PDF to Text
Extract all text from a PDF. 100% in your browser — your file never leaves your device.
Text is read on your device — your PDF is never uploaded.Files are processed on your device only. We never upload or store them. Some conversions (Office, OCR, encryption) are best-effort and may not preserve full layout.
About this tool
PDF to Text pulls the written words out of a PDF so you can search, copy, and reuse them. It is the tool for turning a locked-up report into plain text you can paste into notes, a translator, or a document. Researchers grab quotes, lawyers lift clauses, and students copy passages — all without retyping. The tool reads your PDF in the browser with pdf.js and returns the text, so confidential documents never leave your machine. It works on digitally created PDFs where the text layer exists; scanned pages without a text layer will need OCR (coming later). Output is a simple .txt you download. No account, no upload. For anyone who has ever cursed a PDF for not letting them select text, this is the quick, private fix that turns a picture of words into actual words.
Text trapped in a PDF is text you cannot use. A researcher copies a paragraph from a paper into a citation manager. A lawyer lifts a clause from a contract to paste into an email. A student extracts a quote for an essay. A translator turns a brochure PDF into editable text to work from. A journalist pulls figures from a report into a spreadsheet of notes. In every case the alternative is retyping, which is slow and error-prone. Extracting locally means the document — perhaps a draft, a contract, or personal correspondence — never uploads. For digital PDFs the result is exact; for scans it will wait for OCR. It is the simplest way to make a PDF’s words actually usable again, on your own machine, in seconds.
How it works & privacy
Load a PDF and press Run. The tool reads each page in your browser with pdf.js, gathers the text, and downloads it as a .txt file on your device. Nothing is uploaded. It works best on digital PDFs that contain a real text layer; scanned images without text need OCR to become selectable.
FAQ
How accurate is the extracted text?
For digital PDFs with a text layer, extraction is exact. Scanned pages without text need OCR first, which is planned as a later feature.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. Text extraction runs entirely in your browser; the document never leaves your device.
My PDF is a scan — will it work?
Not yet for plain text; scans need OCR. Use this tool on digital PDFs, and watch for OCR to arrive for scanned pages.