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Documentation/Preview and OCR

Guide 06

Preview and OCR

Read the whole clip, inspect images and turn picture text into editable words.

Open a preview

Hover over an item to open Pocket Paste’s side preview, where actions such as OCR are available. If it does not appear, enable Settings → Appearance → Preview on hover. You can also enable Preview during keyboard navigation to open the side preview as you move between items with the arrow keys.

Space opens images in macOS Quick Look for a larger view. To use Pocket Paste’s OCR action, return to its side preview. Previewing content does not immediately insert it into another app.

For long text, adjust the preview font size or use the find action. For rich text, switch the rich/plain-text view when available. Files may use macOS Quick Look, so the file must still be accessible.

Extract text from an image

  1. Copy a clear image containing text.
  2. Find the image in Pocket Paste and hover over it to open the side preview.
  3. Choose Recognize text in image (OCR) in that preview’s actions.
  4. Wait for recognised text to appear.
  5. Read the result and check names, numbers and punctuation.
  6. Use Copy when you want the recognised text on your clipboard, then paste into your document.

Example input image: copy this English Studio Notes card to try the steps above. It is sample material for recognition, not a screenshot of Pocket Paste’s OCR result.

English Studio Notes sample card to use as OCR input

Recognising text and copying text are separate actions. Revealing the OCR result is intended to let you review it before an explicit Copy action writes to the clipboard.

Improve recognition

Use a sharp, adequately sized image. Low contrast, handwriting, small type, complex tables and decorative lettering can reduce accuracy. If a code or an amount matters, compare it with the original image.

OCR runs on your Mac. It is different from an optional translation request.

Translate deliberately

If a translation action is available for the selected text, review the selected translation engine. Choosing the Google engine sends the requested text to Google Translate. Apple translation availability depends on your operating system and installed language resources.

Do not use a translation service for content you do not want that service to receive.

Save or reuse the result

Use Copy for clipboard reuse or the preview’s save-to-file action when offered. Choose a destination you can find later. A saved file is separate from the original history item.

If OCR is unavailable or empty

If the OCR action is missing, confirm the item is an image, open Pocket Paste’s side preview, and check your trial or license status. If recognition returns no text, try a simple screenshot with large printed text. If it still fails, include the app version and a non-private example when contacting support.

Settings → Appearance → OCR – Recognize and search text in images controls background recognition for searching image text. You can use the manual OCR action in the side preview even when background recognition is turned off.