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PDF to Text

Pull the selectable text out of a PDF.

Drop a PDF hereor click to choose

Everything runs in your browser — no file ever leaves your device.

About, how to use & limitations

About PDF to Text

PDF to Text lets you extract text from a PDF online and save it as a plain .txt file. It reads the selectable text layer of every page with pdf.js in your browser, keeps line breaks, and separates pages with a blank line. This is useful for copying content out of reports, papers, or invoices into notes, emails, or other tools without fighting PDF selection. After extraction you see the page and character count, and you can copy everything or download it as a text file. Scanned PDFs that contain only images have no text layer, so nothing is extracted.

How to use

  1. Click the "Drop a PDF here" area or drag one PDF onto it.
  2. Wait while it shows "Reading page X / Y...".
  3. Check the page and character count, and review the text in the box.
  4. Click Copy to copy all the text, or "Download .txt" to save it as a file.
  5. Click CLEAR to start over with another PDF.

Limitations & notes

  • There is no OCR: scanned or image-only PDFs return no text.
  • Text is extracted line by line, so columns, tables and layout are not preserved.
  • One PDF at a time; dropping another PDF replaces the current one, even mid-extraction. Password-protected PDFs cannot be opened.

FAQ

Why is no text extracted from my PDF?
The PDF is probably a scan or contains text only as images. This tool reads the existing text layer and does not perform OCR, so image-only pages return no text. A notice under the progress line tells you when no text was found.
Does it keep the formatting?
Only line breaks and page breaks are kept, with a blank line between pages. Fonts, columns, tables, and images are not preserved, and multi-column layouts may come out in an unexpected order.
Is there a page limit?
There is no fixed page limit; every page is read. Very large PDFs may take a while and depend on your device's memory.
Can I extract text from a password-protected PDF?
No. Password-protected PDFs cannot be opened, and the tool shows an error.
Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. The PDF is read by pdf.js, which runs in your browser along with its worker script and font data loaded from this site. The file itself never leaves your device.