Extract text from images and PDFs, from the right-click menu.
A screenshot with a paragraph you need, a scanned contract, a photo of a whiteboard. Right-click it and the text is on your clipboard — or in a .txt beside each file when you select several. Apple's own recognition does the reading, on your Mac.
Free account, no card · 299 MB · Apple silicon & Intel
Ricly▸Extracting Text2 filesDone!Invoice-0826.pdfHow to extract text from an image with Ricly
- Install Ricly and open it.Turn on the Finder extension when it asks (one setting), create your free account, then switch to Pro and, in Ricly › Modules, click Enable on Extract Text (OCR).
- In Finder, right-click the picture or the PDF.Select several to read them all in one go.
- Choose Ricly › Extract Text.One file: the text opens in a panel, already copied. Several: a .txt lands beside each one.
Extract text without uploading the document
You have done this a hundred times.
- Open a browser
- Find an OCR site
- Upload the scan
- Wait
- Copy the text
- Fix the line breaks
- Close the tab
Ricly puts that one in the menu that is already under your cursor. Right-click the scan, pick Extract Text, and the text opens in a panel, already copied — or lands in a .txt beside each file when you select several. Apple Vision does the reading, on your Mac, in English, French and the other languages it knows.
See what else comes with it
Text from a picture or a scan, read on your Mac
One file: the text opens in a panel, already copied, and a scan can become a searchable PDF. Several: one text file per document, written beside the original. On a PDF that already carries real text, that text is taken as it is. Only the pages that are pictures go through recognition.
Apple Vision does the reading
Apple’s own text recognition, the Vision framework, set to its accurate mode with language correction. It runs on your Mac and costs nothing per page; no document is sent to a server.
A PDF’s own text is read directly
If a page already has a text layer, it is read straight out, exactly as it is, with no recognition. Only scanned or image-only pages go through Vision, page by page.
A plain text file, beside the original
Several files: same folder, same name, .txt. One file: save it from the panel as Invoice-extracted.txt or .md. Nothing proprietary to open it with, nothing to export again. Your source document is not modified, moved or deleted.
It tells you when there is nothing
A picture with no readable text is reported, alone or in a batch, instead of being turned into an empty file. Nothing found is a different thing from a crash.
Ricly vs. Live Text, Shortcuts and OCR sites
Counted the same way, once your account exists, here is what each path costs.
With Riclyon your Mac
WHAT IT REPLACES
A whole selection, with Proone .txt
beside each scan
A folder of scans is one right-click. The menu reads Extract Text (20 files), and each document gets a plain .txt beside it, same name. A PDF that already carries a text layer is read straight out; only scanned pages go through recognition.
macOS has its own, Live Text: in Preview or Photos, drag across the words, Control-click and choose Copy Text. Apple notes that Live Text isn’t available in all regions or languages. Shortcuts also includes an Extract Text from Image action you can build into a shortcut. Ricly runs Apple’s Vision recognition over a whole selection, PDFs included, writes the text where you can find it, and can turn a scanned PDF into a searchable one.
The words were always there.
A receipt, a whiteboard, a contract someone scanned. Ricly reads them on your Mac and hands you text you can search.
You came for one tool. 16 more come with it.
Extract Text (OCR) is not an app you install. It is one item in a menu that also carries 16 others — same download, same account, nothing extra to set up.
13 are free, 4 are Pro. They install themselves as they ship, so the menu grows without you doing anything. Compress PDF makes the scan lighter once you have its text, and Merge to PDF puts twenty receipts into one file.
Extract Text is a Pro tool, with no monthly limit
On Free, Extract Text can’t be switched on, so it isn’t in your menu. If you turned it on during a Pro trial, it stays there marked ⚡, and a click opens the Pro page. 13 other tools are free for good.
- 13 tools work fully on Free, with no card.
- You can install Ricly and use it for months without paying.
- A free account is required, with a verified email address.
€47.88 billed yearly, or €4.99 month to month. No monthly count on this tool — read a whole folder of scans if you want to.
- Extract Text unlocks, with no monthly count.
- So do the other three Pro tools: Upscale Image, Photo Grid and Batch Rename.
- Upload & Share goes to 20 GB and links last 30 days.
- 30-day trial for new subscribers · payment method required · cancel any time.
Extracting text from images on a Mac: common questions
How do I copy text from an image on a Mac without installing anything?
In Preview, open the image, drag to select the text, Control-click your selection and choose Copy Text; if you can’t select it, choose Tools › Text Selection. In Photos, Control-click the text and choose Copy Text.
Can Shortcuts extract text from an image?
Yes. Shortcuts on macOS 15.7 includes an Extract Text from Image action, which you can build into a shortcut.
Can Preview make a scanned PDF searchable?
Apple’s Preview guide doesn’t describe a way to do it. Ricly’s Searchable PDF writes a copy with an invisible text layer, so Preview, Spotlight and Mail can find its words.
What does the reading?
Apple Vision, set to its accurate mode with language correction: English and French first, then every other language it supports on your Mac. It runs on your Mac and costs nothing per page.
What happens with one file?
The text opens in a panel and is already on your clipboard; from there you can save it as .txt or .md. Select several files and each gets a .txt beside it instead.
What about a PDF?
If a page already carries real text, that text is taken as it is, with a marker between pages. Only scanned or image-only pages go through recognition.
Can it make a scanned PDF searchable?
Yes, one document at a time. In the panel, Searchable PDF writes <name>-searchable.pdf beside the original. It looks the same — pages, rotation, signatures and highlights kept — with an invisible layer of text on top, read in the same languages as Extract Text, so Preview, Spotlight and Mail can find and select its words. Form fields become part of the page, and the document’s own bookmarks are not carried over. Pages that already carry text are left as they are, and a PDF where every page has text is refused as already searchable. Your original is not modified.
What about a password-protected PDF?
It isn’t processed — remove the password first, then make it searchable.
Is the document uploaded anywhere?
No. Nothing is sent to a server, which is the point for an invoice, an ID or a contract.
Which files can I use?
JPG, JPEG, PNG, HEIC, TIFF and PDF. A picture with no readable text is reported rather than turned into an empty file.
Where does the text file go?
With several files, beside each original, same name, .txt — “Invoice 2.txt” if that name is taken, never an overwritten file. With one file, you save it from the panel as “Invoice-extracted.txt” or .md. Your source document is never modified.
Right Click. Done.
17 file tools in the Finder menu. Free to start.
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Ricly is a Mac app.
Send the download link to your Mac.
We email you the download link, then one short check-in the next day. One click to unsubscribe. We delete your address after that.
Share the link to your Mac.