Pavel Jelic With the arrival of macOS Monterey, we saw several new features that are definitely worth it. Live Text, also known under the English name Live Text, definitely belongs to one of them. Using this function, you can easily convert text from an image or photo into a form in which you can work with it. So, for example, if you need to get text from paper into digital form, you don't need to rewrite it, but just take a picture of it, and then mark it on your Mac and copy it. In order to use Live Text, it is necessary to activate it in → System Preferences → Language and Region, where check Select text in pictures. Let's take a look together in this article at 5 ways you can use Live Text on Mac.
It could be interest you
preview
Right at the beginning, we will look together at the method that you will probably use most often. You can use live text directly in the native Preview application, in which almost all images and photos are opened by default. So if you have some text on an image or photo, just double-tap on it and it will open in preview. Then move the cursor over the text and mark it in the same way as you would mark it on the web or in a text editor. Then you can copy it and paste it anywhere, which is simple and convenient.
Gallery
Quick preview
In addition to the classic Preview application, macOS also includes Quick Preview. This application includes a few basic functions, but if you don't like them, you can switch to the classic Preview. You can get to the Quick View, for example, from the Messages application, where in a conversation you just need to double-tap an image that someone sends you. If there is text in this image, you can also work with it in Quick Preview. All you have to do is move the cursor over the text again, and then mark it in the classic way like anywhere else. After marking, you can copy, search, translate, etc.
Gallery
Fotky
Anything you take on your iPhone becomes part of the native Photos app. If you have active Photos on iCloud, all photos and images are automatically synchronized on all your devices, so you can view them on your iPad or Mac, for example. If you find yourself in the Photos application and have an image with text that you want to work with, you can. It is enough to double-click the image to open it, and then mark the text in the classic way, as you know this procedure from a text editor or from Safari, for example. Even in this case, it is possible to continue working with the text after marking, which you can use in many situations – for example, if you take a photo of a document on your iPhone and need to convert it to a digital form on your Mac, in which you can work with the text.
Safari
Of course, you can also find various photos and images within the Safari web browser. If you see an image or photo with text here, you can simply copy it or work with it in another way. Again, just move the cursor over the text in the image and then drag it to the end of the text you want to mark. Then you can copy the text, for example with the keyboard shortcut Command + C, or right-click to display additional options in the form of translation or search.
Links, phone numbers and emails
On all the previous pages, we've shown you ways to work with text on images and photos on your Mac. In this final tip, we'll show you how you can work with links, phone numbers, and email addresses that Live Text recognizes in an image. If such recognition occurs, a small arrow will appear to the right of this text when you move the cursor over it, which you can click to display options. In addition, you can click directly on the link, phone number or e-mail, with the fact that, even in this case, the same will be preserved as, for example, on the website. Clicking on the link will redirect you to a specific page in your web browser, clicking on the phone number will prompt you to call, and clicking on email will take you to an email client where you can immediately send an email to a specific address.
