How to extract text from a PDF
- Drop your PDF into the box, or click to choose it.
- The text appears in reading order, with paragraphs and lists kept. You can edit it in the box.
- Click Copy text or Download .txt.
Better than copy and paste
Copying straight from a PDF often gives a line break after every line, words split by hyphens, or text in the wrong order. This tool reads each page's text layout and rebuilds it: lines are joined into paragraphs, hyphenated words are re-joined, bullet lists are kept and pages are separated with a blank line.
Need more than plain text?
- Keep headings and bold text with PDF to Word.
- Publish it online with PDF to HTML.
- Count words and characters with the Word Counter.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I copy text from my PDF normally?
Some PDFs scatter text into many small pieces, so copying gives broken lines. This tool rebuilds lines into paragraphs in reading order and re-joins hyphenated words.
My result is empty — why?
The PDF is a scan: pictures of pages with no real text. Use our Image to Text (OCR) tool to recognise it.
Is my file uploaded?
No. Text is extracted in your browser on your own device.