Extract Text from PDF

New

Extract all text content from a PDF file

PDF Tools

How to Use Extract Text from PDF

  1. 1Upload a PDF with a text layer
  2. 2Click Extract Text
  3. 3Read or copy the extracted text
  4. 4Optionally download as .txt

About Extract Text from PDF

Extract Text from PDF uses PDF.js to read the text layer of your PDF and extract all readable content. Results are shown page by page. Copy or download as a .txt file.

Key Features of Extract Text from PDF

  • Fast and accurate Extract Text processing
  • No installation required — works in browser
  • Free to use with no limitations
  • Privacy-focused — data never leaves your device
  • Mobile and desktop compatible
  • Instant results with live preview
  • Works on PDFs from Word, Google Docs, and other text-based sources
  • No account or installation required

Supported Formats

Input Formats

PDF (with embedded text layer)

Output Formats

Plain text (.txt, UTF-8)

Scanned PDFs contain image pages with no text layer — they produce empty output. OCR is not supported.

Examples

Extract text from a multi-page report

Get all readable text content from a PDF report for further editing or analysis.

Input

Multi-page PDF report with a text layer

Output

Full plain text output, page by page, ready to copy or download

Copy content from a non-editable PDF

Extract text from a PDF where direct copy-paste is blocked or unreliable.

Input

Non-editable PDF with a text layer

Output

Extracted plain text ready to paste into a word processor

Common Use Cases

  • Professional Extract Text tasks
  • Quick everyday calculations
  • Educational purposes and learning
  • Business and workplace productivity
  • Personal projects and hobbies
  • Quickly reading PDF content without opening a full PDF viewer

Troubleshooting

Unexpected results

Solution

Double-check your input format and ensure all required fields are filled correctly.

Tool not working

Solution

Clear browser cache and refresh. Ensure JavaScript is enabled.

Line breaks appear in unexpected places

Solution

PDF text extraction reads characters by their position on the page. The extracted structure may differ from the visual layout in the PDF.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it work on scanned PDFs?

No. Scanned PDFs contain images with no text layer. OCR support may be added in future.

Is my PDF uploaded?

No. PDF.js extracts text locally in your browser.

What text encoding is used in the output file?

The downloaded .txt file is encoded in UTF-8, which supports all languages and special characters. It is compatible with any text editor, code editor, or word processor.

Can I extract text from a specific page only?

All pages are extracted at once. The output is organized page by page, so you can scroll to the section you need and copy only the relevant text. Page-range selection may be added in a future update.

Why is the extracted text garbled or shows strange characters?

PDFs with custom font encodings, symbol fonts, or non-standard character mappings may produce garbled text. This is a known limitation of PDF text extraction — the characters exist in the PDF but their Unicode mapping is non-standard.

Does extracted text preserve bold and italic formatting?

No. Plain text output contains only character content — rich formatting such as bold, italic, font size, colors, and layout are not preserved. All text appears as unstyled UTF-8 characters.

Can I extract text from a password-protected PDF?

No. The PDF must be unlocked before text can be extracted. Use the Unlock PDF tool to remove the password, then extract the text from the resulting unprotected file.

Is there a page limit?

There is no enforced page limit. Very long PDFs — hundreds of pages — may take a few extra seconds to process in the browser, but all pages will be extracted successfully.