Extract PDF Text
Pull the text out of a PDF page by page to copy or save. Runs in your browser with no upload.
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Extract PDF Text: complete guide
Walk through the steps and examples, or jump straight to the topic you need.
At a glance
- Supported files
- One PDF, up to 60 MB and 1,000 pages.
- Page range
- Write it like 1-3, 7; leave it empty to cover everything.
- Empty page marking
- Pages where no text was found are shown in the list and in a notice.
- Comparing with the original
- The page you choose is drawn next to the extracted text.
- Line breaks
- Keep them as they are or join them into paragraphs.
- Reading order
- Guessed from the position of the text. Two columns and tables can go out of order.
- Scanned documents
- The text is a picture and cannot be extracted; you are pointed to image text extraction.
- Where it runs
- The file is not sent to a server and is read only in this browser.
How to use Extract PDF Text
Add the PDF and choose the pages to extract
Leave it empty if you need everything, or write something like 1-3, 7 if you need only some pages. If the range is wrong, you are told the reason along with how many pages there are. For long documents, a progress indicator is shown and you can cancel partway.
Choose the line break method
Keep line breaks leaves the lines as they appear in the document. It is good for moving tables or lists. Join into paragraphs joins lines together and uses only blank lines as paragraph boundaries. It is convenient when you are editing the text again.
Flip through pages and compare with the original
Press a page button and the actual page is drawn on the left, with the text taken from that page on the right. A page where no text was found has a dotted button, and when you select it, the reason is shown too.
Take one page or everything
You can copy just one page, or copy or save everything. If you add page number headers, you keep a record of where each text came from, which makes it easier to find later.
What it’s good for
Empty pages are not passed off as done
A document scanned as a photo has its text stored as a picture, so no matter how you press, no text comes out. This tool keeps a separate result for each page, marks pages where no text was found in the list, and if all the pages you chose are empty, it tells you the document may be a scan and points you to the image text extraction tool.
You check against the original side by side
A PDF stores only the positions of the text, not the reading order. So a two-column document or a table can have its left and right sides merged into one line. The actual page is drawn on the left, so if the result looks odd you can compare it with the original right away. You can also choose whether to keep line breaks as they are or join them into paragraphs.
Worked examples
A document mixing Korean and English
2-page PDF · all pages · keep line breaksContract terms
The first item is the delivery period.
Second item is the refund policy.A two-column document
A page with text split between the left and rightLeft line 1 Right line 1
Left line 2 Right line 2Choosing a line break method
Swipe the table sideways to see the rest.
| Method | Result | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Keep line breaks | Leaves the lines as they appear in the document. | Text where lines carry meaning, such as tables, lists, and addresses |
| Join into paragraphs | Joins lines and splits into paragraphs only at blank lines. | When you will edit or retype the body text |
When the result isn’t what you expected
No text comes out at all
It is very likely a document scanned as a photo. The text is stored as a picture, so this method cannot extract it. Move to the image text extraction tool mentioned in the notice and try recognizing it.
Only some pages are empty
This happens when scanned pages are mixed into the document. The list tells you which pages are empty, so you can recognize just those pages separately.
The text comes out mixed up
With complex layouts such as two columns or tables, text at the same height is merged into one line. Compare with the original on the left, and if needed, extract by splitting the pages.
I cannot open a password-protected PDF
Password-protected documents cannot be opened. Save a copy with the password removed in the original program and then add it.
Key terms
- Text layer
- The part of a PDF stored as text. It must exist for text to be extracted.
- Scanned document
- A document made into a picture by photographing or scanning paper. The text is not stored as text.
- Reading order
- The order in which a person reads. A PDF often does not store this order separately.
Extract PDF Text FAQ
Does it work on scanned documents?
No, because the text is stored as a picture. In that case you are told that no text was found, and you can move to the image text extraction tool to recognize it.
Is the reading order the same as the original?
It is not guaranteed. The order is guessed from the positions of the text. Complex layouts such as two columns or tables can go out of order, so the original is shown side by side.
Is my file uploaded to a server?
No. Reading the PDF and pulling out the text all happen inside this browser. For a password-protected PDF, please remove the password first.
Can I bring in a table in its table shape?
No. Only the text is extracted, and the cell structure is not kept. Extract it with keep line breaks and tidy it up yourself.
Does the screen freeze with a long document?
It processes one page at a time, shows progress, and lets you cancel partway. The screen stays responsive while processing.
Does text come out even without fonts?
Mostly yes. However, documents with specially embedded fonts can produce garbled text, so please compare with the original.