Guides · Practical guide · Updated 23 October 2026

How to convert an image to text with OCR

Photos of receipts, a photographed letter, or an image of a page can be recognized using OCR. The result is text that you must check; a clean document photo is more reliable than a shot taken at an angle, in dim light, or with reflections.

Try it free in the editor

Step by step

Open an image in the editor in a supported format.
Set the OCR language according to the text on the photo and let the page be recognized.
Compare the recognized blocks with the source. Correct missing words and character substitutions.
If you need the text itself, select TXT in the conversion or export menu.
Open the downloaded text and check the order of paragraphs, lines, and numbers.

How to photograph the source

Capture the entire page, hold the camera as parallel as possible to the paper, and use even lighting. Small text must be sharp. A reflection across one line can cause entire words to be skipped.

A table is not a regular paragraph

OCR may correctly recognize individual words but still mix their order. For receipts, price lists, and forms, check pairs of labels and values. TXT does not preserve exact column placement.

Private photos

The content of the image is processed in the device during recognition. The web still needs a network to load the application and some components. When working on a shared computer, check where you save the resulting file.

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