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PDF to Text

To get the text out of a PDF, add it, choose whether to keep page markers and the original line breaks, then copy the text or download a .txt file. Joining lines gives flowing paragraphs that paste cleanly elsewhere. A scanned PDF has no text layer, so use the OCR tool instead. Nothing is uploaded.

Files never leave your device

Updated

How to use PDF to Text

  1. 1Add your PDF.
  2. 2Wait a moment while each page is read.
  3. 3Choose whether to keep page-break markers and original line breaks.
  4. 4Copy the text, or download it as a .txt file.

How it works

Each page's text fragments are read along with their positions, grouped into lines, and joined in reading order. Two options change how the output is assembled: page markers insert a labelled divider between pages, and line-break handling decides whether the PDF's visual line endings are kept or whether lines are joined back into flowing paragraphs.

Joining lines into paragraphs is the better choice when you want to paste the text somewhere else, because PDFs break lines to fit the page, not to mark the end of a sentence. Keeping the original breaks is better for poetry, code listings and address blocks.

The file is read into your browser's memory, changed there, and handed straight back to you. Nothing is uploaded, so there is no queue and no copy sitting on a server afterwards.

Tips and common mistakes

  • Turn on line joining when you are pasting the text into an email or a document; PDFs break lines to fit the page, not to end sentences.
  • Keep the original line breaks for poetry, code listings and address blocks, where they matter.
  • Use page markers when you will need to quote page numbers later.
  • With a two-column layout, check the order of the paragraphs — the PDF has no marker for where one column ends.

Frequently asked questions

Nothing was extracted from my PDF. What now?
Your PDF is almost certainly a scan — an image of a page with no text layer. Use the Image to Text (OCR) tool, which recognises words in pictures.
Why is the text in a strange order?
Text is read in the order the document stores it, arranged by position. Multi-column layouts sometimes interleave, because the PDF has no marker saying where one column ends.
Can I extract text from just a few pages?
The whole document is extracted at once, but the output is grouped by page, so you can copy the section you need.
Does the text keep its formatting?
No. The result is plain text: no bold, fonts or layout. For an editable document with paragraphs, use PDF to Word.
What happens to tables?
Their contents come out as lines of text. To keep the rows and columns, use PDF to Excel.
Is there a size limit?
No fixed limit. The pages are read on your own device, so a very long document simply takes a little longer.
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