Extract text from a PDF
Extract the text of a PDF in reading order and download it as a .txt file or copy it.
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The text of every page is extracted in reading order, with blank lines between paragraphs.
Processed on this device with your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
How it works
Copying text straight out of a PDF viewer often scrambles columns and breaks every line. This tool reads the position of every piece of text on each page with pdf.js, rebuilds the lines top to bottom and left to right, and joins them into paragraphs with a blank line between them, ready to paste into an email, a translation tool or a notes app.
Choose all pages or a range, and whether to mark where each page starts. The result is shown for copying and saved as UTF-8 .txt, so accented letters, Arabic and other scripts come through intact.
A scanned PDF is a picture of text and contains no text to extract; run OCR PDF on it first.
Which text tool should you use?
| You need | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Just the words, to paste or translate | PDF to Text | Clean lines and paragraphs, UTF-8, no formatting to undo |
| An editable document with headings | PDF to Word | Rebuilds paragraphs and Heading 1-3 styles in a .docx |
| Tables of numbers for a spreadsheet | PDF to Excel or PDF to CSV | Splits text into columns where the gaps line up; Excel keeps numbers as numbers |
| Text from a scan or a photo of a page | OCR PDF first | Scans contain pictures of text, not text |
How to use it
- Choose a PDF.
- Pick all pages or type a range, and whether to mark page breaks.
- Click Extract text.
- Copy the text or download the .txt file.
Frequently asked questions
Are my files uploaded?
No. The file is read and processed by your browser on your device; nothing is sent to a server. The PDF engine is downloaded from this site the first time you use a tool and then runs on your device.
Why is no text found?
The PDF is probably a scan or made of images. Run OCR PDF on it to add a text layer, then extract.
Are multi-column layouts kept apart?
Lines are rebuilt by position, which keeps single-column documents in order. In two-column layouts, lines at the same height may be joined; check the result.
What about Arabic or other scripts?
Text is saved as UTF-8 exactly as the PDF stores it. Some PDFs made with unusual fonts store text without a proper character map, which no extractor can read correctly.
Is formatting kept?
No, this is plain text. For headings and paragraphs in an editable document, use PDF to Word.
Related tools
- PDF to WordTurn a text-based PDF into an editable Word document with paragraphs and headings rebuilt.
- OCR PDFMake scanned PDFs searchable: Tesseract reads English and Arabic text and adds an invisible text layer.
- PDF to CSV (Excel)Pull simple tables out of a PDF into CSV columns you can open in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets.
- Compare PDFFind what changed between two versions of a PDF: added and removed words, shown page by page.
- Word CounterCount words, characters (with and without spaces), sentences and paragraphs, estimate reading and speaking time, and see keyword density.
- Document Summarizer (PDF, Word, Text)Summarise a PDF, Word or text file on your device: key points, action items, tables to Excel, details found and passage search with page numbers.