How to extract text from a PDF
- Drop your PDF: the text appears straight away.
- Choose whether to mark the start of each page.
- Copy the text or download it as a .txt file.
Frequently asked questions
Why is no text found?
Your PDF is probably a scanned document or a photo: the pages are images with no text inside. You then need character recognition (OCR) software to get the text back.
Is the layout preserved?
The text is put back in reading order, line by line, with a blank line between paragraphs. Columns and tables are flattened: cells on the same row are separated by spaces.
Can I open the .txt file in Word?
Yes. The file is UTF-8 encoded: accents and special characters display correctly in Word, LibreOffice or Notepad.
Is my PDF uploaded to the internet?
No. The text is read in your browser; the document never leaves your device.
More PDF tools
- Merge PDF: Combine several PDFs into one, in the order you want.
- Split PDF: Extract pages or cut a PDF into several files.
- Organize PDF: Reorder, rotate and delete pages at a glance.
- Sign PDF: Draw or type your signature and place it on the document.
- Compress PDF: Shrink a scanned PDF so you can email it.
- Images to PDF: Turn JPG or PNG photos into a single PDF.
- PDF to JPG: Turn every page of a PDF into an image.
- Rotate PDF: Turn sideways or upside-down scanned pages the right way up.
- Delete PDF pages: Remove the pages you don’t need from a PDF.
- Add page numbers: Add “1, 2, 3…” or “Page 1 of 12” to every page.
- Watermark PDF: “Copy”, “Confidential”… stamped across every page.
- Fill in a PDF form: Fields, text and ticks on any PDF form, even a scanned one.
- Redact a PDF: Permanently black out an IBAN, a name or an address in a PDF.
- Compare two PDFs: Words added and removed between two versions of a PDF.