Extract text from a PDF
PDF to Text pulls all the text out of a PDF and gives it to you as a plain .txt file — and as a preview you can copy from straight away. It's useful when copying from a PDF viewer is fiddly, when you want to paste a document into another program, search it, translate it or feed it into a script.
The text comes out in the order it's stored in the PDF, which usually matches the reading order. In documents with two columns or text boxes, paragraphs may appear in a slightly different order. Hyphenated words at line ends are kept as they are in the document.
The extraction runs in your browser, so even confidential documents are never uploaded. Line breaks follow the PDF's lines; tables come out as text in reading order.
Scanned PDFs are pictures of pages and contain no real text. If the result is empty, the tool tells you so: run the file through OCR PDF first to make the text readable, then extract it here.
Drop a PDF here
PDF · or click to choose · you can also paste · up to 300 MB · stays on your device
Your privacy
This tool works entirely inside your browser. Your files are never uploaded to any server.
How to use PDF to Text
- 1
Add your PDF
Drop the file on the page or click to choose it.
- 2
Extract
The text of every page is read in order.
- 3
Copy or download
Copy from the preview or save the .txt file.
Questions and answers
Why is the result empty?
The PDF is probably a scan, which contains images instead of text. Use OCR PDF first.
Is formatting kept?
No, you get plain text. To keep the layout, use PDF to Word.
Is my file uploaded?
No. Text extraction happens in your browser.
Does it work with other languages?
Yes. Any language stored as real text in the PDF is extracted, including Hindi, Arabic, Chinese and Japanese.
How large can the PDF be?
Up to 300 MB.