PDF Text Extractor
Pull the selectable text out of a PDF and copy it or download it as a .txt file, handy for quoting, searching or reusing content. Extracted in your browser; nothing is ever uploaded.
How it works
The text layer of each page is read with Mozilla’s PDF.js engine and joined together. Scanned PDFs with no text layer (image-only) will produce little or nothing, those need OCR, which this tool does not do.
Your PDF is read entirely in your browser, nothing is ever uploaded.
What this does
A PDF text extractor pulls the selectable text out of a PDF so you can copy it or save it as a .txt file.
How to use it
- Open your PDF.
- Extract the text.
- Copy it or download a .txt.
How it works
The text layer is read in your browser, so nothing is uploaded. Image-only scans have no text layer and would need OCR, which this tool does not perform.
Understanding your result
You only get the selectable text layer, so a clean digital PDF extracts well but a scanned or image-only document returns little or nothing and would need OCR, which this does not do. Expect the plain text to lose its layout: columns, tables, and headers can come out in an odd reading order, so treat the output as raw text to clean up, not a faithful copy of the page.
Example
A report’s body text copies out ready to quote.
Sources & methodology
Last updated .
Frequently asked questions
Does this work on scanned PDFs?
Only if the PDF has a real text layer. Image-only scans contain no selectable text, so they need OCR, which this tool does not perform.
Can I keep track of page boundaries?
Yes. Leave “Mark page breaks” on to insert a labelled separator between each page’s text.
How do I save the result?
Copy it to the clipboard with one button, or download it as a plain .txt file.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. Everything is calculated locally in your browser.
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