How to Extract Text from Images Using OCR
Learn how to extract text from images on any website using Helperbird's OCR feature. Turn pictures of text into real text you can copy, read aloud, or translate.
What is Extract Text?
Extract Text uses OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to read text from images. This means you can take text that is stuck inside a picture and turn it into real text that you can copy, edit, read aloud, or translate.
This is useful for text in screenshots, infographics, scanned documents, or any image where you cannot select the text normally.
Who is This For?
This feature is helpful for:
- People who need to copy text from images or screenshots
- Anyone who wants to listen to text that is in an image
- Students who need to work with text from infographics
- People who want to translate text in images
- Anyone who encounters inaccessible text in pictures
Step 1: Open Helperbird
Click the Helperbird icon in your browser toolbar. It looks like a small owl and is usually in the top-right corner of your browser.
This will open the Helperbird menu.
Step 2: Open the All Features Section
Scroll down to the bottom of the Helperbird menu. You will see a section called All Features.
Click the arrow next to All Features to expand it and show all available features.
Step 3: Find Extract Text
Look through the list of features until you see Extract text (OCR).
Step 4: Open Extract Text
Click on Extract text (OCR) to open it.
A panel will appear with several options you can configure.
Step 5: Configure Options
Before extracting text, you can choose what happens with the extracted text:
Immersive Reader – Turn this on to open the extracted text in Immersive Reader for easier reading.
Translate – Turn this on to automatically translate the extracted text to your chosen language.
Listen – Turn this on to have the extracted text read aloud using text-to-speech.
Save as Note – Turn this on to save the extracted text as a sticky note on the page.
Language – Select the language of the text in the image. This helps the OCR work more accurately.
After choosing your options, click the Start button.
Step 6: Select the Area
After clicking Start, your cursor will change to a crosshair.
Click and drag to draw a rectangle around the area of the screen that contains the text you want to extract.
Helperbird will show "Looking for Text" while it processes the image.
Step 7: Use the Extracted Text
Once the text is extracted:
- The text is copied to your clipboard so you can paste it anywhere
- If you turned on Immersive Reader, the text opens there
- If you turned on Listen, the text is read aloud
- If you turned on Translate, the text is translated
- If you turned on Save as Note, a sticky note appears with the text
Tip: For best results, make sure the text in the image is clear and readable. Very small, blurry, or handwritten text may not be recognized accurately.
Video Tutorial
Need Additional Help?
If you have any questions or run into any issues, please contact the Helperbird support team. You can reach us at Helperbird support. We are happy to help you get the most out of Helperbird.
