Skip to content
ToolForUser
  • Image CompressorImage Tools · Make photos and graphics smaller by re-encoding them as JPG or WebP, with a quality slider and optional downscaling.
  • Image ResizerImage Tools · Change the width and height of an image in pixels or by percentage, with high-quality downscaling.
  • Image ConverterImage Tools · Change the format of one or many images to JPG, PNG or WebP, with control over quality and transparency.
  • Image CropperImage Tools · Cut out part of an image with a draggable selection, aspect ratio presets and exact pixel inputs.
  • Rotate & Flip ImageImage Tools · Turn a picture by 90° or 180° and mirror it horizontally or vertically, with a live preview.
  • EXIF Viewer & RemoverImage Tools · View the EXIF data in a photo – camera, date and location – and remove all of it or only the GPS position, without losing quality.
  • HEIC to JPGImage Tools · Turn HEIC and HEIF photos from iPhones and iPads into JPG or PNG files that open everywhere.
  • Blur & Pixelate ImageImage Tools · Hide faces, names, number plates and other details in a photo with pixelation, blur or a solid box.
  • Favicon GeneratorImage Tools · Make a complete favicon set – ICO, PNG icons and web manifest – from an image, text or an emoji.
  • Image MergerImage Tools · Put several pictures together in one image: side by side, one above the other or in a grid, with an optional gap and background.
  • Image Color PickerImage Tools · Click a picture to get the HEX, RGB and HSL code of any pixel, and see its main colors as a palette.
  • Merge PDFPDF Tools · Combine several PDF files into one document, in the order you choose, with optional page ranges per file.

PDF to Text

Copy the text out of a PDF or save it as a .txt file, from all pages or a range, without uploading the file.

Runs locally in your browser – your data is not uploaded

Loading tool…

About the PDF to Text

PDF to Text takes the text out of a PDF so you can copy it into an email, a document or a translation tool, or keep it as a plain .txt file. Choose all pages or just the ones you need, and the text appears page by page, with a mark where each page starts.

The text is read from the PDF itself: the words and their positions on the page, put back into lines and paragraphs. This works for PDFs made from documents, web pages, slides and forms, in any language, including Korean, Japanese and Chinese.

A scanned page is different: there the text is only a picture of letters, with no text data behind it. This tool does not do OCR, so it tells you when a PDF has no text to extract. The file is read in your browser and is never uploaded.

How to use it

  1. Choose a PDF or drop it on the page.
  2. Keep "All pages", or choose "Custom" and type the pages to read, such as 1-3, 7.
  3. Leave "Mark where each page starts" on to see a line such as "— Page 3 —" before every page, or turn it off for one continuous text.
  4. Press "Extract text". Long documents show their progress and can be cancelled.
  5. Copy the text from the box or press "Download .txt" to save it.

Features

  • Lines and paragraphs: Pieces of text are put back into lines in the order of the file, with spaces between words and a blank line between paragraphs.
  • Any language: Text in Korean, Japanese, Chinese and other scripts is read with the fonts embedded in the PDF.
  • Page ranges: Read the whole document or only the pages you type, in the order of the document.
  • Copy or download: Copy the result in one click or save it as a UTF-8 .txt file named after the PDF.
  • Private: The PDF is read in your browser. It is not uploaded or stored.

Examples

Quoting a report

Read pages 4 to 6 of a report and copy a paragraph into your notes.

Counting words

Extract a paper and paste it into a word counter to check its length.

Translating a manual

Save the text of a manual as .txt and paste it into a translation tool.

Limitations and notes

  • Scanned PDFs and photos of pages have no text to extract; this tool does not do OCR.
  • Tables, text in several columns and vertical writing are not laid out as on the page; the text follows the order of the file.
  • Some PDFs store their letters without saying which characters they are, and their text comes out garbled.
  • Password-protected PDFs cannot be opened.
  • Very large PDFs take a while and need memory, as every page is read in the browser.

Frequently asked questions

Why does it say no text was found?

The PDF has no text data, which is usual for scanned documents and photos of pages: their text is only a picture. Text in such PDFs needs OCR, which this tool does not do.

Can I extract text from only some pages?

Yes. Choose "Custom" and type the pages, such as 1-3, 5 or 8- for page 8 to the end.

Does it keep the layout of tables and columns?

No. The text comes out line by line in the order it is stored in the PDF, which usually reads well but does not keep tables or columns side by side.

Does it work for Korean or Japanese PDFs?

Yes. Text in any script is read, as long as the PDF has text data rather than pictures of text.

Is my PDF uploaded?

No. The file is read and the text extracted in your browser; nothing is sent to a server.

More free tools