使用指南

如何在 Mac 上搜索截图里的文字

你复制过一张截图——可能是一段报错、一个网址、一条聊天记录——过几天想找回它，却记不清存哪了，只记得里面写了什么。这正是按"图片里的文字"搜索能解决的问题。

难题记得截图内容，找不到图
原因系统无法搜索图片内文字
方案剪贴板历史 + 文字识别

为什么系统找不到截图里的字

对系统来说，截图只是一堆像素，里面的文字不会被当作"可搜索的文本"。Spotlight 和访达都不会去读图片里写了什么，系统剪贴板更是只保留你最后复制的一条内容。

所以当你"复制了一张截图 → 又复制了别的 → 想找回那张图"时，既没有历史，也无法按内容搜索。

正确做法：文字识别 + 剪贴板历史

解决办法是让一个剪贴板管理工具在后台运行，并在你复制图片时自动识别其中的文字。这样图片就变成了"可搜索"的内容。

PasteNext 就是这样工作的：你复制的每张图片都会被识别文字、保存到本地历史，之后你只要输入图片里出现过的词，就能把它找回来。

  • 自动识别复制图片里的文字
  • 所有识别在本机完成，不上传云端
  • 按图片内容、来源 App 和时间组合搜索

实际可以这样搜

用自然语言描述你记得的线索即可，例如：

  • "包含 search 字样的截图"
  • "那张写着 API key 的图，大概昨天"
  • "从 Chrome 复制的、带报错信息的截图"

你不需要记住文件名或保存位置，只要记得图里写了什么。

提前开启才有历史

文字识别只能作用于工具运行之后复制的图片，无法找回更早丢失的截图。所以越早让它在后台运行，可搜索的范围就越大。

想了解完整的搜索能力，可以看 用自然语言找回剪贴板历史，或浏览 全部教程。

Guide

How to search text inside screenshots on Mac

You copied a screenshot — maybe an error message, a URL, or a chat — and days later you want it back. You forget where it went, but you remember what it said. That is exactly what searching by the text inside an image solves.

ProblemRemember the content, lose the image
CauseSystem can't search text in images
FixClipboard history + text recognition

Why your Mac can't find text in screenshots

To the system, a screenshot is just pixels — the words inside it are not treated as searchable text. Spotlight and Finder do not read what an image says, and the system clipboard only keeps your most recent copy.

So when you "copy a screenshot → copy something else → want that screenshot back", there is no history and no way to search by content.

The right approach: recognition plus clipboard history

The fix is to run a clipboard manager in the background that recognizes the text inside images as you copy them. That turns every screenshot into searchable content.

PasteNext works this way: each image you copy is read for text and saved to local history, so later you just type words that appeared in the image to bring it back.

  • Recognizes text inside copied images automatically
  • Recognition runs on your device, never uploaded
  • Search by image content, source app, and time together

What it looks like in practice

Just describe the clues you remember in plain language, for example:

  • "the screenshot that says search"
  • "that image with an API key, around yesterday"
  • "the error screenshot I copied from Chrome"

You do not need to remember the filename or where it was saved — only what the image said.

Turn it on early to build history

Text recognition only applies to images copied after the tool is running; it cannot recover screenshots lost earlier. The sooner it runs in the background, the more you will be able to search later.

To see the full search capability, read Find clipboard history with natural language, or browse all guides.