Extract Text from a Screenshot — Copy in Seconds
Need to copy text from a screenshot? SynthPDF's AI OCR reads any screenshot — from desktop apps, browser tabs, PDFs viewed as images, or phone captures — and extracts the text so you can copy, edit, or search it.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1
Take your screenshot
Use your OS screenshot tool (Cmd+Shift+4 on Mac, Win+Shift+S on Windows) or any snipping tool. Save as PNG or JPG.
- 2
Upload the screenshot to SynthPDF
Go to synthpdf.com/tools/image-to-text and upload your screenshot file.
- 3
AI extracts the text
Our AI OCR reads all text in the screenshot — including small text, menus, error messages, and code.
- 4
Copy the extracted text
Click Copy to paste the text directly, or download it as a .txt file for later use.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I extract text from a screenshot of a PDF?
- Yes — if you have a screenshot of a PDF page, our OCR can read the text. For actual PDF files, upload directly to the tool.
- Does it work on screenshots of code?
- Yes — OCR reads monospace code text. For programming content, accuracy is very high on clear screenshots.
- Can I extract text from a screenshot of an error message?
- Yes — error messages, dialog boxes, and system text all extract accurately.
- What screenshot formats are supported?
- PNG, JPG, WebP, and TIFF are all supported. PNG screenshots give the best OCR accuracy.
- Is there a size limit for screenshots?
- Free users can upload screenshots up to 25 MB. Most screenshots are well under 5 MB.
Ready to extract text?
Free, no account, AI-powered OCR. Supports images and scanned PDFs.
Open OCR ToolUpload image or scanned PDF
Drop in a JPG, PNG, TIFF, or scanned PDF. Supports single and multi-page documents.
AI runs OCR
Our AI recognises printed text, typed content, and even handwritten notes with high accuracy.
Copy or download text
The extracted text appears instantly. Copy to clipboard or download as a .txt file.
Why SynthPDF?
AI-powered OCR
Not just pattern matching — our AI understands document layout, handles mixed text orientations, and recognises text in complex backgrounds.
Handwriting supported
Extracts clear block printing and typed handwritten notes. Accuracy depends on legibility — printed text achieves 98–99% accuracy.
Phone photos work
Take a photo of a document with your phone camera and upload directly. As long as the image is in focus and well-lit, extraction is highly accurate.
Multi-language OCR
Supports all major Latin scripts, Cyrillic, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, and Greek — with automatic language detection.
Multi-page scanned PDFs
Upload a scanned PDF and every page is processed in sequence — the full extracted text is combined into a single downloadable output.
Free, no account needed
5 AI uses per day on the free plan. Pro gives 15/day, Max gives 100/day, UltraMax is unlimited.
What Is OCR and Why Does It Matter?
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) converts images of text into actual, selectable, searchable, editable text. Before OCR, a scanned document was just a photograph — you couldn't search it, copy from it, or feed it to any text processing system.
AI-powered OCR (what we use) goes further than traditional OCR libraries: it understands document layout, handles multiple text orientations, and recognises text in complex backgrounds and mixed-language documents.
Supported Input Types
- Scanned PDFs — PDFs where every page is an image (no selectable text)
- Photos of documents — taken with a smartphone camera
- Screenshots — from any source (desktop, browser, app)
- JPG, PNG, TIFF, WebP images — single-image files
- Handwritten notes — clear block printing extracts well; cursive is partially supported
Factors That Affect Accuracy
- Resolution (DPI) — 150 DPI minimum, 300 DPI recommended. Phone camera photos at full resolution are typically sufficient.
- Lighting — even lighting with no shadows across text. Glare from glossy pages can reduce accuracy significantly.
- Angle — documents photographed at an angle (keystoning) produce lower accuracy. Photograph straight-on or use automatic perspective correction.
- Font — standard printed fonts: near-perfect accuracy. Decorative, cursive, or heavily stylised fonts: reduced accuracy.
- Background complexity — text on plain backgrounds extracts perfectly. Watermarked, patterned, or coloured backgrounds reduce accuracy.
After Extraction: Recommended Next Steps
- Check grammar — OCR occasionally introduces errors in similar-looking letters (I/l/1, O/0). Run through Grammar Check to catch these.
- Extract structured data — if the image contained tables or forms, useExtract Data for structured CSV/JSON output.
- Translate — extracted text from foreign-language documents can go directly into our Translate PDF tool.
- Create a searchable PDF — use AI Chat with PDFon your original scanned PDF after confirming text quality with the OCR extraction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — AI OCR handles clear handwriting. Heavily stylised or very messy handwriting may have lower accuracy.
JPG, PNG, TIFF, WebP, and PDF (scanned). Multi-page PDFs are processed page by page.
For clean printed text, accuracy is typically 98–99%. Blurry or low-resolution scans will reduce accuracy — use at least 150 DPI for best results.
Yes — as long as the image is in focus and reasonably well-lit, phone photos work well.
The extracted text preserves paragraph breaks and line structure. Complex multi-column layouts may need manual adjustment.