Top Tips on How to Use the Free Built-in OCR Feature in Windows 11’s Snipping Tool

Bykalilos April 13, 2024April 13, 2024

This guide provides instructions on how to use the built-in OCR feature in the Snipping Tool of Windows 11, enabling users to extract text from their screenshots easily and efficiently.

Overview

The Snipping Tool in Windows 11 includes a powerful OCR (Optical Character Recognition) feature called “Text Actions.” This feature allows you to select and copy text directly from the images you capture, simplifying the process of extracting information from screenshots.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Ensure your system is updated to the latest version of Windows 11.
This feature is available in Windows 11 Snipping Tool starting with version 11.2308.33.0, currently available to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev channels.

How to Open Snipping Tool

Search: Press the Start button , type Snipping Tool, and press Enter.

Shortcut: Use the Windows + Shift + S shortcut to open the capture options directly.

Using Snipping Tool with OCR

Capture a Screenshot

Open the Snipping Tool using one of the methods above.

Click the New button to start a new capture.

Select the desired snip type:

Rectangular Snip
Freeform Snip
Window Snip
Fullscreen Snip

Extract Text Using OCR

After capturing the screenshot, it will automatically open in the Snipping Tool window.

Click the Text Actions button on the toolbar.

The tool will scan the image for text. Once detected, text areas will be highlighted.

Click on any text block to select it. Right-click and choose Copy or press Ctrl + C to copy the text to your clipboard.

Additional Features

Redact Sensitive Information: Use the Quick Redact button in the toolbar to automatically conceal emails and phone numbers in the screenshot.
Manual Text Selection: You can also manually select text to copy or redact specific sections of your screenshot.

Limitations

The OCR feature may struggle with low-quality images or stylized fonts.
Currently, it does not support direct conversion to editable formats like Word or Excel.

Troubleshooting

If the OCR does not detect text accurately:

Ensure the text in the image is clear and well-lit.
Try zooming in on the text and capturing the screenshot again.

Conclusion

The OCR feature in the Windows 11 Snipping Tool simplifies the process of converting visual information into editable text, enhancing productivity and saving time. This guide should help you effectively utilize this feature for your text extraction needs.

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