QuickCaptureHow to copy text and tables from an image on Windows
Text in a picture, a video, a PDF preview or an app that blocks copying can still be copied. QuickCapture reads it with the OCR built into Windows, on your PC, and can even rebuild tables so they paste into Excel as real cells.
Step by step
Start a text capture
Press Shift+Win+T, or click “Text capture” on the home screen. If you already took a screenshot, press T in the capture overlay instead.
Select the text
Drag a box around the words, the paragraph or the table you need.
Pick a format
The text card offers several views: Text, Layout (keeps line breaks and columns), Paragraphs (joins wrapped lines), Table and Markdown.
Copy a table to Excel
When a table is found, open the Table view and click “Copy table”. It pastes as real cells into Excel, Google Sheets, Word or Outlook. CSV, Markdown and HTML are one click away.
Use links, numbers and codes
Links, phone numbers and dates in the text become one-click actions, and QR codes or barcodes in the area are read too.
Tips
- OCR reads the languages installed in Windows (Settings › Time & language)
- Zoom in on small text before capturing for better results
- Every capture's text is searchable later in your history
Questions and answers
Which languages can it read?
Every language that has Windows OCR installed, such as English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, German, Spanish and many more. Add a language in Windows settings to read it.
Is the image sent to a server for OCR?
No. Recognition uses the OCR engine built into Windows and runs entirely on your PC.