2.6 – Grab Text Lesson

Lesson Overview

Grab Text is a design feature within Canva’s Magic Studio that allows you to pull text out of images and make it editable—as if you had the original design file. This solves a classic problem: needing to update the information in a graphic or ad, but having only a flat image to work with. Instead of recreating the entire design from scratch, Grab Text uses AI to isolate the desired text, remove it from the background, and replace it with an editable version that you can modify, restyle, or reposition.

This lesson is useful for anyone who wants a flexible way to update visuals quickly, especially when past assets or design files are lost. Whether you’re working on marketing materials, product shots, posters, or even scanned documents, Grab Text can dramatically save time and preserve original layouts.

Examples include updating billboards with new messages, tweaking percentages in a promo ad, or fixing a typo on a printed sign image. By mastering this skill, you ensure your visuals stay current and accurate—without hours of graphic redesign.

Who This Is For

If you need to update or rework images with embedded text, Grab Text is designed for you. This lesson is useful for:

• Marketers updating sale banners or promotional ads
• Content creators editing screenshots or photos with text
• Educators adapting scanned articles, worksheets, or resources
• Small business owners making quick updates to signs or menus
• Designers handling old projects without source files
• Social media managers needing fast graphics adjustments

Where This Fits in a Workflow

The ability to extract and edit text from images often comes into play at the revision or update stage of a project. For example:

• When reusing marketing images for a new campaign, you can modify sale percentages or dates right on the existing asset.
• If handed a photo (like a billboard or poster) and asked to tailor the messaging, you can swap out the text quickly without a redesign.

This fits especially well into workflows that rely on quick turnaround or frequent content updates. Rather than hunting down old files or recreating a layout, you use Grab Text for immediate, clean modifications. It simplifies maintenance of branded content across campaigns, events, or repeating offers.

Technical & Workflow Benefits

Before Grab Text, updating an image’s text usually meant recreating the entire design or painstakingly covering old text and adding new layers manually. This is time-consuming and often leads to mismatched fonts or awkward layouts. With Grab Text, AI automatically identifies and pulls out the text, fills in the background intelligently, and gives you an editable text box—often matching the original style closely.

For example, when changing a number in an old ad (like updating “35% off” to “50% off”), you save significant time compared to recreating fonts and alignment by hand. Grab Text is especially effective when you don’t have access to the original layered file. While results can vary (especially with hand-drawn or stylized fonts), the time saved and convenience provided in most straightforward cases is substantial. It keeps your work fresh and accurate with less hassle.

Practice Exercise

Take a saved image of an ad, sign, or document that contains written text—ideally a format you’d want to update, but where you no longer have the original design file. Then try the following:

1. Start a new Canva Design and upload your chosen image.
2. Use the Grab Text tool from the Magic Studio section to select and extract a specific word or phrase.
3. Edit the extracted text to say something new. Adjust the font, size, or angle to match the original as closely as possible.

Reflection: How does the edited image compare to the original? Was Grab Text able to match the background and font closely, or did you need to make further tweaks for a natural look?

Course Context Recap

Grab Text builds on the core Magic Studio skills introduced in earlier lessons, offering new control over modifying and updating images with embedded text. Previously, you learned to separate image elements using Magic Grab. Next, you’ll see how these edit-friendly features can be combined for more advanced design updates and professional results. Keep moving through the course to deepen your ability to quickly edit and upgrade your visuals in Canva, no matter what assets you’re working with. Explore more lessons to strengthen your AI-powered design skills.