PDF to Text
Get the text out of a PDF as a plain .txt file.
When to use it
Use it to reuse the text of a report, article or contract in another program, or to search and quote it.
How it works
- Choose your files, or drop them onto the box above. You can add several at once.
- The text the PDF already contains is read line by line, in reading order, with paragraphs separated. Right-to-left lines stay in the right order.
- Press the Extract text button.
- Download the result, or add a next step without downloading.
Supported formats
- Input
- Output
- TXT
- Files
- One or several; each file is processed on its own
Several results can be downloaded one by one or together as a ZIP.
Where your file goes
This tool runs in your browser: the file is processed on your device and is not uploaded. The Network tab of your browser's developer tools shows this.
What is kept, and what is not
Only the text is kept — no images, fonts or layout. A scanned PDF has no text inside; use OCR for scans.
Limits
- Tables come out as lines of text, not as columns. For tables, use PDF to Excel.
- Files up to 512 MB each.
- PDF documents up to 5,000 pages.
- The work happens in your device's memory, so a phone may fail on a file that a computer handles.
If something goes wrong
The text file is empty
The PDF is probably a scan, which holds pictures of text rather than text. Use OCR PDF or Image to Text instead.
The PDF asks for a password
Remove the password first with Unlock PDF (you need to know it), then try again.
The page becomes slow with a very large file
Close other tabs, or use a computer instead of a phone.
My file is not accepted
Check the formats listed above. A damaged file, or one with the wrong extension, is refused with a message saying why.
Questions
Is the reading order kept?
Lines are read in reading order and paragraphs are separated, including right-to-left lines.
Can I see where each page starts?
Yes. Switch on the page markers option to add a marker at the start of every page.