Extract text from a PDF
Selecting text in a PDF viewer gives you one page at a time and loses the paragraph breaks on the way to the clipboard. This takes all of it in one go, page after page, keeps the paragraphs, and hands you a .txt file that pastes cleanly anywhere. If the PDF is a scan with no real text in it, it tells you instead of producing a blank file.
Starting the converter…
How it works
- Add the PDF whose words you want.
- There is nothing to choose; every page is read.
- Take the text out, then save the .txt or open it and copy.
Questions
Does it keep the reading order and the paragraphs?
Yes, on ordinary documents. Lines are put back into paragraphs, hyphenated words are mended, and a blank line separates one paragraph from the next. Multi-column pages and tables are harder: their text is all there, but the order can interleave.
Why is the text file empty for my scanned PDF?
It will not be empty, because the tool checks first: a scan holds pictures of pages rather than actual words, and when it finds no text at all it says so plainly instead of handing you a blank file. Reading text off a picture is a different tool.
Can I get a Word file instead of plain text?
Yes, the PDF to Word page uses the same reading and writes a .docx with the paragraphs and headings kept. Plain text is the better choice when you just want to paste the words somewhere else.
PDF → Text