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microsoft / PowerToys

Windows system utilities to maximize productivity
MIT License
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Copy message box text #6190

Closed Offbeatmammal closed 2 years ago

Offbeatmammal commented 4 years ago

📝 WIn10 has improved the ability to copy "un-selectable" text, but...

Ctrl+C is a boon for avoiding re-keying, and I use it a thousand times a day ... but as a developer working largely with VBA Macros in PowerPoint there is one frustration ... although the magic works in some Office situations it seems those error popups don't let me do it (it might be a side-effect of working through Remote Desktop, as my host machine is a Mac!)

I use a couple of other Powertoys (PT Run is fantastic) and think this would be a good fit for some creative enhancement...

If you'd like to see this feature implemented, add a 👍 reaction to this post.

crutkas commented 4 years ago

@offbeatmammal, just want to verify, so if a dialog pops up, you want the body to be copied to your clipboard

Example here "Windows cannot ...." would be copied, right? image

Offbeatmammal commented 4 years ago

yes, that's what I'm after ... save me having to re-type the error message when I want to Bing It

Jay-o-Way commented 4 years ago

I think there are two possible ways to approach this. The first is the most direct way: trying to actually read the text inside the control/window. But for some windows, that is still impossible. The second is via OCR.

wilka commented 4 years ago

Pressing Ctlr+C already does copy the text of a message box (assuming it's using the native Windows message box UI). I guess PowerPoint macros are doing some custom UI?

A general OCR from clipboard images would be handy though. My current workflow for this is:

Offbeatmammal commented 4 years ago

interesting workaround using the OneNote OCR ... will have to give it a try... but would love to see something very lightweight (or just have Ctrl+C work in VBA... I'll have to submit a UserVoice as well!)

crutkas commented 4 years ago

There has to be a hook in due to accessibility to grab the text.

just1a-person commented 3 years ago

Demo of MS Edge's Smart Copy feature

I suggest that it should be something like this

This is MS Edge's smart copy feature

Sorry dark mode users!
crutkas commented 3 years ago

@itsme-alan that would be #4371

Korb commented 2 years ago

I use ABBYY Screenshot Reader many times a day.

2022-09-13_23-48-49

It works great with dozens of languages, including Russian. True, it has a rather clumsy interface. In particular, this application cannot be activated with hotkeys. Also, it's part of a rather expensive subscription product and I'd rather use something cheaper instead. Ideally free.

crutkas commented 2 years ago

Text extractor should be able to do this now which is from #4371. @Offbeatmammal does this solve your ask?

here was the text from the warning above. cdsafds x Windows cannot find cdsafds'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again. 0K

/needinfo

Offbeatmammal commented 2 years ago

yes, this does. very nice addition, thanks to the team