How to use Google Drive OCR to get text from an image

November 7, 2026

Upload the image or PDF to Google Drive. Right-click it, choose Open with, then Google Docs. Drive makes a new Google Doc with the text from the file, ready to copy and edit.

It works on PDFs and on .jpeg, .png and .gif images of 2 MB or less, and it's built into Drive.

How to convert an image or PDF to text in Google Drive

1. On your computer, go to Google Drive and upload the file, or find it there.
2. Right-click the file.
3. Click Open with, then Google Docs.
4. Drive opens a new Google Doc with the text from your file. Copy it, edit it or search it like any other doc.

Get a cleaner result

Google Drive Help gives these limits and tips:

• File type: PDFs, including multipage ones, and .jpeg, .png and .gif images.
• File size: 2 MB or smaller.
• Text size: at least 10 pixels high.
• Orientation: right-side up. Rotate the image before you upload it.
• Fonts: common fonts read best.
• Image quality: sharp, evenly lit, with clear contrast.

Bold, italics, font size, font type and line breaks are likely to carry over. Lists, tables, columns, footnotes and endnotes are not likely to be picked up, so check those by hand.

Read text from one frame of a video

Drive’s OCR takes PDFs and image files, not videos. For one frame, take a screenshot:

1. Play the video and pause on the frame with the text, such as a sign, a label or a title card.
2. Take a screenshot and save it as a .png.
3. Upload it to Drive and open it with Google Docs, as above.

For words that are spoken rather than shown, get the video’s transcript in Drive instead.

Find words on screen across all your videos

A screenshot works for one frame you already found. It doesn’t help when you don’t know which clip in the folder shows the sign, or when in the clip it appears.

clipcloud scans the videos in a Google Drive folder for what’s written on screen, along with what’s shown and what’s said.

1. Share the Google Drive folder with clipcloud. It only sees the folder you share.
2. Type the words you’re looking for in plain language, such as the text on a sign or a product label.
3. Open a result, and it jumps to the moment the words are on screen.
4. Your editor gets their own login and can search the same folder.

Search can miss, so check the results. Your originals stay in your Drive.

FAQ

Do I need another app for Google Drive OCR?

No. It's built into Google Drive: right-click the file, choose Open with, then Google Docs.

Which files can Google Drive OCR read?

PDFs, including multipage ones, and .jpeg, .png and .gif images. Google Drive Help says the file should be 2 MB or smaller.

Does Google Drive OCR keep the formatting?

Partly. Bold, italics, font size, font type and line breaks are likely to carry over. Lists, tables, columns, footnotes and endnotes are not likely to.

Which languages does it read?

Drive detects the language of the file by itself. Google Drive Help lists the supported languages.

Can Google Drive OCR read text in a video?

Not in the video file itself. Drive's OCR takes PDFs and image files. Take a screenshot of the frame and convert that, or use clipcloud to search the words on screen across a whole folder of videos.

Does clipcloud move or change my files?

No. Your originals stay in your Drive.

How do I get access?

clipcloud is in beta. 100 beta spots. The first 100 get 50% off. Join the waitlist.