Extract selectable text from all PDF pages or a chosen page range, then search, copy, clean, or download the result as TXT. Image-only scans need OCR first.
PDF to Text
Extract selectable text from all PDF pages or a chosen page range, then search, copy, clean, or download the result as TXT. Image-only scans need OCR first.
About PDF to Text
Extracts text that already exists in the PDF
The tool reads the PDF page by page in your browser and collects selectable text into a plain text result. You can process the whole file or limit the extraction to a start and end page when only part of the document is needed.
Scanned pages need OCR first
If a PDF is only an image scan and does not contain embedded text, the result may be empty. For that case, export or capture the page as an image and use Image OCR before copying the recognized text.
FAQ
Common questions and answers about this topic.
How do I extract text from a PDF?
Choose a PDF and the tool starts extracting text already embedded in the file. Leave Extract all pages selected to process the whole document, or enter a start and end page for a smaller range. The result keeps each page linked to its original PDF page number.
Can this tool extract text from a scanned or image-only PDF?
Not unless the PDF already contains an OCR text layer. An image-only page has no embedded text for this tool to read, so the result may be empty. Export or capture that page as an image and use Image OCR to recognize the text first.
Can I extract text from only selected PDF pages?
Yes. Turn off Extract all pages and enter the first and last page you need. The tool extracts every page in that continuous range and keeps the original page numbers in the result. It does not combine separate, non-consecutive ranges in one pass.
Does PDF to text preserve the original layout, tables, and images?
No. The output is plain text collected in the order supplied by the PDF. It does not preserve fonts, images, table cells, columns, or the visual page layout, so text from complex multi-column documents may appear in a different order.
Can I search, copy, or download the extracted PDF text?
Yes. Search runs across the extracted pages and lets you move to matching pages. You can copy the current page, copy the full document, or download the currently selected Original or Cleaned version as a TXT file.
What is the difference between Original and Cleaned text?
Original keeps the extracted text unchanged. Cleaned only normalizes line endings, removes ordinary spaces at line ends and trims excess blank lines. It does not rewrite wording, use OCR or AI, reconstruct columns, or convert the result to Markdown, and you can switch back to Original at any time.