PDF to Text Converter: Extract Text from PDF Documents
PDF to text converter: extract text from any PDF, even copy-protected files. Preview pages, skip scanned ones, edit and save as TXT.
Updated 2026-08-16
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Features
- Extract the text of a PDF in one click (even files where copy and selection are restricted) and get clean, editable text
- Every page gets a thumbnail preview; click to include or skip it, or extract the whole document at once
- Scanned pages are badged “no text layer”, so you can spot image-only pages before extracting
- Pages are joined in reading order, so the output follows your document exactly
- Edit the extracted text in the result box before copying or saving: fix typos, cut sections, reorder
- Live character and page counts show exactly what was extracted
- One-click copy for Word, Google Docs or email, or save as .txt with UTF-8 encoding
- Chinese and accented characters come out intact in the .txt file (optional BOM for Windows Notepad)
- Scanned PDFs are detected and produce a clear warning instead of a blank result, so you know why the text is missing
- Hundreds of pages are handled one at a time with cleanup between pages, so memory stays under control
How to Use
- 1Drag the PDF into the drop zone, or click to browse for the file
- 2Check the page count and file size shown next to the file name
- 3Browse the page preview thumbnails: every page is selected by default; click one to skip it, or use All / None to adjust at once
- 4Pages badged “no text layer” are scans; skip them if you only want real text
- 5Click Extract Text; every selected page is read in order and joined into one text
- 6Review the result; the character count updates live as you read and edit
- 7Fix any mistakes directly in the text box; it is fully editable
- 8Click Copy to paste the text into Word, Google Docs or an email, or Save as .txt to download the file
- 9Keep the BOM option on if you will open the file in Windows Notepad
- 10Example: copy a paper's abstract from a journal PDF, or pull the key clauses of a contract into a checklist
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I convert a PDF to text?
Open the PDF and every page appears as a thumbnail preview, all selected by default. Click a thumbnail to include or skip that page, then click Extract Text. The result can be edited, copied, or saved as a .txt file.
Can I extract text from a scanned PDF?
No. A scanned PDF is made of images and has no text layer, so this tool shows a clear warning instead of a blank result. To get text out of the images you need an OCR tool, or ask the sender for the original digital document.
Why can't I copy text from my PDF?
If copying is restricted by permissions or the text is part of an image, selection is disabled. Extract the PDF with this tool and the text becomes plain text you can select, copy and edit freely. For scans, OCR is needed first.
Can I convert a PDF to editable text?
Yes. The result is plain text you can edit directly in the result box (fix typos, cut sections, reorder paragraphs) before copying it or saving it as a .txt file.
Is the extracted text accurate?
The text is read directly from the PDF's text layer, so words, numbers and punctuation match the document. One caveat: pages with complex spacing may occasionally lose or gain a space, so a quick scan of the result is recommended. Accuracy depends on the original PDF, not on recognition.
Does it work with Chinese PDFs?
Yes. As long as the PDF has a text layer, Chinese text extracts correctly and is saved in UTF-8, so nothing comes out garbled. Only scanned Chinese PDFs fail; those need OCR.
Why does my .txt file show garbled characters in Notepad?
Old Windows Notepad expects a byte-order mark (BOM) to detect UTF-8. Keep the BOM option enabled when saving and the text displays correctly; modern editors read UTF-8 either way.
Can I extract text from only some pages?
Yes. After opening the PDF, each page has a thumbnail preview; click it to select or deselect that page. Everything is selected by default, and the All / None buttons adjust the whole set at once. Only the selected pages are extracted.
Will tables, images and bold formatting be kept?
No. Only the text layer is extracted: images are dropped, bold and colors are not represented, and tables are flattened into rows of text in reading order. For a visual copy of a page, use a PDF-to-image tool instead.
What is the difference between PDF-to-text and OCR?
PDF-to-text reads the text layer already embedded in the PDF: instant and needs no OCR software. OCR (optical character recognition) analyzes images and guesses characters, which is needed only for scanned documents that have no text layer.
Can I convert a PDF to a Word document?
Not directly: this tool extracts plain text, not .docx. The practical paths: copy the extracted text and paste it into Word (fastest for most documents), open the PDF in Word itself (Word 2013+ converts PDFs to editable documents, though complex layouts may shift), or use a dedicated PDF-to-Word converter if you need the layout preserved. For a visually identical copy, use a PDF-to-image tool instead.
Why does my extracted text have broken lines or jumbled order?
Extraction reads the PDF's text layer and follows the stored reading order; physical line breaks, spacing, and multi-column layouts come through as the file encodes them. Long wrapped lines often stay split, and multi-column pages can interleave in odd ways. The result box is fully editable, so fix line joins there before copying. If the layout is complex (newsletters, brochures), a PDF-to-image conversion preserves the visual arrangement better than any text extraction can.
Can I extract text from a PDF with hundreds of pages?
Yes. Pages are processed one at a time and the document is released afterwards, so memory usage stays controlled even for very large files. If you only need part of the document, tick the relevant thumbnails in the page preview to make it faster.
The tool says there is no text layer. What does that mean?
It means the PDF contains only images (typically a scan of a printed page), so the text cannot be selected or copied. Such pages are badged “no text layer” in the page preview, so you can see at a glance which pages will extract as empty. Use an OCR tool to recognize the text in the images, or request the original digital document.
Can I use this tool on my phone?
Yes. The tool is fully responsive: open the page on your phone, select the PDF, and extract. The text area works with the mobile keyboard, and the .txt file saves straight to your device.