PDF to Text Converter
Drop a PDF and get its text back as plain, editable text, page by page. Copy a single page, copy everything or save it as a .txt file, all inside your browser.
Pages
Each page will be listed here with its own Copy button.
How to use the PDF to Text Converter
- Choose a PDF by dropping it into the box or clicking to browse.
- Optionally set a page range and choose whether to add page markers or join hyphenated words.
- Press Extract text. Each page appears in its own panel and the combined text fills the big box.
- Copy or download: copy one page, copy everything, or download the whole text as a .txt file.
What text can be extracted from a PDF?
A PDF can hold its words in two very different ways, and that decides what this converter can do:
| PDF type | How it was made | Text extraction |
|---|---|---|
| Digital (text) PDF | Exported from Word, Google Docs, a browser or an invoicing app | Works: the exact characters are stored in the file |
| Searchable scan | Scanned, then processed with OCR | Works: the hidden OCR text layer is read |
| Image-only scan | Scanner or phone camera, no OCR | No text: the page is a picture of letters |
| Mixed | Digital pages with inserted scans | Text pages work, scanned pages come out empty |
A quick test: open the PDF in any viewer and try to select a word with the mouse. If you can highlight it, this tool can extract it.
How the text is rebuilt
Inside a PDF, text is not stored as sentences but as many small fragments, each placed at an exact x and y position on the page. The converter reads those fragments with pdf.js and puts them back together:
- New line when the next fragment sits more than about half a line height lower or higher than the previous one.
- Blank line (a paragraph break) when the vertical gap is larger than roughly two line heights.
- Space between fragments on the same line when there is a visible horizontal gap and neither side already has one.
- Hyphen joining (optional): a word split like
exam-/pleat a line end becomesexample.
Page range examples
| You type | Pages extracted (in a 12-page PDF) |
|---|---|
3 | 3 |
1-4 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
1-3, 7, 10-12 | 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 12 |
9- | 9 to the last page (9, 10, 11, 12) |
-2 | The first two pages |
Pages are always output in page order, and duplicates are ignored, so 5, 2, 2-3 gives pages 2, 3 and 5.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the extracted text empty for some pages?
Those pages are most likely scanned images, so there is no text layer to read. This tool reads the real text inside the PDF; scanned pages need OCR (optical character recognition) software to turn the picture of letters into text.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. The PDF is opened and read by pdf.js running in your browser. The file and its text never leave your device, so it is safe for contracts, statements and other private documents.
Does it keep the formatting?
It keeps line breaks and blank lines between paragraphs, which is what plain text can hold. Fonts, colours, images and tables are not kept; table cells come out as text separated by spaces. Use PDF to Word if you need the layout.
Can it open password-protected PDFs?
Yes, if you know the password. The tool asks for it, and the PDF is decrypted locally in your browser. PDFs that only restrict copying usually open without a password.
Why do some words appear broken or in the wrong order?
PDFs store text as positioned fragments, not as sentences. Most files come out in reading order, but multi-column layouts, rotated text or unusual fonts can mix the order. Ticking Join hyphenated words fixes words split at line ends.
Is there a size limit?
There is no fixed limit. Files of a few hundred pages work fine on a typical computer; very large files simply take longer because every page is processed on your device.