Everything happens in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

PDF to text

Pull all the text out of a PDF into a plain text file.

How it works

  1. Choose a PDF.
  2. Read the text in the preview, or copy it.
  3. Download it as a .txt file.

Private by design

This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your files are never uploaded to a server, and the page is technically blocked from sending them anywhere.

Security and privacy

Questions and answers

Is my PDF’s text sent anywhere?

No. The text is read out of the PDF by your browser and stays on your device, in the preview and in the file you download.

Why was no text found?

The PDF probably contains scans or photos of pages rather than real text. Run it through OCR PDF to recognize the text first.

Is the layout kept?

No. You get plain text with line breaks. Fonts, tables and images aren’t kept, and text in columns may not come out in reading order.

Can I tell which page the text came from?

Yes. Mark where each page starts is on by default and adds a line such as “--- Page 2 ---” before each page. Turn it off for continuous text.

What file do I get?

A plain .txt file in UTF-8, which opens in any text editor. You can also copy the text straight from the preview.

Does it work with password-protected PDFs?

If the PDF needs a password to open, remove it with Unlock PDF first, then extract the text.

Guides

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