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PDF to Text

Extract plain text content from PDF files

How to Use PDF to Text

  1. Open PDF to Text above — it loads instantly, no signup or download required.
  2. Provide your input (paste text, drop a file, or type directly into the tool).
  3. Get your result instantly — everything is processed locally in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
  4. Copy or download the output. Refresh the page to clear all data from memory.

About PDF to Text

What this page solves

Copying text from a PDF usually means uploading it to a converter, or fighting with a broken selection layer in a viewer. This tool extracts the raw text stream client-side using pdf.js.

PDF to Text pulls the text stream out of a PDF using `pdf.js`'s `getTextContent` API — the same engine Firefox ships with — so you get selectable, copyable, searchable text in seconds without uploading a single byte. It preserves reading order per page, keeps line breaks where the PDF author intended them, and lets you copy the full document or download a `.txt` file ready to paste into ChatGPT, Google Translate, a CRM notes field, or a Word document. It is aimed at the workflows PDF viewers make painful: extracting a 40-page contract for LLM summarization, pulling quotes out of a research paper for a literature review, converting a resume PDF back to editable text, or dumping meeting minutes into a searchable notes app. Note: scanned PDFs (image-only pages with no text layer) will not extract — those need OCR first via the Image to Text OCR tool. For clean PDFs, pair this with the Word Counter for instant length analysis. Runs entirely in your browser — no upload, no signup, no logs.

Common Use Cases

  • Extract a contract to feed into ChatGPT for a plain-English summary
  • Pull quotes from a research paper into a literature review
  • Convert a resume PDF back to editable text for tailoring to a job
  • Dump meeting-minute PDFs into a searchable notes system like Notion
  • Grab tabular data from a report to paste into Excel or Google Sheets

Related tools in PDF Tools

See all PDF Tools.

Frequently asked questions

How to use PDF to Text?

1) Open the tool. 2) Enter or upload your input. 3) Get your result instantly. Everything happens locally — nothing is uploaded.

When should I use PDF to Text?

Use it when you need the actual text — to paste into a translator, feed into an LLM prompt, search across contracts, or re-flow a report into a Word doc.

Is PDF to Text safe?

Yes. PDF to Text runs 100% in your browser. Inputs are never uploaded, stored, or logged — safe for confidential content.

Will quality be affected by PDF to Text?

No quality loss for text and vector content. Embedded images keep their original resolution unless you compress them.

What formats does PDF to Text support?

PDF to Text supports PDF (any version), with import/export to JPG, PNG and TXT in related tools

Is PDF to Text free?

Yes — PDF to Text is completely free, with no registration, no watermarks, and no usage limits.

Does it work on scanned PDFs?

No — scanned PDFs are just images with no text layer. Extract each page as an image first with [LINK:PDF to JPG|/tool/pdf-to-jpg], then run each through [LINK:Image to Text OCR|/tool/image-to-text].

Will it preserve tables?

Rows are preserved as lines, but column structure depends on how the PDF encodes spacing. Simple invoice-style tables usually paste cleanly into Sheets; complex multi-column PDFs may need manual cleanup.

How large a PDF can it handle?

PDFs up to ~200 pages extract in a few seconds on a modern laptop. Beyond that, memory pressure grows — process in chunks if the tab becomes unresponsive.

Are passwords supported?

You can enter the open-password when prompted; extraction runs locally after the PDF is unlocked in memory. The password is never sent anywhere.