PDF to Text
Extract text content from PDF files
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About PDF Text Extraction
Extract all text content from PDF documents. Works with PDFs that have selectable text (not scanned images). For scanned documents, use our OCR tool instead.
Benefits of PDF Text Extraction
- Quick extraction of all text content
- Word and character count statistics
- Copy to clipboard or download as TXT
- Page-by-page text organization
Instantly extract plain text from any PDF document with our high-speed, browser-based extraction engine. Whether you are conducting academic research, performing data analysis, or simply needing to copy content from a restricted PDF, our tool provides a clean, unformatted text stream ready for use in any word processor or code editor. Because we use advanced client-side parsing, your sensitive documents are processed locally—meaning your data never leaves your device, ensuring 100% confidentiality.
PDF Text Extraction is the process of accessing and retrieving the underlying text layer of a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. Unlike 'PDF to Word' conversion which attempts to preserve visual layout, 'PDF to Text' focuses purely on the raw character data. It maps internal PDF glyph indices back to Unicode characters, allowing you to bypass formatting obstacles and access the core data of the document for repurposing, archiving, or computational analysis.
Data Scraping & Analysis
Extract raw data from PDF reports and whitepapers to feed into spreadsheets, databases, or AI models for structured analysis without the 'noise' of document formatting.
Translation & Localization
Get a clean text output to paste into professional translation tools or CAT (Computer Assisted Translation) software, avoiding the layout glitches often caused by complex PDF structures.
Content Repurposing
Quickly grab sections of text from old eBooks or archives to reuse in blog posts, social media, or new presentations without having to manually retype content.
Accessibility Audits
Verify if a PDF is accessible to screen readers by checking if the text layer is extractable and logical. If our tool can't extract it, a screen reader likely can't either.
Our tool utilizes the PDF.js library to parse the PDF's internal 'Content Streams.' The extraction process involves identifying 'Text Objects' within the file's binary structure and interpreting the positioning operators. We then use a heuristic algorithm to determine word spacing and line breaks based on the X and Y coordinates of each character. For documents with complex encoding, we look at the 'ToUnicode' CMap tables to ensure that the characters you see are the exact characters you get in the output.
| Feature | PDF to Text | PDF to Word |
| Visual Layout | Discarded (Raw Text) | Preserved (Editable) |
| File Size | Extremely Small (.txt) | Moderate (.docx) |
| Best For | Data Analysis, AI, Coding | Editing, Revisions |
This tool is optimized for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. Since the extraction happens entirely within your browser's RAM via WebAssembly, it can handle large text-heavy documents (up to 2,000 pages) instantly. Note: This tool extracts text layers only; if your PDF is a scan (image-based), the text layer will be empty.