PDF to Text
Pull the text out of a PDF into a plain .txt file.
Processed on this device. Nothing is uploaded.
How to use PDF to Text
- 1
Click "Select files" or drag your files onto the box.
- 2
Change the options if you need to.
- 3
Click "Extract text" and download the result.
PDF to Text reads the text layer of every page and saves it as a UTF-8 .txt file, with optional page markers. It works with PDFs created on a computer. Scans are pictures of text, so they have nothing to extract.
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How to convert a PDF to a text file in your browser
Add a PDF and the tool reads the text layer of every page, the same hidden text that lets you select and search words in a PDF viewer. It joins the pages into one plain .txt file named after your PDF. With page markers switched on, each page starts with a line like "--- Page 3 ---", so you can still tell where a passage came from.
This works well for files that were created on a computer: exports from Word or Google Docs, e-invoices, bank statements, reports saved from a browser. A scan is different. It is a photo of paper with no text layer, so there is nothing to read. Turning scans into text needs OCR, which this site does not offer yet. If a file has no text at all, the tool tells you instead of handing you an empty file.
The .txt file is saved as UTF-8 with a marker at the start that tells Windows programs such as Notepad which encoding to use, so accented letters display correctly. The PDF is read by your own browser and nothing is uploaded.
PDF to text not working well? Common problems and fixes
Text from two columns is mixed together
The text comes out in the order it is stored inside the PDF, which is not always the order you read it. In newsletters and scientific papers the columns can end up interleaved line by line. Turn on page markers to find the right page quickly, then fix the passage you need by hand.
Random symbols appear instead of letters
Some PDFs embed fonts without the information that links each shape to a real letter. The page looks normal, but the stored text is gibberish. To check, copy a sentence in your PDF viewer and paste it somewhere. If that is also garbled, the problem is in the file itself, and only OCR on an image of the page would help.
Sentences are broken across many short lines
Line breaks follow the lines on the page, not the end of sentences. Paste the text into a word processor and use find and replace to turn single line breaks into spaces, while keeping the blank lines between paragraphs.
Some pages are empty in the output
The file is probably a mix: some pages were created digitally and others were scanned and added later. The scanned pages have no text layer. Your PDF viewer will show the same thing: you cannot select words on those pages.
PDF to Text vs copy and paste
Copy and paste is fine for a paragraph or two. On a long document, selection tends to jump, skip pages or grab headers and footers in odd places.
PDF to Text takes every page in one pass and marks where each one begins. Use it when you need the full text for a translation tool, a search, a spreadsheet or an archive.
Questions
Why is my text file empty?
The PDF is probably a scan or a photo, which stores pictures of letters instead of text. Extracting text from those needs OCR.
Are Polish and other special characters kept?
Yes. The file is saved as UTF-8, so letters like ą, ł or ü come through as long as the PDF stores them correctly.
Can I use this to convert a PDF to Word?
Only the words come across. You can open the .txt file in Word, but fonts, images, tables and layout are not kept. It works best when you need the content and plan to format it yourself.
How do I extract text from only some pages of a PDF?
Save the pages you need as a new file with Extract PDF Pages, then run that smaller file through PDF to Text.
Are my files uploaded anywhere?
No. The tool runs in your browser and the files never leave your device. Close the tab and nothing is left behind.