PDF Text Extractor
Extract selectable text from PDF files. Free, no signup, no upload.
How It Works
Select a PDF and click Extract Text. The tool reads the embedded text layer from each page using pdf.js. You can copy text per page or all at once, or download it as a .txt file. No file is ever uploaded to a server.
Limitations
This tool extracts selectable text that is embedded in the PDF. Scanned documents or image-only PDFs will not produce text because they lack a text layer. For those, a dedicated OCR tool is required. Layout details such as columns, tables, and fonts are not preserved — you get the raw text.
What You Can Do with Extracted Text
Once the text is out of the PDF, it is easy to reuse. Common uses include copying a quote or clause into an email, pasting a report's body into a word processor, feeding notes into a search or translation tool, or saving a plain-text archive of a document. If you would rather keep headings and structure, try the PDF to Markdown tool instead, which converts the content into formatted Markdown.
Extract Text From Large PDFs Without Uploading
Text extraction is often run over exactly the documents that should not be handed to a third party: contracts, research under embargo, patient notes. Here the parsing happens in the browser, so the text is pulled out on your device and stays there.
There is no page-count tier and no upload cap, which is the difference that shows up on long documents — a 600-page report extracts the same way a two-page letter does, bounded only by your device's memory.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I extract text from a PDF?
Select your PDF and click Extract Text. The tool reads the embedded text from every page and shows it in editable boxes. You can copy one page, copy all pages, or download everything as a .txt file. No file is uploaded.
Why does my PDF show no text or say OCR is required?
This tool reads the selectable text layer embedded in a PDF. Scanned documents and image-only PDFs have no such layer, so nothing can be extracted. Those need optical character recognition (OCR), which this tool does not perform.
Can I download the extracted text as a file?
Yes. Click Download .txt to save all extracted pages as a single plain-text file named after your PDF. Each page is separated by a labeled marker so you can tell the pages apart.
Does it keep the original formatting, tables, or images?
No. Extraction returns the raw text content only. Layout such as columns, tables, fonts, and images is not preserved, and the tool reports how many of the pages actually contained text.
Is my PDF uploaded when I extract text?
No. The PDF is read locally in your browser using the pdf.js library, so the file and its text never leave your device, which keeps confidential documents private.
Can I extract text from a very large PDF?
Yes. There is no page or size limit imposed. Long documents are constrained only by your browser's available memory, and extraction runs locally so nothing is uploaded regardless of length.
Is a signup required to extract text?
No. No account, no email step, and no cap on how many documents you can process.