This hidden Windows 11 feature copies text from images — here’s how to use it

1. Open PowerToys and toggle on Text Extractor

First up, open the PowerToys app and select Text Extractor from the left menu. Now Toggle on Enable Text Extractor.

2. Open the image or web page

Open the image or web page from which you want to extract text. I'm using an image from our article on how to get PowerToys in Windows 11.

3. Press Windows key + Shift + T to use Text Extractor

To activate Text Extractor, press Windows key + Shift + T. The screen will get darker, and a toolbar will appear at the top showing different icons. Select one of the four following opitons:

1. Language drop-down —This enables you to select your preferred language. Text Extractor only recognizes languages that have the OCR pack installed on your device. If you only have one language available, then there will be only one option in the drop-down list.

2. Single line inside a box icon — This returns the result as a single line.

3. Spreadsheet icon — This returns the text as a table.

4. Settings icon — This opens the PowerToys settings in a separate window. From here, you can enable/disable the text extractor, edit the activation shortcut, or choose your preferred language.

You will also see a cross-shaped cursor on the screen. You can control this with your primary mouse button and use it to select the screen capture you want to extract text from. We'll explore this further in the next step.

4. Click and hold to select your screen capture

Click and hold your primary mouse button and then drag the mouse to capture your image. This works in a very similar way to Windows Snipping Tool, so if you're familiar with that, this should come naturally.

If you want to move the highlighted region, hold down the shift key while still holding your mouse button down. This switches the mouse's function to moving the screen's capture area. When you release the shift key, the mouse will resume resizing the capture area.

As with Snipping Tool, Text Extractor will end the process once you release the mouse button. The text is now saved to your clipboard.

5. Paste to new document

Now that the text has been saved to your clipboard, you can paste it into any text-based program, including Microsoft Word, Excel, or Notepad.

Text Extractor uses OCR to make its best effort to replicate the text you've selected. However, it is not going to be 100% accurate, especially if the image is small, unclear, or cluttered. You'll need to check your pasted text to ensure that it is free from errors.