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PDF to text converter

Get the words out of a PDF as a plain .txt file you can paste anywhere. The text is read in your browser.

Runs in your browser. Your file is never uploaded.

How to convert PDF to text

  1. 1Drop your PDF into the box above.
  2. 2Pick the pages you want, and tick the box if you want each page's start marked.
  3. 3Select Convert and download the .txt file, or open the preview to copy it.

What you get

  • Each paragraph comes out as one line, so pasted text doesn't break at the end of every printed line.
  • Headings, paragraphs and list items keep their order, separated by blank lines.
  • Repeating headers, footers and page numbers are left out.
  • The file is UTF-8, so accents and non-Latin scripts survive.

Limits

  • Without an account: files up to 25 MB and 150 pages.
  • With a free account: up to 50 MB and 400 pages.
  • Very large files depend on your device's memory, because the work happens in your browser.

What happens to your file

Your file never leaves your device. The conversion runs in your browser using code from our site, and we don't receive the file, its name or anything inside it. How we handle files.

PDF to text: common questions

Why is my text file empty?
The PDF is probably a scan: each page is a picture with no text in it. Run it through OCR PDF first, then convert the searchable copy to text. We list any pages that came out empty.
Why does copying from the PDF give me broken lines, but this doesn't?
A PDF stores each printed line separately. Copying from a viewer keeps those line breaks. This converter works out where paragraphs start and end and joins their lines back together.
Will tables come out as columns?
No. Tables come out as lines of text, one cell after another, and multi-column pages may read across the columns. For a structured copy with headings and lists, PDF to Word or PDF to Markdown work better.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The text is read by your browser and the PDF doesn't reach our server.

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