A teammate shares a prototype link in
A teammate shares a prototype link in presentation mode and you need button copy for implementation notes.
GlassCopy
Mac OCR Guide
How to copy text from Figma mockups on Mac
Design review often happens on rendered screens, not on editable text layers. If you only have a Figma prototype view, screenshot, or shared export, GlassCopy can pull the UI copy out quickly.
Why copy fails here
Prototype links, exported frames, and shared screenshots present the UI as rendered pixels. If you cannot access the original Figma text layers, the copy is effectively image-based.
A design review screenshot contains error states
A design review screenshot contains error states or empty-state messaging you want to reuse.
A QA ticket includes a mockup image
A QA ticket includes a mockup image with labels, settings names, and helper text.
Try the cleanest source first
Native copy check
Use editable design text when you have file access. Use GlassCopy when you are viewing a prototype, screenshot, export, review link, or handoff image where the text layer is unavailable.
Why GlassCopy helps
GlassCopy helps during design review because you can recover rendered UI copy from the screen even when Dev Mode, file permissions, or the editable layer are not available.
How to do it with GlassCopy
UI mockups mix labels, buttons, helper text, and dense layouts, so the workflow is to capture one UI region at a time instead of the whole frame.
Small UI text is common in mockups, so enlarge the region before running OCR.
Use GlassCopy on a modal, form section, navigation rail, or toast rather than an entire screen packed with labels.
Focus on button text, labels, and messages while excluding icons, avatars, or crowded chart widgets.
Review punctuation and capitalization, especially if the mockup uses stylized typography or tiny helper text.
What to capture, what to leave out
Select
One UI zone such as a modal, form, toast, empty state, onboarding card, or CTA group.
Leave Out
Selection handles, comments, cursors, rulers, layers panels, device chrome, and nearby mockup variants.
Best Conditions
Zoom the mockup until body copy is readable and capture headline, body, and CTA separately when structure matters.
Tips that improve results
Helpful habits
- Dialogs and empty states often OCR better than full dashboard screens.
- If a mockup uses multiple text styles, capture the headline and body text separately.
- Use this workflow when you need fast copy extraction during review, not as a replacement for handoff tooling.
Avoid these mistakes
- Do not try to OCR an entire dense product screen in one selection.
- Avoid including floating comments or presence cursors from collaborative review sessions.
When not to use this workflow
If you can inspect the original Figma file and copy the text layers directly, use that source of truth instead.
Clean up and verify
After OCR
- Preserve UI hierarchy by labeling headline, body copy, field labels, and CTA after paste.
- Fix punctuation on button labels and short microcopy.
- Remove design-review annotations that are not part of the product copy.
Accuracy watchlist
- Tiny UI labels can blur at prototype zoom levels.
- Rounded pills and icons near text can introduce stray characters.
- Multiple design variants in one frame can mix copy if captured too broadly.
Privacy boundary
Prototype screens may contain test customer data. Keep sample names and account details out of the selection unless they are part of the copy review.
Real situations where this guide helps
Pulling UI strings from a prototype into
Pulling UI strings from a prototype into an implementation ticket.
Comparing empty-state copy across several mocked screens
Comparing empty-state copy across several mocked screens.
Saving error message wording from a review
Saving error message wording from a review image into QA notes.
Example workflow
Source
A prototype review link shows a checkout error state that needs rewrite suggestions.
Selection
Capture the modal headline, body copy, and CTA as separate selections.
Result
Structured UI copy ready for an implementation ticket or rewrite prompt.
Destination
Design review note, localization sheet, or engineering task.
Questions people ask
Can I copy UI copy from a Figma prototype without file access?
If the copy is visible on screen, GlassCopy can select the rendered text even when the editable design layer is unavailable.
What should I select in a mockup?
Select one UI zone at a time: a modal, toast, form, empty state, onboarding card, or CTA group.
How do I use OCR output in design review?
Paste the copied text into a ticket, localization sheet, or rewrite prompt, then label headline, body, field labels, and CTAs.
Related guides
These pages cover adjacent workflows without repeating the same advice.
How to copy text from images on Mac
GlassCopy works well when the image itself is the source of truth and you need a quick text extraction workflow without opening a full OCR suite.
How to copy text from slides on MacSlide OCR is easiest when you isolate a title, bullet stack, or chart caption rather than capturing the entire visual slide composition.
How to copy text from screenshots on MacWhen text only exists inside a screenshot, GlassCopy lets you select the relevant region and copy OCR output straight into your clipboard.