PDF to Text

About PDF to Text Converter

This tool extracts text content from PDF files. You can extract text from all pages or specific pages. The extracted text can be copied to clipboard or downloaded as a TXT file. All processing happens in your browser for complete privacy. See also our PDF to Image and Password Protect PDF.

What types of PDFs are supported?

This tool works best with text-based PDFs that contain selectable text. It may not work well with scanned PDFs (images) that do not have text layers. For scanned PDFs, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) would be needed.

Can I extract text from specific pages only?

Yes! You can choose to extract text from all pages or specify particular pages using ranges like 1-3, 5, 7-10 or individual page numbers like 1,2,3,5.

Is the formatting preserved?

You choose. Smart layout mode (default) rebuilds real line and paragraph breaks from the PDF's positional data, so output stays usable for copy-paste into code, contracts, or data files. Raw text stream mode returns one continuous run of text with single spaces, ideal for re-flowing or full-text search. Neither mode reconstructs complex tables, multi-column layouts, or fonts perfectly.

What is the difference between Smart layout and Raw text stream?

Smart layout reads each text item's vertical position (the transform matrix) and end-of-line flags to insert real line breaks, keeping the document's line and paragraph structure. Raw text stream concatenates every text fragment with a single space into one continuous block, which suits search indexing or when you plan to re-wrap the text yourself.

How accurate is extraction for technical or multi-column documents?

Accuracy depends on how the PDF embeds its text layer. Smart layout handles single-column invoices, contracts, lab reports, and spec sheets very well. Multi-column pages and complex tables may interleave or reorder text because PDFs store fragments by position, not reading order. For those cases, extract by page range and review column boundaries manually.

What is the file size limit?

The maximum file size is 50MB. This ensures smooth performance in your browser. For larger files, consider using desktop PDF software.

Can I copy the extracted text?

Yes! You can copy all extracted text to your clipboard with one click using the Copy Text button, or manually select and copy specific portions.

Can I download the text?

Yes! You can download the extracted text as a .txt file using the Download as TXT button. The file will be saved with UTF-8 encoding.

Is my PDF file safe?

Absolutely! All text extraction happens directly in your browser. Your PDF file is never uploaded to any server. Everything stays private on your device.

Why does my scanned PDF return no text?

A scanned PDF is a picture of a page, not a text layer, so there are no characters to extract. This tool reads the embedded text layer only; it does not perform OCR (Optical Character Recognition). To get text from scans or photos, run them through a dedicated OCR tool first, then extract.

Can I extract text from encrypted or password-protected PDFs?

PDFs encrypted with an open password cannot be parsed until the password is supplied, so extraction will fail in the browser. Remove or unlock the password with the source application first, then load the unprotected file here. PDFs that only restrict printing or editing (owner password) usually still expose their text layer and work fine.