What is PDF?
A layout format: text lives in positioned runs with fonts and geometry, great for printing, awkward for reuse.
PDF to Text
Extract selectable PDF text to a text file
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PDF to Text
Drop your files here
or click to browse
No files yet. Add files to get started.
How to convert a PDF to text
Add your PDF
Drop one PDF onto the page, or click to browse. Encrypted PDFs are rejected up front.
Extract the text
Click Convert — the text layer is read in your browser. If the PDF is a scan with no text layer, the result will be empty; use OCR for that.
Download the TXT file
Download a plain UTF-8 .txt file, named after your PDF.
Frequently asked questions
Does this work on scanned PDFs?
No — and we say so up front. This tool extracts the PDF’s existing text layer; a scan is a picture of text with no layer to extract. For scans, use our OCR tool, which recognizes text from images.
Do I have to upload my PDF?
No. Extraction runs entirely in your browser — the file never leaves your device.
Is the layout preserved?
The reading order of the text is preserved; precise columns, tables and fonts are not. TXT has no formatting — you get the words and their order, which is what search, quoting and indexing need.
What about password-protected PDFs?
Encrypted (password-protected) PDFs are rejected — the tool does not ask for or handle passwords.
What are the limits?
Files up to 25 MB and 200 pages.
PDF text layer vs OCR
Here is what each format is for, and when converting a PDF to plain text is the right move.
What is Plain text (TXT)?
Just characters in order, UTF-8 encoded. No fonts, no columns, no images — universally readable and trivially searchable.
When you need it
Convert to text for quoting, indexing, feeding a search box or a script, or getting words out without the layout. The text must exist as a layer; if your PDF is a scan, OCR is the tool that can actually read the pictures of letters.