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Welcome to the 'How to perform a Google reverse image search' video course. In this video, you'll learn how to do a Google search using a photograph you have on your computer. This is called a reverse image search because instead of using words to search for an image, you are using an image to search for all kinds of results.
The first step is to upload your image on the Google home page at google.com, find the image search icon on the right of the search bar. It looks like a camera. Click on it and the search bar will turn into a panel titled 'Search any image with Google Lens'. For this demonstration, we will use a picture saved on the desktop. If you can't see it, you may need to move the browser window.
Click on the top corner of the browser and hold the left mouse button down. Then drag the browser to the left. The image we want looks like the Bathurst Town Hall, but we are not sure if that's what it really is, so let's check that now. Click on the file on the desktop and keep the left mouse button held down. Now, drag the file into the panel in your browser that says, 'Drag an image here or upload a file'.
Once the file is in the panel, take your finger off the mouse button to drop it. Some search results will appear. At the top, you can see your uploaded image. Part of the image may be highlighted, and this is the part that Google has used to perform a search. A panel on the right of the page identifies the building as Bathurst's courthouse, not the town hall at all.
You can explore the search results to find out more about this iconic building. With Google image search, you can also upload images of objects such as antique clocks to identify old models, or try uploading clock parts to see if a specific part is available to purchase and how much it is. Google's reverse image search can also highlight and search text in an image.
For this part of the demonstration, we'll upload a plaque from the summit of Mount Kosciuszko. In the Google search bar at the top of the page, click the image search icon again. If you need to, move the browser window to find the file on the desktop, click on it. Then drag and drop the image onto the panel. Google shows any searchable text with a pale box around it. You can click on the text to highlight it. A pop up will appear over the text with some options. Click select all on the right to highlight all the text. You can click on Copy to copy the text in the image, ready to paste into a document or click on Listen to hear the text spoken through your computer speakers: "Mount Kosciuszko, 2,228 metres."
To stop the voiceover, click Pause. To learn more about the information in the image, click Search. Google will provide search results based on the text in the image. Google's reverse image search text feature is most accurate when using good-quality images that have clear, readable text. You've learned how to do a Google reverse image search to identify something in a photo and how to use text in an image to start a Google search. If you are unsure about any steps, you can rewind the video. If you're ready to move on, there are many other courses to explore on Be Connected.