How to use Extract Text from PDF
- Drop a PDF
- Choose whether to add page markers
- Copy the text or download it as a .txt file
About this tool
Text is read with pdf.js from the PDF’s text layer, keeping line breaks. Scanned PDFs are pictures of text, so they have no text layer and will come out empty: those need OCR (optical character recognition), which this tool does not do.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the extracted text empty?
The PDF is probably a scan (an image). OCR is needed to read text from images.
Does it keep formatting?
It keeps the reading order and line breaks, but not fonts, columns or tables.
Can I extract from protected PDFs?
Unlock it first with the Unlock PDF tool if it needs a password to open.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. ConvertBrightly processes files with JavaScript inside your browser. Nothing is sent over the network, and the files disappear when you close the tab. You can even disconnect from the internet after the page loads.
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