Live Text recognizes text within your photos, videos, and images you find online. You can select text to copy, share, or translate, or use quick actions to make a phone call, open a website, or convert currencies.
You can use Live Text in Safari, Photos, Camera, Quick Look, and more, and you’ll want to make sure it’s turned on for all supported languages first. You can also look up the meaning of text, search the web for it, or share it with AirDrop, Messages, or Mail.
Note: Live Text isn’t supported on iPad (8th generation), and it isn’t available in all regions or languages.
Turn on Live Text
Before you start using Live Text, make sure it’s turned on for all supported languages.
- Open the Settings app on your iPad.
- Tap General and tap Language & Region.
- Turn on Live Text.
Copy, translate, and look up text in a photo or video
- Open a photo or pause a video that contains text.
- Tap the Detect Text button and then touch and hold the selected text.
- Use the grab points to select specific text. Then do any of the following:
- Copy Text: Copy text to paste into another app such as Notes or Messages.
- Select All: Select all the text within the frame.
- Look Up: Show personalized web suggestions.
- Translate: Translate text.
- Search the web: Look up the selected text on the web.
- Share: Share text using AirDrop, Messages, Mail, or other available options.
- Tap the Detect Text button to return to the photo or video.
Perform tasks within a photo or video with quick actions
Depending on the content of the photo or video, you can tap a quick action at the bottom of the screen to do things like make a phone call, get directions, translate languages, convert currencies, and more.
- Open a photo or pause a video that contains text.
- Tap the Detect Text button.
- Tap a quick action at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the Detect Text button to return to the photo or video.
See also
