To copy text from an image into Pages on Mac, open the image in Preview, select its words with Live Text, and choose Copy Text. Then paste into your Pages document. Apple documents this workflow across its Preview and Pages guides.

This guide covers turning words in a photo, screenshot, or slide image into editable Pages text. The key decisions are where to select the words and where to place them in your document. Copying the picture itself produces a different result.

Choose the right starting point

Apple’s Pages and Keynote copy-and-paste instructions distinguish selected text from objects such as images and text boxes. Those pages document copying existing text and objects; they do not describe an image-to-text conversion control within either app. The documented recognition step used here is Live Text in Preview. Pages copy-and-paste guide, Keynote copy-and-paste guide.

Where your source is Recommended starting point
A separate image file Open it in Preview and select the words.
An image already placed in Pages Use the original image file if available; otherwise capture the visible image area as described below.
Editable text on a Keynote slide Select the actual text and copy it directly.
Words embedded in a Keynote slide image Use the original image, or export the relevant slide as an image before opening it in Preview.

This decision aid combines Apple’s documented selection, screenshot, and export procedures. It avoids an unnecessary recognition step when the source already contains editable text. The embedded-image routes are practical combinations of those procedures, rather than a dedicated Pages or Keynote extraction command. Take a screenshot on Mac, Export to PowerPoint or another file format in Keynote on Mac.

Copy the words from your image in Preview

For an image saved on your Mac, follow Apple’s documented Preview procedure:

  1. Open the image in Preview.
  2. Hold the pointer over the words you want.
  3. Drag across the text to select it.
  4. Control-click the selected words and choose Copy Text.

If you cannot select the words, choose Tools > Text Selection and try again. These steps come from Apple’s Live Text instructions for Preview.

Begin with a short selection, such as one heading or sentence. This gives you a manageable first paste to compare with the image before transferring a longer passage. For a source with several separate text blocks, copying one block at a time also makes it easier to keep track of what you have transferred.

If the image is already in Photos, Apple also documents copying its text there: open the photo, position the pointer over the text, select the relevant words, and Control-click the selection to choose Copy Text. You can then paste into another app. There is no need to move that photo to Preview solely to perform this task. Use Live Text to interact with text in a photo on Mac.

Paste into the correct place in Pages

In Pages, open the destination document and click where the text should appear. Choose Edit > Paste, or press Command-V. To make the pasted text match the surrounding text’s style, choose Edit > Paste and Match Style. Apple documents both options in Copy and paste text in Pages on Mac.

Choose the paste option according to your goal. For a passage being added to an existing report, Paste and Match Style is usually the useful starting choice because you want it to fit the document. That is a formatting recommendation; it does not verify the copied words against the image.

In a word-processing document

A word-processing document can contain text in its main body as well as in text boxes. Click at the intended position in the body before pasting. In an existing text box, click the box and then click within its text to place the insertion point. Apple describes these destinations in Add and replace text in Pages on Mac and its text-selection instructions.

In a page layout document

Page layout documents contain text in text boxes. To create a destination, click Text in the toolbar, position the new box, select its placeholder text, and paste your copied words. If a clipping indicator shows that the box is too small, enlarge it until all the text is visible. Apple documents text boxes and their sizing controls in Add and replace text in Pages on Mac.

Before proceeding, confirm that you can click among the pasted words and edit individual characters. Also inspect the end of the passage. A successful first line does not establish that the complete selection arrived or that a text box displays everything.

If the image is already inside Pages or Keynote

For an image placed in a Pages document, use its original file when you have it. If you only have the visible image in the document, a screenshot provides an image file you can open in Preview. This is a fallback assembled from Apple’s screenshot and Live Text procedures.

To capture the relevant area:

  1. Display the image so the required words are visible.
  2. Press Shift-Command-4.
  3. Drag the crosshair around the text area, then release the mouse or trackpad button.
  4. Wait for the screenshot to save, then open that file in Preview.

Screenshots save to the desktop by default, although the Screenshot app’s Options menu can change the location. Follow the Preview copying steps above once the file is open. Take a screenshot on Mac.

For a Keynote source, first determine whether you can select the words as ordinary slide text. If you can, select them and press Command-C, then paste at the destination in Pages. Apple’s Keynote copy-and-paste guide documents copying selected text separately from copying slide objects.

If the words belong to a slide image and the original image is unavailable, Keynote offers a documented image export route:

  1. Open the presentation and choose File > Export To > Images.
  2. Choose the slide or slides to export and select an image format.
  3. Click Save, enter a name, choose a location, and click Export.
  4. Open the exported slide image in Preview and copy the required words.

Apple documents the export controls in Export to PowerPoint or another file format in Keynote on Mac.

Exporting supplies an image for the recognition step; the export procedure itself does not establish that every word will be recognized. Keep the slide open while checking the resulting Pages text.

Troubleshoot selection, pasting, and incomplete results

When the process fails, identify which handoff failed before repeating the whole workflow.

What you see What to check next
You cannot highlight words in Preview Enable Tools > Text Selection.
Live Text still appears unavailable Check its system setting and Apple’s language and region limitation.
A picture appears in Pages Return to the source and select the words before choosing Copy Text.
The text appears in the wrong place Undo the paste, place the insertion point at the intended destination, and paste again.
The end of a text-box passage is hidden Enlarge the box and inspect the complete passage.

To check the system setting, choose Apple menu > System Settings > General > Language & Region and look for Live Text. Apple identifies this setting as the control for selecting text in images. Its Preview guide also states that Live Text is unavailable in some languages and regions. A failed selection therefore does not, by itself, identify the cause. Change Language & Region settings on Mac, Preview Live Text guide.

For a misplaced paste, Command-Z undoes the change. If Paste is unavailable, check the destination: Apple explains that a dimmed Paste command means content cannot be pasted at that location. Copy and paste on Mac.

Finally, compare the copied passage with the image before treating the task as finished. As an illustrative check, an image might contain “Sample shelf: 12 blue folders.” Confirm the number, spelling, punctuation, and word order in Pages. For several columns or separate labels, check each block individually. These are proofreading recommendations, not measured claims about recognition accuracy.

You have completed the task when the required words are editable in Pages, the whole passage is visible, and it agrees with the source image. Keep that comparison focused on the text you actually need; rebuilding the image’s entire visual layout is a separate document-design task.

Sources