The fastest way to copy text depends on what you're copying from
On most devices, you highlight the text you want, then use Ctrl+C (Windows) or Command+C (Mac) to copy it. On a phone or tablet, you tap and hold the text until a menu appears, then tap Copy. The text then sits in your clipboard — an invisible holding area — until you paste it somewhere else with Ctrl+V, Command+V, or a long tap and Paste.
But some text won't let you copy it this way. Text inside an image, text on a website that's been locked against copying, text in a video, or text that's displayed as a picture all need different approaches. This guide covers the methods that work for each situation.
Key Takeaways
- Highlight and Ctrl+C (or Command+C on Mac) works for most text on your computer, but not for text inside images or locked PDFs.
- On phones and tablets, tap and hold the text, then tap Copy from the menu that appears.
- Text inside images requires optical character recognition (OCR) software, which you can access free through Google Lens, Microsoft's built-in tools, or online OCR websites.
- Text on websites that blocks copying can sometimes be accessed through your browser's developer tools or by taking a screenshot and using OCR.
- Video captions can be copied from most streaming services by pausing and selecting the text, or by downloading a transcript if the platform offers one.
Copying text on Windows and Mac computers
Click at the start of the text you want to copy and drag to the end, or click once and then Shift+click at the end. The text will highlight in blue (or your system's highlight color). Then press Ctrl+C on Windows or Command+C on Mac. The text is now in your clipboard.
To paste it, click where you want the text to go and press Ctrl+V (Windows) or Command+V (Mac). You can paste the same text as many times as you want — it stays in your clipboard until you copy something else.
If you want to copy text from a PDF, the same method works in most PDF readers. Open the PDF, highlight the text, and use Ctrl+C or Command+C. Some PDFs are locked against copying — you'll see the text highlight but nothing will copy. In that case, you'll need to use OCR (see below) or contact the PDF's creator for an unlocked version.
Copying text on phones and tablets
Tap and hold your finger on the text you want to copy. A menu will pop up with options including Copy. On most phones, you'll see blue handles appear around the text — drag these to select more or less text if you need to. Then tap Copy.
The text is now in your clipboard. To paste it, tap and hold in the app or text field where you want it, then tap Paste. This works the same way on iPhones, iPads, Android phones, and Android tablets.
Some apps don't allow copying — messaging apps sometimes block it for security reasons, and some social media platforms restrict it. If the Copy option doesn't appear in the menu, that app doesn't allow it.
Copying text from inside images
Text that's part of an image — a screenshot, a photo of a document, a graphic with text on it — can't be copied the normal way. You need optical character recognition (OCR), which is software that reads text out of images.
On Android phones, open Google Lens (it's built into most Android phones in the Google app or camera app). Point your camera at the image or upload a photo, and Google Lens will highlight all the text it finds. Tap any text to select it, then tap Copy.
On iPhones and iPads, open the Photos app, select the image, and tap the text icon (it looks like lines with a star). The text will appear below the image — tap it to select it, then tap Copy.
On Windows, take a screenshot of the image (Print Screen, then paste into Paint or another app). Then use the Snipping Tool: press Windows+Shift+S, draw a box around the text, and right-click the screenshot. Choose "Search with Bing" or use Windows 11's built-in OCR by opening Settings > Accessibility > OCR.
On Mac, take a screenshot (Command+Shift+4), then open the screenshot in Preview. Go to Tools > Optical Character Recognition > Recognize Text. The text will become selectable and you can copy it normally.
If you don't want to use your device's built-in tools, free online OCR websites like i2OCR.com or OnlineOCR.net work on any device — upload your image and copy the text from the result.
Copying text from websites that block copying
Some websites prevent you from highlighting and copying text. When you try, nothing happens or the text won't stay highlighted. This is usually done with JavaScript code that blocks the right-click menu or prevents selection.
The simplest workaround is to take a screenshot and use OCR (see the section above). Another option is to use your browser's developer tools. On Chrome or Edge, press F12 to open developer tools, then use the element inspector to find the text in the page's code and copy it from there. This requires some comfort reading HTML, but the text is usually easy to spot.
On Firefox, right-click the page and choose "View Page Source," then use Ctrl+F to search for the text you want. You can copy it directly from the source code.
Some websites that block copying do so because the content is copyrighted or licensed. Copying it anyway may violate the site's terms of service or copyright law, depending on what you're doing with it.
Copying text from videos and captions
If a video has captions, you can usually copy the text by pausing the video and selecting the caption text directly — the same way you'd copy any other text on screen. This works on YouTube, Netflix, and most other streaming services.
YouTube videos often have transcripts. Click the three-dot menu on the video player, select "Show Transcript," and the full transcript will appear in a panel on the right. You can copy text from the transcript the normal way.
For other services, check whether they offer downloadable transcripts. Some do, some don't. If captions aren't available and you need the text, you can use a screen recording tool to record the video, then use OCR on screenshots of the recording.
Copying text that appears as a picture or graphic
Sometimes text is displayed as a graphic or picture file rather than actual text — this is common in older documents, scanned files, or images created in design software. You can't copy this text the normal way because it's not actually text, it's pixels.
Use OCR to convert it to real text. Google Lens, your phone's built-in OCR, or an online OCR tool will read the image and give you copyable text. The accuracy depends on the image quality — clear, straight text copies perfectly, while blurry or angled text may have errors.
If OCR isn't accurate enough, you may need to type the text manually or contact whoever created the document for a version with real text instead of an image.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why won't the text highlight when I try to select it?
The website or app may be blocking selection with code, or the text might actually be an image. Try taking a screenshot and using OCR. If it's a website, try using your browser's developer tools to access the text in the page source code.
Can I copy text from a locked PDF?
Not with the normal copy method — locked PDFs prevent it. You can take a screenshot and use OCR, or use an online PDF OCR tool. Some PDF unlocking services exist, but they may violate copyright depending on why the PDF was locked.
Does copying text work the same way in every app?
The basic method (highlight and Ctrl+C or Command+C) works in most apps, but some apps restrict copying for security or licensing reasons. If Copy doesn't appear in the menu, that app doesn't allow it. Messaging apps and some social media platforms commonly block it.
What's the difference between copying and screenshotting?
Copying puts the actual text in your clipboard so you can paste it and edit it. Screenshotting creates an image of what's on your screen. If you screenshot text, you'll have a picture of the text, not the text itself — you'd need OCR to make it copyable.
Is it legal to copy text from any website?
Copying text for personal use is usually legal, but using it publicly or commercially may violate copyright. Check the website's terms of service and copyright notice. Some sites allow copying under a Creative Commons license, while others don't allow it at all.