PDF to Text
Extract the text from a PDF online: copy it or download it as a .txt file, page by page, with lines and paragraphs kept. Free and private, nothing is uploaded.
What it does
This tool reads the text of a PDF and gives it back as plain text that you can copy, edit or save as a .txt file. Lines and paragraphs are rebuilt from the position of the words on the page, and the pages can be marked so you know where each one starts. It works with any PDF that contains real text, such as documents exported from a word processor; scanned pages are images and have no text to extract.
How to use it
- Choose the PDF.
- Press Extract text. Long documents take a few seconds.
- Copy the text or download it as a .txt file.
Frequently asked questions
Why is no text found in my PDF?
Because the pages are images, as in a scanned document or a photo saved as PDF. In that case the PDF has no text inside, only pixels, and reading it requires character recognition (OCR).
Is the layout kept?
The text keeps its lines and paragraphs, but not fonts, columns or images. In documents with two columns, the text of each line may mix both columns; tables become lines of text with spaces between the cells.
Is my document safe?
Yes. The PDF is read by your browser and is never sent to a server, so the tool can be used with private documents.
Does it work with any language?
Yes, as long as the PDF contains real text and its fonts map the characters correctly. Some old or badly made PDFs show correct text on screen but give garbled characters when the text is extracted; that is a problem of the file, and only OCR can recover it.