Microsoft Photos has a hidden OCR feature that can read text in images [Video]

If you want to convert images containing text into editable files and documents, you need to use something called OCR (Optical Character Recognition), a feature that’s becoming increasingly available in many image viewing and image editing apps.

OCR has been slow to arrive in Microsoft Photos, but the truth is… OCR already exists in Microsoft Photos. For some reason, it’s been hidden from users and can only be enabled with an advanced tweak.

Spotted by Windows Latest, the OCR feature of Microsoft Photos can be activated by making a change in the Windows Registry using Regedit (the built-in Registry Editor tool):

1. Launch Registry Editor by searching for it in the Start menu.
2. In Registry Editor, click File > Load Hive.
3. Navigate to this directory: %localappdata%PackagesMicrosoft.Windows.Photos_8wekyb3d8bbweSettings
4. In that directory, select this file: settings.dat
5. When prompted, type Photos as the Key Name, then confirm.

Next, you’ll need to create a new .regfile (name it whatever you …