PDF to Text: Searchable & Editable ContentExtract raw text for data analysis and reuse
Convert PDF to plain text (TXT) to unlock searchability, editability, and data extraction capabilities. Perfect for analyzing reports, copying quotes, or extracting structured data from documents.
Drag and drop your PDF here
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Text results will appear after extraction.
Why Choose Text Format
Plain text unlocks capabilities impossible with PDF or image formats
Instant searchability with Ctrl+F
Plain text files are instantly searchable in any text editor, file manager, or grep command. Find keywords across hundreds of documents in seconds without opening each PDF.
Editable content for revisions
Unlike locked PDFs, text files can be modified, rephrased, or translated directly. Edit contracts, revise meeting notes, or adapt content for different audiences without format restrictions.
Tiny file sizes for storage
Text files are 50-100x smaller than PDFs (5-20KB vs 500KB). Archive thousands of documents on minimal storage. Email attachments never hit size limits. Cloud sync completes instantly.
Accessibility for screen readers
Pure text works flawlessly with assistive technology. Screen readers, braille displays, and text-to-speech tools access content directly without parsing complex PDF structures.
Easy data extraction and parsing
Extract structured data from invoices, reports, and forms using regex or scripts. Parse dates, amounts, and names for spreadsheets or databases. Automate data entry from hundreds of PDFs.
Copy-paste without formatting issues
No hidden fonts, styles, or embedded objects. Paste text into emails, documents, or chat without broken formatting. What you see is what you get—pure character data.
PDF to text in three steps
Extract text without installing anything.
Upload your PDF
Choose the PDF file you want to extract.
Extract text
We read each page and collect the text content.
Copy or download
Copy the text or download a TXT file.
Common Use Cases for Text Extraction
These scenarios leverage plain text's searchability, editability, and parsing capabilities
Invoice and receipt data extraction
Extract amounts, dates, and vendor names from PDF invoices for expense tracking. Parse hundreds of receipts to import into accounting software or spreadsheets automatically.
Research paper quotes and citations
Copy exact quotes from academic PDFs for papers and theses. Extract references and bibliographies without retyping. Search across dozens of papers for specific terms or methodology.
Contract review and comparison
Extract clauses from legal PDFs for side-by-side comparison. Search multiple contracts for specific terms like "liability" or "termination". Copy clauses to reuse in new agreements.
Meeting notes and report archiving
Convert presentation PDFs to searchable text files. Archive years of meeting notes and reports in minimal storage. Use grep or desktop search to find decisions across all past meetings.
Translation preparation
Extract text from multilingual PDFs to feed into Google Translate or DeepL. Edit and refine translations as plain text before formatting. Preserve original PDF for reference while translating content.
Data mining from reports
Parse quarterly reports and white papers for statistical analysis. Extract financial figures, product mentions, or trend keywords. Automate insights gathering from hundreds of industry PDFs.
Text Extraction FAQ
Will formatting and layout be preserved?
No. Text extraction captures only raw character content without fonts, colors, or positioning. Tables and multi-column layouts may lose structure. For visual preservation, use PDF to PNG instead.
Can it extract text from scanned PDFs?
Only if the PDF contains a text layer. OCR-processed PDFs work perfectly. Image-only scanned PDFs without OCR will extract nothing—run OCR software on the PDF first to add a text layer.
What happens to tables and columns?
Text extraction reads left-to-right, top-to-bottom. Tables may lose column alignment. Multi-column layouts might merge columns together. For structured data, consider exporting PDF tables to CSV instead.
How accurate is the text extraction?
Very accurate for native text PDFs (created from Word, LaTeX, etc.). Character content is extracted exactly as stored. However, reading order may differ from visual layout if PDF uses complex positioning.
Can I extract text from password-protected PDFs?
No. PDFs locked with passwords or permission restrictions cannot be read. You must unlock the PDF first using the correct password before text extraction will work.
Does it work with non-English languages?
Yes. Text extraction supports all Unicode characters including Chinese, Arabic, Cyrillic, Hebrew, Japanese, and emoji. Right-to-left languages are extracted as stored in the PDF's text layer.
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