Convert Photo to Text? That’s All You Need

Last Updated on November 15, 2021 by Peter Wood

- “I received an email with an attachment that contained pictures. There is an anchor attached to this text. I need to convert photos to text for further management. Can anybody show me how to convert images to text Microsoft Word? Any help would be greatly appreciated.”

There are many similar questions about converting images to text. If you encounter the same issue, then you just come to the right place. This article shows detailed tutorials about how to convert photos to editable words on your computer and smartphone. Well, just read and choose your best OCR conversion here.

How to Convert Photo to Text

Part 1: Convert JPEG to Text Online

OnlineOCR.net can be your best online OCR service, with which you can convert JPG, BMP, TIFF, GIF, and PDF to DOCX, XLSX ad TXT. The maximum file size is 15MB. Moreover, the JPG to word converter online free editable allows users to convert photo to text with 46 different languages.

Step 1: Search the onlineocr.net site on your web browser.

Step 2: Click Select files… to import your photo.

Step 3: Select the output language if necessary.

Step 4: Choose Text Plain (txt) as the output format.

Step 5: Click Convert to convert photos to text-free online.

OnlineOCR.net

Part 2: Transcribe Image to Text on Windows

FreeOCR is the free convert photo to text software for Windows users. Different from other OCR converters, FreeOCR is for scanners, digital cameras, and mobile phones. What’s more, FreeOCR can convert scanned PDF to word too.

Step 1: Download and install FreeOCR on your Windows computer.

Step 2: Click Open on the top menu bar to import your picture.

Step 3: Choose OCR to convert the photo to editable text.

Step 4: Select the OCR language you want on the top right corner.

Step 5: Choose Copy Text to Clipboard or Save Text from the Text drop-down menu.

FreeOCR

Part 3: Convert Scanned Picture to Text on Mac

For Mac users, you can try Text Extractor to convert scanned photo files to editable text content. The supported input formats are PDF, PNG, JPEG, JPG, TIF, TIFF, BMP, and GIF. You can convert photos to text with all pages or current pages easily.

Step 1: Free download and install Text Extractor for Mac.

Step 2: Click Open File to add one picture from your hard drive.

Step 3: Trigger the on-off OCR option to the On state.

Step 4: Set the output document language and layout.

Step 5: Choose Extract to get all convert scanned images to text.

Step 6: Edit, copy, or extract the highlighted content in the right panel.

Text Extractor

Part 4: Extract Text from Photo on Android

To accurately convert images to text on an Android phone or tablet, you can turn to Text Fairy for help. Furthermore, you can correct and edit the extracted text freely without a second tool. However, the photo-to-text converter app cannot convert scanned handwriting to text at present.

Step 1: Search and download Text Fairy from the Google Play Store.

Step 2: Run the converted photo to text app Android.

Step 3: Tap on the Camera icon to frame the area you want to convert.

Step 4: Choose the specific column and language from the output settings.

Step 5: Select Start to start converting a photo to editable text on Android.

Text Fairy

Part 5: Take a Picture and Convert to Word on iPhone

Office Lens app offers powerful OCR features that allow you to scan, edit and take pictures of documents. The convert photo to text app can digitalize texts on whiteboards and blackboards too. Thus, you can scan and convert images to editable text with ease.

Step 1: Download Office Lens from APP Store.

Step 2: Launch it and choose Document on the bottom.

Step 3: Tap on the Camera button to take a shot.

Step 4: Choose the Trim and Done options in order.

Step 5: Select Word under the Export To list.

Step 6: Wait until Office Lens converts the image to word.

Office Lens

Part 6: Extract Text from PDF Image with Adobe Acrobat

It is also a good idea to convert photos to text with Adobe Acrobat. You can get much more editing filters to make your text recognized. There is no file size limitation. Thus, you can use Adobe Acrobat to convert images to text in large amounts quickly.

Step 1: Launch Adobe Acrobat on your Windows or Mac computer.

Step 2: Select Open from the File drop-down menu on the top.

Step 3: Choose Export PDF in the right panel.

Step 4: Set Microsoft Word as the output format.

Step 5: Click Settings to specify the output settings if necessary.

Step 6: Select a destination folder and choose Save to export the extracted document.

Set PPT as Output Format

Part 7: Tips That Can Increase the Chance of Converting Photo to Text

If you fail to convert photos to text, there are some possible reasons you can consider. You can also regard them as small tips to increase the possibility of OCR conversion.

  • The photo needs to be sharp with good lighting.
  • Some OCR converters cannot read and convert handwriting.
  • The text should be black on a white background.

Recommendation: Best Photo Converter Software with Batch Process on Windows and Mac

If you need to batch convert formats, resize photos, add a watermark and apply photo effects, WidsMob ImageConvert should be your first choice. You can get an instant preview window during the whole photo editing process.

Win Download Mac Download
  • Convert RAW format with DSLR cameras with 6x processing speed.
  • Turn photos from and to JPEG, JPEG 2000, PNG, TIFF, BMP, and more.
  • Resize, rename, rotate, add a border, add text/image watermark in batch or individually.
  • Simple, clean, safe, and user-friendly interface.
Add Photo to ImageConvert

These steps are all you need to convert photos to text on Windows/Mac/iPhone/Android/Online. You can get both free and professional OCR services here. Have questions about the image-to-text conversion? Just feel free to contact us.

Win Download Mac Download

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