PDF to Text
Upload a PDF to extract its text content, then copy it or download it as a plain .txt file.
Choose PDF
or drag and drop it here
Choose a PDF file to extract its text.
Your files are processed locally in your browser. They are not uploaded to our servers.
How to use
- Choose a PDF file — its text is extracted automatically.
- Review the extracted text, organized page by page.
- Click Copy, or download it as a .txt file.
What is this tool?
PDF to Text uses pdfjs-dist's built-in text extraction to read the actual text layer of a PDF, page by page, and displays it as plain text. It only works on PDFs that already contain selectable text — scanned image-only PDFs have no text layer to extract. Everything happens locally in your browser.
Common uses
- Pulling a paragraph out of a PDF to paste elsewhere
- Getting a plain-text version of a report for search or archiving
- Extracting text before running it through another text tool
- Checking whether a PDF's text is actually selectable
Related tools
FAQ
Why is the extracted text empty for my PDF?
If a PDF was created from scanned pages or images, it has no text layer — only pixels. This tool can't extract text that was never encoded as text in the first place.
Does this preserve the original formatting?
No, it extracts plain text in reading order. Columns, tables and complex layouts may come out in an unexpected order.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No, the text is extracted entirely in your browser using pdfjs-dist — your file is never sent anywhere.