Extract text
Pull the words out of a PDF as plain text. Nothing is uploaded: the work happens on this device.
About Extract text
Pulls the words out of a PDF as plain text, page by page, ready to copy or search. A scan has pictures of words, not words, so make it searchable first with Make searchable.
How to use it
- Add one PDF or several, and unlock any that ask for a password.
- Press Extract the text.
- Save the .txt file, or open it and copy what you need.
Good to know
The text file holds the words in reading order, with a line marking where each page starts, so a quote can be traced back to its page. Bold, sizes, columns and tables are not kept: this is the words alone, which is what you want for pasting into an email, a message or a search.
Plain text opens anywhere, on any phone or computer, and is tiny compared with the PDF. It is also the easiest form for a screen reader, or for pasting a long document into a translator of your choice.
If a file gives no words, it is almost certainly a scan or a photo, and the tool says so instead of saving an empty file. Make it searchable first, then extract. Every PDF you add gets its own .txt file, named after it.
Questions people ask
Why is the text empty?
The PDF is probably a scan. Run Make searchable on it first.
Want headings and tables kept?
Use PDF to Word instead.
Can I extract several files at once?
Yes. Add them all; each gives its own .txt, and Save all saves them together.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The words are read out of the file in your browser, on your device.
Does it work with Malayalam or Hindi text?
Yes, where the PDF holds real text in those scripts. Some older PDFs store such text in ways that copy out garbled; that is the file, not the tool.