OCR

Visual Novel OCR & Text Recognition for Video Games. Real-Time Screen OCR Translator.

How to Translate Games with OCR

The OCR feature extracts and translates text directly from your screen in real time using Optical Character Recognition (OCR). It's ideal for visual novels and games that don't support clipboard or text extraction. It can translate dialogue from virtually any game or application.

How OCR Works

OCR works by capturing a selected area of your screen, recognizing the text using an OCR engine, and then translating it in real time. You can display the translation results in two ways: using Extra Window or Hyper Overlay.

Output Methods

Before you start, it's important to understand the two available output methods so you can choose the one that best fits your setup.

Extra Window

The recognized text and translation are displayed in a separate floating window.

A dedicated window shows both the original recognized text and the translation
The window can be repositioned anywhere on your screen
Best suited for multi-monitor setups or when you prefer a separate panel

Hyper Overlay

The translation is displayed directly over the original text on your game screen.

Translation appears on top of the recognized text, right on the game screen
Provides a clean, immersive reading experience
No additional floating windows to manage
Best suited for single-screen setups and fullscreen games

Getting Started

Install an OCR Engine

Before you can use OCR, you need to install at least one supported OCR engine.

Recommended for most users:

Fast OCR - A lightweight and accurate offline OCR engine without extra setup.
Google Cloud Vision - Best accuracy for complex backgrounds and colored text. Requires an internet connection and API key.
ScreenAI OCR - A modern offline engine that handles moderate background noise and multi-colored.
Nanonets OCR Small (via LM Studio) - A high-performance AI-based engine for offline use. Requires at least 8 GB of VRAM.

For a full list of supported engines and installation instructions, see OCR Engines.

Configure and Start OCR

Select OCR from the module list
Select an OCR Engine
Select your preferred Output Method:
- Choose Hyper Overlay for an immersive, in-place translation experience
- Choose Extra Window if you prefer a separate translation panel
Click the Start button

If you're using Windows OCR or Tesseract OCR, you'll also need to select the appropriate Language for that engine.

Position the Capture Area

After starting OCR, a transparent Capture Area window will appear on your screen.

Drag and resize the Capture Area to cover the dialogue text box in your game
Make sure it covers only the text area - avoid capturing UI buttons, character sprites, or background elements

For more details, see Interface Overview.

Start Capturing

Once the Capture Area is positioned, click the Capture button in the Side Toolbar (or press Space) to trigger a single capture and confirm the text is recognized and translated correctly.

Once you've confirmed it works, enable Auto Capture (or press Ctrl + Shift + A) to capture and translate continuously while you play, without needing to trigger it manually for every line.

For a full breakdown of Capture, Smart Capture, and Auto Capture options, see Interface Overview. If screen capture fails or shows an error, refer to Troubleshooting.

Tips for Better Results

Position the capture area over the text dialogue box in your game
Choose a modern engine like Fast OCR or ScreenAI OCR for strong accuracy with minimal setup
Use Pre-processing only if you're using an older, traditional-style OCR engine that needs help with contrast or background noise
Use Post-processing (RegExp) to correct common OCR errors or remove unwanted characters
Try different OCR engines to find the best match for your specific game or visual novel

FAQ: Translating Games with OCR

What is OCR translation, and when should I use it instead of other methods?

VNTranslator offers several ways to translate a game depending on what it supports, including AutoTrans, Clipboard, XUAT, and TextractorCLI. OCR is the option that doesn't depend on the game supporting any of these, since it reads text directly from the screen. This makes it useful for games or applications where the other methods aren't available.

What's the difference between Extra Window and Hyper Overlay?

Extra Window displays the recognized text and translation in a separate floating panel, which works well for multi-monitor setups. Hyper Overlay displays the translation directly on top of the original text on your game screen, which suits single-screen and fullscreen setups.

Which OCR engine should I use?

It depends on your setup: Fast OCR and ScreenAI OCR are modern offline engines that work well for most games, Google Cloud Vision offers strong accuracy for complex text, and Nanonets OCR Small works fully offline if you have enough VRAM. See OCR Engines for a full comparison of all supported engines.

Why isn't OCR detecting any text on my screen?

Check that the Capture Area is positioned directly over the dialogue text box, that it doesn't include UI buttons, sprites, or background elements, and that Capture or Auto Capture has actually been triggered. If you're using an older, traditional-style engine, try enabling Pre-processing and adjusting the Threshold value - see Pre-processing for details.

How do I fix incorrect or garbled OCR text?

Use Post-processing (RegExp) to filter out recurring recognition errors or unwanted characters before translation. See Post-processing and Understanding OCR & Improving Accuracy for detailed tips.

Does OCR work with any game or application?

OCR captures whatever is visible on your screen, so it can work with most games and applications regardless of engine. Accuracy still depends on the OCR engine used and factors like font style, background complexity, and text size.