How to extract text from a PDF
- Choose or drop your PDF.
- If you like, check "Mark where each page starts".
- Click Extract text.
- Copy the result or download it as a .txt file.
What is it for?
Converting a PDF to text lets you copy paragraphs without messing up the formatting, search with other tools, translate a document or paste its content into an email, a spreadsheet or an editor.
The text is read on your device straight from the PDF's own content: nothing is uploaded. If the PDF comes from a scanned document, there's no text to extract; in that case you'll need OCR.
Limits to keep in mind
- Scanned PDFs (photos of pages) have no text: this tool doesn't do OCR.
- Password-protected PDFs can't be opened; remove the password first.
- Reading order depends on how the PDF was built: tables and columns may come out mixed up.
Frequently asked questions
Is my file uploaded to a server?
No. Everything is processed in your browser, on your device. Your file isn't sent anywhere.
How do I copy text from a PDF that won't let me select it?
If the PDF contains real text, this tool extracts it even when your PDF reader won't let you select it. If it's a scan (an image of a page), there is no text to extract: you would need text recognition software (OCR).
Why am I getting nothing back?
Your PDF is most likely a scan: each page is an image and has no text. For those you need OCR software.
Does it keep the formatting?
No: it returns plain text with line breaks. Bold, colors, tables and images are lost.
Does it work with other languages?
Yes, with any language whose text is inside the PDF, including those that don't use the Latin alphabet.
Can I extract just a part?
First you can use Split PDF to keep the pages you need, and then extract the text from that file.