How to use the PDF to Text tool
- Add your PDFDrop the PDF onto the box or click to choose it. Text is extracted automatically.
- Choose pages and layoutPick specific pages, and choose whether to keep line breaks or join lines into paragraphs.
- Review the textThe extracted text appears in an editable box with a word count.
- Copy or downloadCopy the text to paste elsewhere, or download it as a .txt file.
Features
- Reading orderText is rebuilt line by line from its position on the page, so it reads naturally.
- Clean paragraphsJoin wrapped lines into paragraphs and fix words hyphenated at line ends.
- TablesColumns in tables are separated by tabs, so they paste neatly into spreadsheets.
- Page markersOptionally mark where each page starts.
- PrivateThe PDF is read in your browser and never uploaded.
When to convert a PDF to text
- Copy the content of a report, article or contract into an email or document without messy formatting.
- Feed text into a translator, a summary tool or a spreadsheet.
- Count words, search, or compare versions with our Word Counter and Text Diff Checker.
- Make content accessible to screen readers and text-to-speech; try Text to Speech.
Lines or paragraphs?
| Option | Result | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Keep lines as in the PDF | Every line break is kept | Poems, addresses, code, tables and lists |
| Join lines into paragraphs | Lines are joined; blank lines separate paragraphs | Articles, books and reports you’ll paste into a document |
Why is no text found?
Some PDFs contain only images of pages, for example scanned documents or photos saved as PDF. They look like text but have no characters inside. Such files need OCR (optical character recognition). You can check: if you can’t select text with your cursor in a PDF viewer, the PDF is a scanned image.
Limitations
PDFs store text as positioned fragments, not paragraphs. The extractor rebuilds the reading order from positions, which works well for normal documents. Complex layouts with several columns, text boxes or rotated text may need a little manual tidying. Password-protected PDFs must be unlocked first with Unlock PDF. To keep the layout and images, use PDF to JPG instead.
Frequently asked questions
How do I extract text from a PDF?+
Drop the PDF onto the tool. The text is extracted automatically and can be copied or downloaded as a .txt file.
Can I extract text from only some pages?+
Yes. Type the pages in the Pages box, for example 2-5, 8, and click “Extract text”.
Why is my PDF giving no text?+
It’s probably a scanned image without real text. Such PDFs need OCR (text recognition).
Does it keep tables?+
Table columns are separated by tabs, so tables paste reasonably well into spreadsheets. Complex layouts may need tidying.
Is my PDF uploaded?+
No. The text is extracted in your browser and the file never leaves your device.