Download Textinator 0.4.0 (Mac) – Download Free

Optical Character Recognition is getting more advanced, but you also need a quick and easy way to use the technology to make it worthwhile.

text editor Designed to provide this, you can use the macOS screenshot feature to detect and extract text from anything on the screen. It copies any text identified in the screenshot to the clipboard, supports multiple languages, and is completely free and open source.

Fast OCR for captured screenshots

First, you need to give the app full disk access. If you’re not prompted to do so, just go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Full Disk Access, put the app in the list, and make sure the box is checked.

Once configured, the application will integrate with the screenshot feature in macOS. When a screenshot is captured, it is automatically scanned and any text it detects is sent to the clipboard. It’s worth noting that snapshots appear to be processed again after being renamed or moved to a different location, as the software may see them as new images.

Lightweight and easy to configure

Textinator already supports multiple languages, and more may be added in the future. You can set it to always detect English, even if a different language is selected, which can be helpful when dealing with multiple types of content.

You can also change the confidence threshold, which determines how relaxed the detection algorithm is. High confidence may result in some text being ignored, while low confidence may result in errors and false detections.

Useful text detection tools for fast OCR

Since the app uses Apple’s own OCR technology, the results are as accurate as can reasonably be expected. What really makes Textinator stand out is how easily you can extract and use text from anywhere on the screen. It might be a simple app, but it’s a very useful one.