If Live Text will not select words in an image, first open the same image in Preview. That separates a problem with the Mac or the image from an app that simply does not offer Live Text. Then work through these checks in order.
- Check that the Mac runs a current macOS release and that the language of the text is listed on Apple's macOS Feature Availability page. Support varies by language, region and feature.
- Open System Settings, then General, then Language & Region, and make sure Live Text is turned on.
- Open the image in Preview. Choose Tools, then Text Selection, if dragging still draws a rectangle instead of selecting text.
- Try a sharp, upright image. Crop closer or enlarge very small text: blur, low resolution, glare, decorative fonts and rotation all reduce recognition.
- Tell an image Preview can open apart from pixels inside another app, a remote desktop, a virtual machine, a presentation or a video player. Seeing the text does not mean that app supports Live Text.
- If the app has no Live Text, read the visible pixels with an on-screen OCR tool instead. No capture tool can read DRM-protected video, which macOS hides from every screenshot.
What the result tells you
If the image works in Preview but not in the app you found it in, the image and the recognizer are fine: that app just does not support Live Text. If it fails in Preview too, test a clean screenshot of large, horizontal text before changing any settings. Keep in mind that OCR reads what is visible: it does not recover hidden pages, document structure or a PDF's embedded text layer.
When the app has no Live Text
Screen OCR & Translate reads any part of the screen with the same on-device recognition. Press Control-Option-C, drag a box around the text, and it is on your clipboard. It works on paused video in any player, screen shares, remote windows and app labels that Live Text cannot reach. Accuracy still depends on the pixels, so the image tips above apply to it too.
For the basic steps, see how to copy text from an image on a Mac. For moving pictures, see copying text from a video.
FAQ
Why can I select text in Photos but not in another app?
Live Text is built into Apple's apps, such as Photos, Preview, Quick Look and Safari. Other apps have to add it themselves, and many do not.
Does Live Text work on Intel Macs?
Live Text for photos arrived in macOS Monterey. Apple's macOS Feature Availability page lists which features and languages each Mac supports; check it for your model.
