PDF to Text

Extract all the selectable text from a PDF. Preview, copy, or download as a .txt file — 100% in your browser.

Overview

PDF to Text pulls the selectable text out of a PDF and hands it back as plain text, entirely in your browser. It extracts page by page with pdf.js, reconstructs line breaks from the text layout, and shows word and character counts so you can see what you got. Copy the result to your clipboard or download it as a UTF-8 .txt file. Because everything runs client-side, your document never leaves your device — and if a PDF is a scan with no real text, the tool tells you so you can reach for OCR instead.

Key Features

  • Extract all selectable text
  • Live preview of the result
  • Copy to clipboard or download .txt
  • Word and character counts
  • No upload — fully private

Common Use Cases

  • Quoting from a Document — Grab a passage from a report or article without retyping it or fighting a locked PDF viewer.
  • Feeding Text to Other Tools — Extract PDF content to paste into a translator, summarizer, or note-taking app.
  • Repurposing Content — Pull the body text out of a PDF to reuse in a blog post, email, or document.
  • Accessibility & Search — Get a plain-text version of a PDF that's easy to read with a screen reader or search through.
  • Data Extraction — Export the raw text of invoices or statements as a starting point for further parsing.

How It Works
1

Open your PDF

Drop your PDF and its text is extracted in your browser, page by page.

2

Review the text

Preview the extracted text with word and character counts.

3

Copy or download

Copy the text to your clipboard or download it as a .txt file — nothing is uploaded.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this work on scanned PDFs?
Only if the PDF contains real, selectable text. A scanned document is just an image of text, so nothing can be extracted — you'd need an OCR tool for that. This tool tells you when no selectable text is found.

Is the layout preserved?
Line breaks are reconstructed from the text positions so the result reads naturally, but complex multi-column layouts and tables are flattened into linear text. Pages are separated in the output.

Are my files uploaded?
No. Text extraction runs entirely in your browser with pdf.js, so your PDF never leaves your device — safe for confidential documents.

Can I extract text from a password-protected PDF?
You'll need to unlock it first with the password. Once unlocked, its text can be extracted normally.

What encoding is the .txt file?
The downloaded file is UTF-8, so accented characters and non-Latin scripts are preserved correctly.

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