Convert PDF to text
Copy the text out of a PDF or save it as a TXT file
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Copy the text out of a PDF or save it as a TXT file
Pasting text from a PDF often fails or scrambles it. This tool reads the text out of your PDF and shows it in a box, ready to copy or to download as a plain .txt file. You can pick which pages to read, and add a Page line between pages to keep your place.
If a page has real text in it, the tool takes that text directly, which is fast and exact. If a page is a scan or a photo with no text, it reads the page with OCR (optical character recognition), choosing from English, Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Hindi. The OCR engine and language data are bundled with the page, so nothing is downloaded or uploaded while it works.
There is also a setting to always use OCR and ignore the text already in the PDF, which helps when a file has a hidden text layer that is wrong or garbled. For help with scans, see How to extract text from a scanned document.
Only the words are kept: columns, tables, fonts and images are not, so a table comes out as lines of text. OCR accuracy depends on the scan, and blurry, skewed or low-contrast pages produce mistakes, so read the result before you rely on it.
Extract text is free and needs no account. Your file is processed in your browser and never uploaded.
Yes. Pages with no text layer are read with OCR on your device. Pick every language that appears on the page, and use a sharp, straight scan for the best result.
The text appears in a box where you can edit it. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard, or Download .txt to save a plain text file.
No. Text is read in your browser, and the OCR engine runs from files bundled with the page.