Text Extractor
Copy text from anywhere on your screen — images, videos, PDFs, screenshots, even text you can't normally select. Draw a rectangle around what you want, and the words land on your clipboard instantly.
Requirements
- macOS 13 Ventura or later.
- Screen Recording permission — so ProToys can read the area you select.
To grant it: open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording and tick ProToys.
How to Use
- Press ⌥⌘T. A crosshair appears over your screen.
- Click and drag a rectangle around the text you want.
- Release. The text lands on your clipboard and a small confirmation appears (e.g. "Text copied (42 chars)") and disappears on its own.
- Paste anywhere with ⌘V.
Tip
Press Esc while the crosshair is visible to cancel without capturing.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Activate Text Extractor | ⌥⌘T |
| Cancel selection | Esc |
Settings
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Fast recognition | Quicker but slightly less accurate. Turn off for better results on small or stylized text. |
| Language correction | Cleans up the recognized text using language rules. Leave on for normal use; turn off when capturing code or other strings that should stay exact. |
| Automatically detect language | Lets ProToys figure out the language for you. Turn off if you'd rather pick one manually. |
| Language | When auto-detect is off, choose the language to use for recognition. |