You see a useful word in a screenshot, a book, or a photo. Share the image with Text To Learnalist to extract its text and open Learnalist with the front of a new note filled in. You check it, add the meaning or answer, and save.
Use an iPhone or iPad running iOS or iPadOS 16 or later, with a Learnalist version that includes Open Add note. An account is needed to save the note.
Install a shortcut
Open an install link on your iPhone or iPad and follow the prompts to add it in Apple’s Shortcuts app.
Text To Learnalist
Requires the Learnalist app on your iPhone or iPad. Install or update Learnalist first, then add the shortcut below.
Use this to make a review note from an image. It extracts the text, copies it to your device’s clipboard, and passes it to Learnalist’s Open Add note action. The extraction step is included, so you do not need a separate extraction shortcut.
Get Text To Clipboard
Use this when you want to paste the extracted text yourself, in Learnalist or another app. It takes an image, extracts its text, and copies the result to the clipboard without opening Learnalist. It does not require the Learnalist app.
Both shortcuts accept images, including screenshots. Their clipboard copies are set to stay on the device where you run them.
Prefer to start in Shortcuts and choose a photo? Use Photo Picker text to Learnalist below.
From a screenshot to a review note
- Open a screenshot or photo containing a useful word or sentence in Photos.
- Tap Share, scroll down through the available actions, and choose Text To Learnalist.
- Learnalist opens its note editor with the extracted text on the front. Correct any recognition errors and keep the part you want to learn.
- Add the meaning, translation, or answer on the back, then save the note.
For example, a screenshot containing Det er lite sannsynlig. can become a note with It is unlikely. on the back.
For a clipboard-only result, choose Get Text To Clipboard in step 2, then paste the text where you need it.
If the shortcut is missing from Share, check Show in Share Sheet in its details in Shortcuts and make sure you are sharing an image. Apple explains how to run shortcuts from another app. When run without shared input, these shortcuts look for an image on the clipboard; they do not open a photo picker.
See the original image-to-text workflow
Watch the image-to-text Short on thefreshteapot’s channel. It demonstrates extracting text for pasting. Text To Learnalist adds the newer Open Add note action to pass the extracted text into Learnalist’s editor directly.
Choose a photo from Shortcuts
Photo Picker text to Learnalist opens a photo picker when you run it. Choose an image, and it extracts the text and passes Text from Image directly to Learnalist’s note editor. It does not copy the text to your clipboard.
Requires the Learnalist app. Install or update Learnalist first, then add this shortcut.
Run Photo Picker text to Learnalist from the Shortcuts app, choose a photo or screenshot, then check the extracted text in Learnalist. Add the meaning or answer on the back and save your note.
Build it yourself (optional)
To make the same workflow yourself, create a new shortcut in Apple’s Shortcuts app and add these actions in order. Action names can vary with your device language.
| Step | Action | What to pass onward |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Select Photos | Choose one image containing the word or sentence. |
| 2 | Extract Text from Image | Use the image selected in step 1. |
| 3 | Learnalist: Open Add note | Set its Text parameter to Text from Image, the output of step 2. |
Name it something recognisable, such as “Image to Learnalist”. Run it, choose a photo, and check that the note editor opens with the extracted text on the front.
If Open Add note is missing, update Learnalist, open it once, and search for Learnalist again in Shortcuts. Leaving the action’s Text parameter empty opens an empty editor.
Apple documents Extract Text from Image and its language support. Extraction can misread letters or capture more text than you want, so review the result before saving.
Make the text worth reviewing
Keep one useful question or expression on the front. Add the answer, translation, or explanation on the back. For example:
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| Det er lite sannsynlig. | It is unlikely. |
If the extracted text is a whole page, shorten it in the editor. A complete paragraph often gives away its own answer or asks you to recall too much at once.
The shortcut opens the editor. It does not automatically translate the text, create the answer, or save the note. You decide what the card should test.
Return for review
Save the note, then come back when Learnalist has it ready. Try to recall its meaning before revealing the answer and choose whether to see it sooner or later. See the spaced repetition experience.
For desktop webpages, Reader keeps a word beside its source sentence. Both routes end with your own material ready to review.