on Android using Google Photos. Here are the steps:
How to Copy Text from an Image on Android or iPhone to Google Photos
Settings may vary depending on your Android phone manufacturer
- Open your Google Photos and select an image whose text you want to copy
- Tap the Goal icon (looks like a square with a dot in the middle) available at the bottom of the screen or click on the image and scroll down and click Copy text from the picture below
- THE Goal icon will take you to Google lens
- Tap the Text option and select the text you want to copy by moving the blue grab points to adjust the selection to cover all the text you want to copy
- Then click on Copy textand the text will be copied to your clipboard
To copy text from picture on Samsung in Gallery app
Make sure that if you extract text from an image you didn’t take yourself, the photo is saved to your Gallery app or Camera Roll.
How to Copy Text from Image on Samsung in Gallery App
Settings may vary depending on your Samsung phone manufacturer
- Open the photo in your Gallery app
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Selecting text from photos is a feature of Android phones. (CyberGuy.com)
- Tap the icon at the bottom right of the screen with a J in a rectangular outline
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Screenshot instructions on how to copy text from photo on Android. (CyberGuy.com)
- Click once on a block of text and you will see a blue stitch picker and options menu. You can adjust the selected text on the photo by using the blue dot selectors at each end of the text
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Screenshot instructions on how to select text in a photo. (CyberGuy.com)
- Select Copy, Select all, Or Share
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Screenshot showing how to select copy, select or share on an Android. (CyberGuy.com)
Note: We performed these steps on a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip.
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Kurt’s main takeaways
Machine language and the technology’s ability to read images provide another useful tool for extracting text directly from a photo. Now you know how to capture and extract text from photos. As you can see, this is an invaluable tool that will save you time, prevent mistakes, and allow you to easily access and share information on the go.
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