How to Enable PowerToys Text Extractor in Windows 11
- 19 steps
- Needs administrator rights
- Includes a restart or sign-out
PowerToys Text Extractor is a free tool for Windows 11 that copies text from anywhere on your screen using optical character recognition (OCR). It reads letters straight from images, videos, and locked PDFs, so you can paste the words anywhere without typing them out.
Text Extractor is one of the utilities in Microsoft PowerToys, and you turn it on there with a single toggle. Once it is on, press Win+Shift+T, drag a box around the content, and the text goes to your clipboard. It works the same on Windows 11 Home and Pro. You only need PowerToys installed.
Open PowerToys, select Text Extractor from the left menu, and toggle the “Enable Text Extractor” switch to On. You can then use the shortcut Win+Shift+T to capture text from your screen.
How to Turn Text Extractor On or Off
You switch Text Extractor on or off in the PowerToys app settings. Nothing else in Windows needs to change, and you do not need to restart your PC.
- Open the PowerToys settings window. If PowerToys is not running, start it from the Start menu first.
- In the left sidebar, select Text Extractor. The Text Extractor settings page opens on the right.
- On the right side of the screen, find the Enable Text Extractor box.
- Click the switch to turn it On. The label next to the switch should now read On.
To turn the tool off later, return to the same page and click the switch back to Off. If the Text Extractor entry is missing from the sidebar, your PowerToys version is probably old. Update PowerToys and look again.
How to Use Text Extractor
Using Text Extractor takes a few seconds once it is enabled.
- Open the content you want to copy from, such as an image, a video frame, a locked PDF, or a dialog box.
- Press Win+Shift+T. The screen dims and your pointer changes to a crosshair.
- Click and drag a box around the text. Release the mouse button when the box covers all of it.
- Paste the result with Ctrl+V into Notepad, Word, an email, or anywhere else that accepts text. The text is already on your clipboard.
If you change your mind before releasing the mouse, press Esc to cancel. OCR works best on clear, high-contrast text. Blurry or very small text often comes out with mistakes, so zoom in on the content first if you can.
How to Install OCR Language Packs
OCR language packs let Text Extractor read text in languages other than English. Text Extractor uses the languages installed in Windows, so adding a language to Windows adds it to the tool. You need an internet connection to download the pack.
- Open Settings and go to Time & language Language & region.
- Click Add a language. A list of languages appears.
- Select your preferred language, then click Next.
- Make sure the Language pack option is ticked, then click Install. Windows downloads the pack so it can recognise the new characters.
Wait until the download finishes before you try Text Extractor again. If the language does not show up in the tool straight away, sign out and back in, or restart your PC. You can also pick the language in the Text Extractor settings page in PowerToys. To undo this, remove the language from the same Language & region page.
You can check which languages your computer supports from PowerShell, a command-line tool for Windows. You must run PowerShell as an administrator to see this language information.
- Right-click the Start button and choose Terminal (Admin).
- Click Yes if User Account Control asks for permission. A terminal window opens with PowerShell.
- Run the command shown below. The supported languages are listed in the output.
[Windows.Media.Ocr.OcrEngine, Windows.Foundation, ContentType = WindowsRuntime]
Troubleshooting and Advanced Usage
If the tool is not working, go through these checks in order.
- Make sure PowerToys is running in the background. Look for its icon in the system tray. If it is not there, start PowerToys from the Start menu.
- Open the PowerToys settings, select Text Extractor, and confirm that Enable Text Extractor is set to On.
- Check your OCR configuration in the PowerToys settings menu. Make sure the language you need is installed in Windows.
- If pressing Win+Shift+T does nothing, another app may be using the same shortcut. Change it in the Text Extractor settings under Activation shortcut.
If it still does not respond, close PowerToys completely and open it again.
Summary
PowerToys Text Extractor is a handy tool that copies text from anywhere on your screen, including images, videos, and locked documents. Turn it on once in PowerToys, press Win+Shift+T, and paste the result wherever you need it. Add a language pack if you work with non-English text, and change the shortcut if it clashes with another app.
Have a question about this guide?
Answered by AI from this guide. Good questions may be added to this page — please don't include personal details.
Did this guide fix your problem?
About the Author
Richard
Tech Writer, IT Professional
Richard is a writer at Geek Rewind who turns complex IT tasks into clear, step-by-step guides. He draws on years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, focusing on Windows, Linux and WordPress: the problems people actually run into, and the fixes that work. His server and WordPress guides come from systems he runs himself. Richard builds and maintains the platform behind Geek Rewind, from its Ubuntu servers and Nginx configuration to its custom WordPress plugins. Many new tutorials start with readers' questions, and he's always glad to answer them in the comments.
No comments yet — be the first to share your thoughts!