BC Clipboard OCR - Paste Image to Text

BC Clipboard OCR tool

The BC Clipboard OCR tool extracts and converts text from an image. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is a technology that converts images containing text into plain text you can copy and paste anywhere. Instead of retyping content manually, you simply capture or paste an image and the tool extracts all readable text automatically — saving time and eliminating transcription errors.

• Image to text: Extract plain text from any image: screenshots, photos, scanned documents or clipboard content, instantly and accurately. For an image containing a table you want turned into an editable table, try Perseus.
• Text to text: Paste plain text directly from your clipboard and apply all conversions instantly — date formats, amounts, conversion factor, search — without needing an image.
• Search & Multiple search: Search for any word or phrase within the extracted text and highlight all matches instantly. Use Multiple search to find several terms at once separated by commas, each highlighted in a different colour — ideal for identifying allergens, ingredients, keywords, names in a list, and more.
• Replace: Find any word or phrase in the extracted text and replace it with another — case-insensitive, so it matches lowercase, Title Case and UPPERCASE variants simultaneously. If no text has been extracted yet, Replace triggers the extraction first and then applies the substitution automatically. OCR extraction isn't perfect, but the mistakes it makes tend to repeat: with Replace you can fix a known error before you even extract the image, or just as easily afterwards, directly on the extracted text.
• Reading optimisation language: Choose the language of the text in the image (16 options, including Simplified and Traditional Chinese) and local recognition uses that language's model plus English — essential for scripts such as Japanese, Russian or Arabic. «None» keeps the default languages, and the choice resets on each visit.
• Join lines: After extracting, press «Join lines» to merge the lines the image had split into flowing paragraphs, keeping bullet points and numbered lists, and rejoining words hyphenated at the end of a line. Press «Original text» to undo.
• Date format conversion: Automatically detect and convert dates to your preferred format: DD/MM/YYYY, YYYY-MM-DD, YYYYMMDD and more.
• Amount format conversion & Conversion factor: Reformat numeric values with your choice of decimal and thousands separators. Apply a conversion factor to multiply all amounts — useful for currencies (€/$ 1.18), weights (kg/lb 2.205) or distances (km/mi 1.609). For currency conversion, try Croesus; for unit conversion, try Konvorcet.
• All caps: Convert all extracted text to uppercase with a single toggle.
• Camera support: On mobile devices, capture text directly with your camera without needing to save the image first. Point your camera at any product label to find ingredients, allergens (gluten-free, lactose-free) or keywords; scan a catalogue to identify items; check a delivery note for materials. You can also validate invoice amounts in foreign currency by entering the conversion factor directly.
• Install as app: Available as a Progressive Web App (PWA — download it directly to your phone, tablet or computer for quick access without opening a browser). Install it on any device — Android, iOS, Windows or Mac — and launch it directly like a native app.

Uses of BC Clipboard OCR tool

Any time you need the text from an image — whether it came to you as a photo, a screenshot, a document scan, or something you spotted on a wall — BC Clipboard OCR converts it into plain text you can copy, paste and use anywhere in seconds. Here are some of the most common real-world situations where it saves time.

• Images received by email, Teams or your messaging app: When someone sends you an image with text you need — a table, a reference number, an address — just save or screenshot it and paste it into BC Clipboard OCR. No more retyping.
• Physical documents and signs: Point your phone camera at any printed document, label, poster or sign and extract the text instantly. Useful for delivery notes, catalogues, product packaging or anything posted on a wall — you can also paste the result into a translation tool to get it in your language.
• Checking ingredients and allergens: Photograph a product label to search for a specific ingredient or allergen — does it contain gluten? bleach? nuts? Use the Search or Multiple search feature to highlight the terms you care about in different colours.
• Invoices and delivery notes: Extract text from a scanned or photographed document and use the Search feature to highlight reference numbers or line items. The Multiple search option colour-codes each term, making it easy to cross-check contents at a glance.
• Date and amount format conversion: When the extracted text contains dates or numeric values in a format that does not match your workflow, convert them automatically — choose your preferred date format and decimal separator before or after extraction.
• Currency and unit conversion: Enter a conversion factor to multiply all numeric values in the extracted text at once — useful for converting invoice amounts to another currency, or switching between units such as kg and lb or km and miles.
• Copy and share anywhere: Once you have the text you need, click Copy text to send it straight to your clipboard. Paste it into any app, document or message — no formatting, no hassle.
• Keyboard shortcuts for screenshots: On Windows press Windows + Shift + S to capture any area of your screen directly to the clipboard. On Mac use Cmd + Ctrl + Shift + 4. Then paste straight into BC Clipboard OCR with Ctrl+V (or Cmd+V on Mac).

Beyond this general-purpose tool, we've also built more specific tools for particular needs within this domain. You'll find them introduced below.

Specialized tools

Here you'll find our specialized tools, each focused on a specific task: Confidential processes your sensitive documents entirely on your device, without sending them to any server; Perseus is a fast, lightweight version of the main tool built for quick extractions on the go; Milcheaufsnutgluten detects and translates allergens and intolerances on product labels; Konvorcet converts distance, area, weight, volume and temperature; and Croesus Rates converts currencies at the day's exchange rate. Explore each one in detail below.

Common conversion factors

Enter any of these factors in the Conversion factor field to instantly convert all numeric values in the extracted text. Both directions are shown so you can convert either way.

Need area, or less common units like stone, tonnes, cups or tablespoons? See the full reference table on Konvorcet.

Conversion factors based on internationally recognised standards. Reference sources: NIST — National Institute of Standards and Technology (USA) and BIPM — Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (international SI units).

Currency exchange rates used for foreign currency operations are updated in real time. Before performing any conversion, please consult the central bank relevant to your region and applicable local regulations — for example the Federal Reserve (USA) or the European Central Bank (EU).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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