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PDF to Text

Pull the text out of a PDF so you can copy, edit or search it.

How to extract text from a PDF

  1. Choose a PDF. Text extraction starts straight away.
  2. Read the text in the box, with each page marked, for example --- Page 3 ---.
  3. Copy it, or download it as a .txt file named after your PDF.

How it works

Digital PDFs, made from Word, Excel, websites or apps, store real text along with its position on the page. This tool reads that text layer page by page and rebuilds it into lines. Scanned PDFs are just pictures of pages, so they have no text layer and need OCR instead.

Which tool for which job

  • Plain text to search, quote or paste into another app: this tool.
  • An editable document with paragraphs, headings and bold kept: PDF to Word.
  • Tables and statements as rows and columns: PDF to Excel.

Tips

  • Tables come out as text with spaces between cells, which is fine for reading but not for sums.
  • Text in multi-column layouts can come out interleaved; check the order before quoting it.
  • Check a few words against the PDF: some older PDFs use font tricks that make extracted text look scrambled.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the output empty?

The PDF is probably scanned, with pictures of pages rather than text. It needs OCR (text recognition) instead.

Does it keep formatting?

No. It extracts plain text with line breaks. Bold, fonts and layout aren't kept; use PDF to Word for that.

How many pages can it read?

Up to 500 pages at once, with a marker such as '--- Page 3 ---' before each page.

Is it private?

Yes. The file never leaves your device.

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