Optical Character Recognition (OCR) turns text within images into searchable, editable digital text. Remember using an old-school scanner for OCR? Back then, it was a big deal. In the ’90s, when I first tried OCR with my first scanner, it felt revolutionary—especially since information access was limited. Friends and I would scan pages from books to avoid hours of typing. We probably didn’t absorb much of the content, but it was fun and fascinating to turn paper into pixels.
Today, OCR has come a long way, evolving in accuracy and convenience. Now, there’s no need for a scanner or special software. Windows’ built-in Snipping Tool does it all. This tool simplifies OCR right at your fingertips.
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The Snipping Tool: More Than Just Screenshots
Initially known as a screenshot utility, the Snipping Tool allows you to grab any part of your screen. But here’s the twist—it also includes a feature that extracts text from those screenshots.
Steps to Use OCR with the Windows Snipping Tool:
- Go to the search box on your taskbar, type “Snipping Tool,” or press Windows + Shift + S keys.
- Decide if you want a rectangular, freeform, window, or full-screen snip. Select the option that best suits your needs.
- Click and drag over the area containing the text you need. Once you release the mouse, the image gets captured.
- Open the capture in the Snipping Tool, and select the OCR button to detect the text.
- After the OCR analysis, you’ll have editable text from the captured image. Now, you’re free to copy, edit or search the extracted text as needed.
Additional Features
Redact Sensitive Information
- Easily hide sensitive data like phone numbers or emails automatically.
- Alternatively, select specific areas for redaction if needed.
Benefits and Limitations
While the Snipping Tool’s OCR feature isn’t perfect—struggling a bit with poor-quality or overly complex images—it works well in most cases. For simple text extractions from web pages, PDFs, or non-selectable screens, it’s efficient and requires no additional downloads.