Practical Guide to Text Extraction from Screen

Extracting text from images is simpler than one might expect. This is a common need in today’s vastly digitalized society. Any project or simple task may include text extraction as a step in the process.

Screen OCR (Optical Character Recognition) programs cut a huge deal of the rewriting and handle any task ranging from a simple need to record text from non-editable document formats to educational research, academic papers and copying of highly detailed excerpts from screenshots and images. Windows OCR programs are available in various forms, each with unique capabilities and features, meant for different text extraction requirements and situations.

This post will cover five of the most successful OCR tools and explain the techniques they use for text extraction from image files.

What is a Screen OCR Program?

Any Software that scans images or non-editable (read only) documents and extracts every bit of text, found within, is known as a screen OCR program. These programs make use of advanced algorithms to identify and translate text from an image or read only file back into a more accessible form which can then be used for search queries, be edited or copied into new files.

This trick reduces a big chunk of the work into a few simple steps, which is quite helpful. Especially for those who regularly deal with scanned papers, screenshots or photos with lots of text that need to be rewritten precisely.

Older counterparts fail to extract text properly and the results can be filled with errors if the excerpt images are slightly blurry or the angle isn’t right. With the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning, modern OCR programs have become remarkably accurate and flexible, offering a broad range of services such as multiple language recognition, handwriting conversion and format retention.

Top Five Screen OCR Programs for Windows

Current screen OCR programs do not just perform with 100% accuracy but also have a range of specific features, designed for specific needs from multitude of fields. Our first suggestion for premium text extraction tools, is Metalogic Screen OCR.

1. Metalogic Screen OCR – The Best in Its Class

Among all choices that are available for Windows users that need their texts extracted from images and documents, the Metalogic Screen OCR Tool is one of the most reliable and highly equipped programs on the list. Designed exclusively for Windows, Metalogic can handle texts from read only PDFs, images of any quality, scanned documents and even dialog boxes within software programs.

Key Features:

• Precision: Metalogic screen OCR tool serves users with 100% accuracy. It is capable of recognizing any font and extracting text from intricate images. Text size or orientations do not affect its performance. Metalogic’s innovative text recognition systems leave no room for mistakes and make significantly shorter editing times possible.
• Ease of Use: Thanks to Metalogic’s simplified user interface, skill levels are not a factor in its quality of performance. Anyone can successfully extract texts with Metalogic. Aside from its simplicity, Metalogic also allows a drag-and-drop method for text extraction, basically letting users capture any part of the screen and instantly extract and edit its content.
• Language Support: The inclusion of a complete list of languages, is a must for any successful program in today’s highly competitive market. Metalogic Screen OCR supports all languages spoken worldwide and its technologies can be enjoyed by everyone.
• Clipboard Integration: Any extracted text is automatically copied to the clipboard in an instant and can be dropped to documents, emails or other applications that have such option.
• Customizable Shortcuts: in Metalogic Screen OCR various shortcuts can be assigned to any key on keyboard for quicker access and fast extraction, further enhancing user experience.

Metalogic Screen OCR tool is a dependable, fast and flexible solution for any text extraction need. It combines the latest innovations and complex algorithms into one accurate Windows OCR program.

2. Microsoft OneNote

Although underrated, Microsoft’s OneNote provides a built-in, highly efficient OCR tool that does its job very well. OneNote allows users to extract text from photographs and insert them into notes with the help of “Copy Text from Picture” function. This one function reduces a whole procedure into two simple steps.

Key Features:

• Microsoft Office Built-in Feature: Instead of being a stand-alone program, OneNote is a part of Microsoft Office; therefore, it is already installed on said software and does not need a separate installation process like many other OCR programs.
• Instant Practicality: Paste an image into OneNote, right click and select “Copy Text from Picture” and now the taken text can pasted into any kind of document. This straightforward procedure allows users of OneNote to save a lot of time, doing the same text extraction that other programs do in an unnecessarily longer process while also having Microsoft Office programs ready to go.
• Language Support: Needless to say, OneNote supports various languages just like any other advanced program and performs comparatively well in other languages. Still, it performs best when dealing with English text.
• Cost-effectiveness: OneNote is free if one owns Microsoft Office programs. Users of Microsoft Office can enjoy OneNote’s high quality performance, without any additional costs.

For those that do not require focused or specialized text extraction services from a single program and only need this feature from time to time, Microsoft OneNote gets the job done without extra purchases. It may perform with less accuracy or speed in comparison to specialized tools such as Metalogic but it is a helpful alternative.

3. Google Keep

Google Keep is a versatile note-taking app with OCR tools available alongside its main use. Even though it is a web-based tool, Google Keep offers a reliable way to extract text from images for those that have grown used to Google’s own ecosystem.

Key Features:

• Cross-device Synchronization: Google Keep syncs across mobile phones and on Windows via web browsers and this way, all progress is saved without users having to carry a copy of their documents all the time. The extracted text is accessed through cloud storages easily.
• Free to Use on Google Accounts: This feature is self-explanatory. The OCR tool is available on google accounts.
• Quick Capture: Once activated, the tool can take screenshots and process the text after which it can be copied on clipboard.

Google Keep is a helpful part of Google’s freely available services. Still, it is more appropriate for extraction of simple bits of text and cannot process multi-column documents or sophisticated formatting due to its limited format retention. It is more suitable for day to day note-taking and not as feature-rich as Metalogic Screen OCR Tool.

4. Capture2Text

This open-source OCR program allows users to grab text and save from any part of the screen. This is a free and light substitute for those who do not need to extract text from visual media frequently.

Key Features:

• Does not Require Installation: Capture2Text is a portable program that works simply by running the .exe file.
• Separately Downloadable Language Packs: The program does not include many unused languages with it. Instead, the necessary languages can be added separately from its dedicated website.
• High Speed & Simplicity: Although Capture2Text has less features in comparison to other OCR tools, it is uncomplicated and fast in processing smaller chunks of text.

5. ABBYY FineReader

ABBYY FineReader is a premium OCR tool, known for its precise performance and wide range of capabilities that are suitable for both individual needs and business that depend on this technology.

Key Features:

• High Accuracy for Technical Texts: ABBYY FineReader is one of the most accurate text recognition programs out there and it can process any kind of highly complicated excerpts that are full of technical terms.
• Conversion to Highly Used Formats: ABBYY can convert the submitted images and excerpts into editable forms and even provide Word, Excel and PDF files of the extracted texts.
• Multi-platform Support: The program is available on both Mac and Windows.
• Advanced Features: For a screen OCR program, ABBYY FineReader provides a wide range of features and a complete set of services for corporate use. However, the downside to this is ABBYY’s high price. Even for large businesses, such as purchase may not be justifiable just for an OCR tool.

How to Choose the Best OCR Tool?

Many factors play into making the final decision. In this case, particular needs, budget and degree of the text’s complexity are all vital factors to consider.

For many, Metalogic Screen OCR Tool is the best choice because of its reasonable price, high accuracy, capability to recognize technical terms and simple UI. It is the ultimate solution for any kind of text extraction procedure. The performance remains consistent for any provided source and regardless of the kind of device it is installed on.

Free choices like the above-mentioned three (OneNote, Google Keep & Capture2Text) can resolve basic requirements and process simpler texts on less frequent basis. However, for those that depend on a professional OCR tool for larger scopes of activity, dedicated software such as Metalogic or ABBYY will serve the best.

Final Words

Screen OCR programs transform and increase text processing speeds above levels that were possible before. The technology to extract text from visual media has been a revolutionary change to transcribing jobs.

Among many available screen OCR tools on Windows, Metalogic has achieved the best performance, prevailing in all aspects that need to be considered for the best user experience.

For a flawless and effortless extraction performance, Metalogic is the only choice. Using the correct OCR tool will significantly enhance productivity and workflow, regardless of your position as a business professional, researcher or student.