Hack of the day: Document as an image file? No problem. Copy text instantly

'The Times of India' brings you 'Hack of the Day' — a new weekday-series of quick, practical solutions to everyday hassles. Each hack is designed to save you time, money or stress, using tools and features within your reach — from government websites to everyday apps. In simple words it is: Simple fixes for smarter living.
We often land in a situation where we want to copy only the text from an image. Many a time we take a photo of a receipt, signboard or even a textbook page and wish for a way using which we can easily copy the text from that image. But, do you know there’s a simple way using which you can turn any image into editable text. The hack not only solves your problem but also saves a lot of your time. Using this hack you can easily translate menus while travelling or can also capture images for quick reference quotes.

With this trick you can easily copy, translate, listen to or even directly search text from images. So, whether its a PDF, a product label or even a handwritten note you not don’t have to manually retype any information.

Here’s how you can copy text from an image

1. li3Open Google Chrome → click the Lens icon in the search bar.
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   • li3On Android, open the Google Lens app.
   • li3On iOS, use the Google app → Lens.
2. li3Upload a photo from your gallery or tap Open camera to capture one in real time.
3. li3Select Text → drag to highlight the words → choose Copy / Translate / Listen / Search.
4. li3Paste the copied text into Notes, WhatsApp, Email, or anywhere you need.

With this hack in place you can easily transform your phone into a text extractor. From students digitising textbook notes to professionals saving client details from documents, it’s a small trick with big productivity gains.