PDF to Text
NewExtract the text of a PDF as plain text or Markdown.
How to use the PDF to Text
- 1Drop a PDF and choose all pages or a page range.
- 2Pick flowing reading order or keep the layout with columns and tables, and remove running headers, footers and page numbers.
- 3Copy the text or download it as a TXT or Markdown file, in one file or one per page.
About PDF to Text
PDF to Text extracts the text layer of a PDF and gives it to you as plain text or Markdown. You can extract text from all pages or from a page range, and choose between two layouts: reading order, which produces flowing paragraphs that are easy to edit, or keep layout, which places the text on a fixed-width grid so columns, tables and indentation stay where they were on the page.
In reading order, the lines of a paragraph can be joined and words hyphenated at the end of a line rejoined. Running headers, footers and bare page numbers that repeat across pages can be removed automatically. The result appears in a preview, page by page; copy it to the clipboard or download it as a TXT or Markdown file, either as one file with optional page break markers or as one file per page.
This PDF text extractor helps when you need to copy text from a PDF that is awkward to select, reuse a report in a word processor, feed a document into a search index or a language model, or quote from a paper. It needs a real text layer, since scanned pages contain only images. The text is read with PDF.js in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the extracted text empty?
The PDF is probably a scan or photo. Its pages are images without a text layer, so there is no text to extract. Reading text from images (OCR) is not part of this tool.
What is the difference between reading order and keep layout?
Reading order gives flowing paragraphs that are easy to edit and paste. Keep layout places the text on a fixed-width grid, so columns, tables and indentation stay where they were on the page.
How are headers and footers detected?
Lines in the top and bottom margin that repeat on at least half of the pages are removed, ignoring changing numbers such as page numbers. Bare page numbers like “12” or “Page 3 of 10” are removed too. Turn the option off if it removes something you need.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The text is read by PDF.js in your browser and never leaves your device.
More in PDF Tools
Combine several PDF files into one document.
Extract pages or split a PDF into several files.
Reorder, rotate and delete PDF pages visually.