Copy Text from Any Screen with PowerToys Text Extractor in Windows 10/11

Prerequisites and compatibility​

• You are using Windows 11 or Windows 10 version 2004 or newer.
• Your PC has a 64-bit x64 or ARM64 processor.
• Microsoft PowerToys is installed and running.
• The Text Extractor module is enabled.
• An OCR language pack is installed for the language you want to recognize. English (United States) is commonly available by default, but do not assume this applies to every Windows installation.
• You have a destination ready for the result, such as Notepad, Word, an email, a browser form, or a chat window.

Primary procedure: extract text from anything on screen​

1. Install Microsoft PowerToys if it is not already installed​

• Open Start.
• Search for and open Microsoft Store.
• Search for PowerToys.
• Select the Microsoft PowerToys listing.
• Select Get or Install.
• When installation finishes, select Open.

• Right-click Start.
• Select Terminal or Windows PowerShell.
• Run:
  winget install --id Microsoft.PowerToys --source winget
• Accept any package agreement prompts if shown.
• Wait for the installer to report that PowerToys was installed successfully.
• Open Start, search for PowerToys, and open it.

2. Enable Text Extractor​

• Open PowerToys Settings.
• If PowerToys is already running, you can also right-click its taskbar notification-area icon and select Settings.
• In the left navigation pane, select Text Extractor.
• Turn on Enable Text Extractor.

3. Set PowerToys to start automatically, if you will use Text Extractor often​

• In PowerToys Settings, select General.
• Under Appearance & behavior, turn on Run at startup.

4. Review or change the activation shortcut​

• Open PowerToys Settings > Text Extractor.
• Locate Activation shortcut.
• Select the shortcut field.
• Press the new shortcut combination you want to use.
• Save or confirm the new shortcut if PowerToys prompts you.

5. Select the correct OCR language​

• Open PowerToys Settings > Text Extractor.
• Locate Preferred language.
• Select the language that matches the text you intend to copy.

6. Capture text from the screen​

• Put the text you need somewhere visible on screen. It can be in a browser, PDF viewer, image, video frame, screenshot, application dialog, virtual machine window, or another program.
• Make sure the text is unobstructed and displayed at a readable size.
• Press Win + Shift + T.
• Wait for the screen overlay to appear.
• Click and hold the primary mouse button—normally the left mouse button.
• Drag a rectangle around the text you want to copy.
• Release the mouse button.

7. Paste and proofread the captured text​

• Open the destination app.
• Click where you want the text to appear.
• Press Ctrl + V.
• Compare the pasted result with the original screen content.

• O and 0
• l, I, and 1
• S and 5
• commas and periods
• hyphens, en dashes, and minus signs
• accented or stylized characters

Verification of success​

• Open Notepad.
• Type this sample text on separate lines:
  
  Code:

  Text Extractor test
  Invoice 10294
  Windows 10/11

• Keep Notepad visible.
• Press Win + Shift + T.
• Drag around all three lines.
• Click in a blank area of Notepad below the sample.
• Press Ctrl + V.

Alternate method: use Windows Snipping Tool for screenshots you also need to save​

Windows 11​

• Press Win + Shift + S.
• Select the capture mode you need, such as Rectangular mode.
• Drag around the area.
• Select the notification thumbnail to open the capture in Snipping Tool.
• Use the text-recognition option available in Snipping Tool, then copy the recognized text if your installed Windows version provides it.
• Save the screenshot if needed.

Windows 10​

• Press Win + Shift + S.
• Choose a snip type from the toolbar.
• Drag around the target area.
• Select the notification thumbnail to open the image in Snip & Sketch or your configured capture app.
• Save or annotate the screenshot as needed.

Troubleshooting and rollback/escalation​

The Win + Shift + T shortcut does nothing​

• Open PowerToys Settings > Text Extractor.
• Confirm Enable Text Extractor is turned on.
• Confirm PowerToys is running. Look for its notification-area icon, or open Start and launch PowerToys.
• Check the Activation shortcut setting. Another utility may have changed it.
• Temporarily assign a different shortcut and test again.
• Close or disable other tools that capture keyboard shortcuts, including screenshot utilities, video-recording overlays, remote-control clients, macro tools, and keyboard remappers.
• Restart PowerToys:
• Right-click the PowerToys notification-area icon.
• Select Exit.
• Open Start > PowerToys.
• If it still fails, restart Windows.

The overlay opens, but no text is pasted​

• Zoom in on the source content before capturing it.
• In many browsers and document viewers, press Ctrl + +.
• Pause a video on a sharp frame before extracting text.
• Capture only the needed lines rather than a large, cluttered page.
• Avoid including borders, logos, icons, decorative backgrounds, or adjacent columns in the selection.
• Verify that the destination app accepts pasted text by manually copying and pasting ordinary text.
• Test paste in Notepad. If the text appears there but not in the intended app, the destination app or field may block pasting.

Text is extracted, but the language or characters are wrong​

• Open PowerToys Settings > Text Extractor.
• Set Preferred language to the language used in the source text.
• Retry the capture.

• Open Settings.
• Select Time & language > Language & region.
• Under Preferred languages, select Add a language.
• Search for and select the language.
• Select Next.
• In Install language features, select the appropriate optional language features if offered.
• Select Install.
• Return to PowerToys Settings > Text Extractor and select that language under Preferred language.

• Open Settings.
• Select Time & Language > Language.
• Under Preferred languages, select Add a language.
• Search for and select the language.
• Select Next.
• Choose the applicable language features.
• Select Install.
• Return to PowerToys Settings > Text Extractor and select the preferred language.

Warning: The next commands use an Administrator PowerShell window and can install or remove Windows language components. Do not run the removal command unless you deliberately want to uninstall the OCR support for that language.

Click to expand...

• Right-click Start.
• Select Terminal (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin).
• Run:
  Get-WindowsCapability -Online | Where-Object { $_.Name -Like 'Language.OCR*' }
• Find the language code you need, such as en-US, es-ES, or ja-JP.
• To install English (United States) OCR, run:
  
  Code:

  $Capability = Get-WindowsCapability -Online | Where-Object { $_.Name -Like 'Language.OCR*en-US*' }
  $Capability | Add-WindowsCapability -Online

• Wait for installation to finish; it can take several minutes.
• Restart PowerToys and test Text Extractor again.

$Capability = Get-WindowsCapability -Online | Where-Object { $_.Name -Like 'Language.OCR*en-US*' }
$Capability | Remove-WindowsCapability -Online

Text Extractor fails only inside an Administrator app​

Warning: Running PowerToys as administrator gives it broader access to Windows and other elevated applications. Use it only when needed, rather than enabling permanent elevation by default.

Click to expand...

• Open PowerToys Settings.
• Select General.
• Select Restart as administrator when available.
• Approve the User Account Control prompt.
• Test Text Extractor again in the elevated app.

PowerToys says no OCR languages are installed​