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How to Enable and Use Live Text in macOS Monterey
Edited 4 days ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team
macOS MontereyLive TextFeaturesmacOSAppleText RecognitionOCRPhotosProductivityAccessibilityTools
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In this detailed guide, we will discuss the intricacies of enabling and using Live Text in macOS Monterey. Apple's introduction of Live Text in macOS Monterey has provided users with a powerful tool that seamlessly integrates text recognition capabilities into the operating system. Live Text uses on-device intelligence to recognize text in images, allowing users to interact with it in the same way they would with any other text on their system.
Understanding live text
Live Text is a feature in macOS Monterey that uses optical character recognition (OCR) to detect and extract text from images. This means that text in photos, screenshots, and scanned documents can be selected, copied, and used just like typed text in any traditional word processing application. Whether it's a phone number on a restaurant menu or an address in a travel brochure, Live Text allows users to quickly get that information and make it actionable on their Mac.
Enabling Live Text in macOS Monterey
Checking system requirements
To enable and use Live Text, your Mac needs to be running macOS Monterey or later. The feature relies on machine learning models that are optimized for Apple's silicon, though it should work on most systems that support Monterey. Make sure your system is up to date by checking System Preferences under "Software Update."
Activating Live Text in System Preferences
By default, Live Text is enabled on macOS Monterey, but you can confirm or adjust the settings as follows:
- Open "System Preferences" from the Apple menu in the upper-left corner of your screen.
- Click "Language & Region."
- Make sure "Live Text" is checked. If it isn't, click to check the box, which will enable the feature.
Configuring language settings
Live Text recognizes text in many languages. To make sure your language preferences are set correctly:
- Under "Language & Region" you'll see a "Preferred languages" list.
- Add any language you frequently encounter in images. Live Text supports languages like English, Chinese, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Using Live Text on macOS Monterey
Recognize text in photos
Live Text is integrated into the Photos app on macOS. Here's how you can take advantage of this feature:
- Open the "Photos" app and select an image from your library.
- If the image contains recognizable text, you'll see the text highlight when you move your cursor over it.
- Click and drag the text, just as you would select text in a document.
- Right-click the selected text to see options such as "Copy," "View," or "Translate."
- Select "Copy" to copy the text to your clipboard for use in another application, or choose another action as needed.
Extracting text from a screenshot
Live Text works with screenshots, and provides a convenient way to extract information:
- Take a screenshot using Command + Shift + 4 and select the area to capture.
- Open the screenshot in the Preview or Photos app.
- Hover your cursor over any text in the screenshot until it's highlighted.
- Select the text and use actions like "Copy" as needed.
Working with Live Text in other apps
In addition to Photos and Preview, Live Text also works in other macOS apps, such as Safari or Quick Look:
- In Safari, when viewing an image with text on a webpage, move the cursor over the text to activate the Live Text feature.
- In Quick Look, select an image and tap the spacebar to open it. Hover over text and do the same as in the Photos app.
Using Live Text for translation and lookups
Integrates with live text translation and lookup functionalities:
- Select text on an image, right-click, and choose “Translate” to see the text translated into your favorite languages set in System Preferences.
- Use the "Look Up" feature to find definitions or more information related to the selected text.
Practical applications of Live Text
There are several scenarios where Live Text can be practically implemented:
- Academic research: Digitally extract excerpts from scholarly articles or book covers for citation without manual re-typing.
- Business use: Quickly aggregate data from graphs or charts embedded in images for business reports.
- Personal use: Storing contact details from business cards directly into phone directories.
Troubleshooting common Live Text issues
Difficulty in text selection
Sometimes, Live Text can struggle with low-contrast or handwritten text. Make sure the image has good lighting and clear fonts to get the best results. Updating your macOS may also resolve compatibility issues.
Live text is not recognizing the language
If Live Text doesn't recognize some text, check that the language is supported and set correctly in "Language & region" preferences.
Privacy and security
Apple places an emphasis on user privacy, ensuring that all live text processing is done locally on your Mac. This design choice ensures that your text and image data remains secure and private without leaving the device for cloud processing.
Conclusion
Live Text on macOS Monterey is a powerful feature that improves the way users interact with images containing text. By embedding powerful text recognition capabilities directly into the Mac ecosystem, Live Text bridges the gap between visual media and actionable information. Whether for casual or business use, employing Live Text proactively and effectively can significantly improve productivity and access to information in a variety of contexts.
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