Highlight part of an image online
Highlight text in a screenshot or draw attention to part of a photo, like a highlighter pen.
How to highlight part of an image
- Paste an image with Ctrl+V, drop a file on the page or press Load.
- The highlight tool (H, on the Emphasize button) is ready. It has a colour and opacity of its own, soft yellow at 40% until you change them. Drag a box over the text or area to mark.
- Pick Ellipse on the bar for a round area, or Brush to paint the highlight by hand. Size sets the brush's width.
- Tap the swatch to change the colour, or the strength with the Opacity slider under the colours. The colour picker starts with yellow, green, pink and blue.
- Leave the Preserve text box checked for text, or uncheck it for a plain colour tint.
- Copy with Ctrl+C, or save as PNG, JPEG or WebP.
Highlight text in a screenshot
Hold Shift while you paint along a line of text with the brush, and the stroke stays straight. With Preserve text checked, a highlight tints a light background while keeping black text black, and a dark background while keeping white text white. The saved highlight matches the preview.
Highlight text lines
The Highlight text lines button, on the bar after the Preserve text box, reads the text in the image on your device and outlines each line. Each line you pick shows as highlighted, and the Lines button picks all of them or none. The button with the count, such as Highlight 12, then adds them in one step, each as a box fitted to its line, in the colour and opacity you've set. Lines you've highlighted already are left out. With no model files stored, text recognition needs 3.5 MB for its model and runtime. The page asks before downloading missing files.
Other ways to draw the eye
On a busy photo, a tint can be hard to see. The spotlight (L) and the magnifier (M) are next to the highlight tool at the start of the bar. With the spotlight, drag a box or an ellipse over what should stay bright, and the rest of the picture is dimmed; each spotlight you add lights one more part. With the magnifier, drag over a small detail, and an enlarged copy appears beside it, with a line back to the detail. To point at something, add an arrow or a box. To cover a detail for good, use a solid redaction box.
FAQ
Will the text under the highlight stay readable?
Preserve text is on by default and adapts to the background a highlight mostly covers. One that reaches from a dark area into a light one barely shows on the smaller part, so draw one on each. On a photo, uncheck it for a plain tint and lower the opacity to keep details visible. With Preserve text off, full opacity covers what is underneath.
Is my image uploaded?
No. Highlighting runs locally in your browser, and the image never leaves your device.