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Image To Text (ocr) Step By Step

Image to Text (OCR) runs in three steps: open the tool, choose an image, then copy or download the recognized text. This page walks through what each step expects.


Step 1 - open the tool

Go to Image to Text (OCR). Nothing needs to be installed or signed in before you start.


Step 2 - choose an image and click Extract text

Pick an image file with the file picker - it opens in the browser and is never uploaded to a server - then click Extract text. The first run on a device downloads the OCR engine in the background; later runs on the same device start faster.


Step 3 - copy or download the recognized text

The recognized text appears in a read-only box once the scan finishes. Copy it with one click or download it as a .txt file. OCR is not perfect, so double-check names, numbers, and punctuation before you rely on the result.

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Reviewed by the Free Tool Online editorial team · Tested in the current versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge before publishing. No account is needed to use any tool. Report a bug - we triage within 72 hours. · Last refreshed April 2026.

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  • Ten-plus years of web tooling. The freetoolonline editorial team has shipped browser-based utilities since 2015. The goal has never changed: get you to a working output fast, without an install.
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  • Open-source core components. The processing engines underneath (libheif, libde265, pdf-lib, terser, clean-css, ffmpeg.wasm, and others) are public and audit-able. We link to each one in its tool page's footer.
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