Drop PDFs to get their textAdd PDFs to get their text
Get the text of every page in a plain .txt file, on your device.
or paste with CtrlCommandV PDF
Your files never leave your deviceAbout this tool
Copy all the text out of a PDF
This tool copies all the text out of a PDF into a plain text file in your browser. You get every page in the order a viewer reads it, saved as UTF-8, with a blank line, a page number or a form feed between pages. A scan holds only pictures of text, so it has none. Nothing is sent away.
The text of every page, in one file
You get one .txt file for each PDF, named after it, with the text of every page in the order a viewer would select it. Accents and other languages come out as they are, because the file is saved as UTF-8.
Text comes out as the PDF lays it out: a line of the page is a line of the file. Columns and tables are not rearranged, so a table reads across its rows. Pictures and drawings are not part of text and are left out.
Tell the pages apart your way
By default pages are separated by a blank line. Choose Page numbers to start each page with a line like --- Page 2 of 9 ---, which helps when you need to find where something came from. Choose Form feed to separate pages with the character text tools read as a page break.
Scanned PDFs have no text to copy
A scanned PDF holds a picture of each page, not the words. This tool copies text a PDF holds as text, so for a scan it tells you that its pages look like pictures instead of giving you an empty file. Reading words from pictures isn’t something this tool does yet.
If only some pages are pictures, you get the text of the others, and the row says how many pages had none.
How it works
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Step 1:Add your PDFs
Drop them in or choose them from your device. The first page of each shows in the list.
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Step 2:Choose the page breaks
A blank line, a page number line or a form feed between pages. The default is a blank line.
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Step 3:Press Extract text, then save
You get a text file for each PDF. Save one file, or all of them as a .zip.
Questions, answered
How do I copy all the text from a PDF?
Add the PDF and press Extract text. You get a .txt file with the text of every page, and you can open it in any text editor or paste it anywhere.
Why is my text file empty or missing?
The PDF is probably a scan, which holds pictures of pages and no text. This tool tells you so instead of saving an empty file. Reading text from pictures isn’t something it does yet.
Does it keep the order of the text?
Yes, in the order a PDF viewer selects it: page by page, and line by line as the PDF lays them out. Columns and tables are not rearranged.
What happens to accents and other languages?
They come out as they are. The file is saved as UTF-8, which any modern text editor opens correctly.
Can I get the text of a PDF that doesn’t allow copying?
No. If the author of a PDF doesn’t allow its text to be copied, this tool says so and saves nothing.
Is my PDF sent anywhere to read its text?
No. The text is read by an engine running in your browser, so the PDF never leaves your device and there’s nothing to sign in to.
Pages are separated by a blank line.Pages: blank line
Pages
Pages are separated by a blank line.
What you get
A plain text file for each PDF, saved as UTF-8, with the text of every page in the order a PDF viewer reads it. Lines, tables and columns come out as the PDF lays them out.
Only text the PDF holds as text is copied. A scan is a picture of text, and a PDF made of scans has none.