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The ability to highlight/copy/etc text on Macs/iOS these days is such a killer feature. I use it almost every day, both for copying/translating text in screensh

by sen 11mo ago

The ability to highlight/copy/etc text on Macs/iOS these days is such a killer feature. I use it almost every day, both for copying/translating text in screenshots or taking photos of text to then copy it into my notes later (eg school notice boards or event posters etc).

WorldPeas 11mo ago
this. makes me wish more image viewers would ocr->png special field->have location-attached selectable text like a pdf
ivewonyoung 11mo ago
OneNote had this for a long time.
- sumnole 11mo ago
  Aside from copying text from images, OneNote can also make text in images searchable.
  - spockz 11mo ago
    Spotlight, notes, and Photos also look at photos and return them in search result. Even going further where you can give a description and find it as well.
sqrt_1 11mo ago
Windows built-in snipping tool (shortcut Win + Shift + S) also has a text actions button to extract text.
- vismit2000 11mo ago
  Or Powertoys does that even better: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/text-extractor https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/text-ext...
- jiri 11mo ago
  I am using this tool all the time and I did not know this! Thanks!
internetter 11mo ago
I use Shottr, I take a screenshot of a screenshot and hit “O” immediately after. Saves me from first saving the file to open it in the native viewer
- alyyousuf7 11mo ago
  I have Shottr keyboard shortcut (cmd+opt+control+o) setup to allow me to OCR from whatever is on the screen and copy the text to clipboard. So whether someone shares code or error log as screenshot on slack, it’s 3 steps: 1. cmd+opt+control+o 2. select the area to OCR 3. cmd+v in vscode or google
whycome 11mo ago
I have to say, the ability to quickly copy and paste between macbook and iphone is such a great flow
- tylerflick 11mo ago
  Totally agree. It’s one of those features that feels like magic. So handy for those digital purchase codes you get with blu-rays.
- Jedd 11mo ago
  Yup - I recall when this feature was released, maybe a dozen years ago, with KDEConnect. Real QoL improvement. Glad to hear some other OS's are catching up.
  - Aaron2222 11mo ago
    Apple's had Universal Clipboard since 2016 (so 9 years) with macOS Sierra and iOS 10.
cosmic_cheese 11mo ago
Part of what makes it so good is that it's everywhere. Preview, QuickLook, QuickTime Player (yes, videos get OCR'd too!), any app that uses the system frameworks for displaying media. This includes Safari, where not only do images (inline or otherwise) have selectable text, but the built in translator leverages that text and uses it to translate images, too! This is super useful for translating Japanese webpages in particular, which tend to have tons of text baked into images.
ca_tech 11mo ago
It gave me a "living in the future" feeling the day someone sent me a picture of a phone number through imessage. Barely thinking, I pressed on the phone number in the image and I was prompted to call it. It was like technology and primitive intuition teamed up to create that moment.

by sen 11mo ago

WorldPeas 11mo ago

this. makes me wish more image viewers would ocr->png special field->have location-attached selectable text like a pdf

ivewonyoung 11mo ago

OneNote had this for a long time.

sumnole 11mo ago
Aside from copying text from images, OneNote can also make text in images searchable.
- spockz 11mo ago
  Spotlight, notes, and Photos also look at photos and return them in search result. Even going further where you can give a description and find it as well.

sqrt_1 11mo ago

Windows built-in snipping tool (shortcut Win + Shift + S) also has a text actions button to extract text.

vismit2000 11mo ago
Or Powertoys does that even better: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/text-extractor https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/text-ext...
jiri 11mo ago
I am using this tool all the time and I did not know this! Thanks!

internetter 11mo ago

I use Shottr, I take a screenshot of a screenshot and hit “O” immediately after. Saves me from first saving the file to open it in the native viewer

alyyousuf7 11mo ago
I have Shottr keyboard shortcut (cmd+opt+control+o) setup to allow me to OCR from whatever is on the screen and copy the text to clipboard. So whether someone shares code or error log as screenshot on slack, it’s 3 steps: 1. cmd+opt+control+o 2. select the area to OCR 3. cmd+v in vscode or google

whycome 11mo ago

I have to say, the ability to quickly copy and paste between macbook and iphone is such a great flow

tylerflick 11mo ago
Totally agree. It’s one of those features that feels like magic. So handy for those digital purchase codes you get with blu-rays.
Jedd 11mo ago
Yup - I recall when this feature was released, maybe a dozen years ago, with KDEConnect. Real QoL improvement. Glad to hear some other OS's are catching up.
- Aaron2222 11mo ago
  Apple's had Universal Clipboard since 2016 (so 9 years) with macOS Sierra and iOS 10.

cosmic_cheese 11mo ago

Part of what makes it so good is that it's everywhere. Preview, QuickLook, QuickTime Player (yes, videos get OCR'd too!), any app that uses the system frameworks for displaying media. This includes Safari, where not only do images (inline or otherwise) have selectable text, but the built in translator leverages that text and uses it to translate images, too! This is super useful for translating Japanese webpages in particular, which tend to have tons of text baked into images.

ca_tech 11mo ago

It gave me a "living in the future" feeling the day someone sent me a picture of a phone number through imessage. Barely thinking, I pressed on the phone number in the image and I was prompted to call it. It was like technology and primitive intuition teamed up to create that moment.