Copy selectable text from a PDF
Read the existing text layer in a PDF and save it as a plain TXT file. This is fast for digitally created PDFs and does not run optical character recognition.
How to use Extract Text from PDF
- Choose a text-based PDF.
- Select Extract text.
- Download the page-labelled TXT result.
Text extraction versus OCR
If the result is empty or incomplete, the PDF probably contains scanned images rather than a text layer. Use PDF OCR for a small scan instead.
Frequently asked questions
Why is no text found?
Scanned PDFs may contain only images and therefore need OCR.
Is the original formatting preserved?
No. The output is plain text organized by page.
Can it read password-protected PDFs?
Encrypted PDFs must be unlocked before text can be extracted.