Conflicts and Configuration Issues
When the app is installed but does not behave as expected, the cause is usually another program or a setting. This page covers the common cases.
Hotkey conflicts
A global hotkey can belong to only one program. If two apps register the same combination, whichever starts first gets it, and the other one silently does nothing.
| Shortcut | Used by | Commonly clashes with |
|---|---|---|
| Win+Q | Capture2Text (default) | Windows Search / Copilot on some builds |
| Win+Shift+T | PowerToys Text Extractor | Other screenshot or OCR tools set to the same keys |
| Win+Shift+S | Windows Snipping Tool | OCR tools set to use this combination |
| PrtScn | Snipping Tool (Windows 11 default) | Greenshot, ShareX, Lightshot |
Fix: give each tool a unique shortcut, such as Ctrl+Alt+O. Then restart the app so it registers the new key. PowerToys shows a warning in Settings when a shortcut it wants is already taken.
DPI scaling and multi-monitor offsets
Symptoms: the selection rectangle is shifted away from the text, the overlay covers only part of a monitor, or the captured area is wrong on your second screen.
- Set every monitor to the same scaling (Settings → System → Display → Scale) to confirm this is the cause.
- For older apps: right-click the .exe → Properties → Compatibility → Change high DPI settings → tick Override high DPI scaling behavior → Application.
- Sign out and back in after changing scaling. Some apps only read DPI values at startup.
- Update to the latest app version. DPI handling across monitors is fixed often in newer releases.
Clipboard problems
- Clipboard managers (Ditto, Windows clipboard history, and similar) can grab the clipboard just as the OCR app writes to it. Temporarily pause the manager to test.
- Remote desktop and virtual machines may not sync the clipboard. Turn on clipboard redirection, or run the OCR app inside the remote session.
- Blank paste: no text was recognized. Try a larger selection or check the OCR language.
Security software and privacy settings
- Some antivirus suites and "anti-keylogger" features block global hotkey registration or screen capture. Add the app's folder to the allowed list.
- Windows Security's Controlled folder access can stop NAPS2 or Tesseract from saving to Documents. Allow the app under Ransomware protection.
- Apps with DRM, some banking sites, and protected video show up black in captures. This is intended, and OCR cannot read them.
Running several OCR tools together
You can install several of these apps side by side. They do not share files, but these points apply:
- Give each one a unique hotkey (see above).
- Tesseract installs used by other programs can conflict through
TESSDATA_PREFIX. If one app breaks after you install another, check that environment variable. - Turn off Run at startup for tools you rarely use to reduce background load.
Poor or garbled OCR results
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| Random symbols instead of letters | Wrong language selected. Install and choose the correct OCR language. |
| Accented or non-Latin characters missing | Add that language (Windows OCR) or its .traineddata file (Tesseract). |
| Small text misread | Zoom to 150–200% before capturing, or scan at 300 DPI. |
| Columns merged into one line | Capture one column at a time, or use a page-layout option (Tesseract --psm, FineReader layout analysis). |
| Light text on dark background fails | Invert colors, or switch the app or website to a light theme first. |
| Handwriting not recognized | These tools are built for printed text. Handwriting results are limited. |
Example: Tesseract command for a single block of text in two languages:
tesseract scan.png result -l eng+fra --psm 6