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Extract Text from PDF

Copy all text from the PDF document into a separate text file.

Drop your file here

Copy all the text in a PDF into a plain text (.txt) file. Lines are kept in order from the top to the bottom of each page.

How to use PDF to Text

  1. Choose or drop a PDF file.
  2. Keep or untick Mark where each page starts.
  3. Click Extract text.
  4. Download the .txt file.

What it does

  • Plain UTF-8 .txt output
  • Optional page markers such as --- Page 1 ---
  • Text grouped into lines as they appear on the page
  • Text on the same line in separate columns is kept apart with spaces

Good to know

  • Scanned PDFs have no text layer; use the OCR tool instead.
  • Formatting, images and tables are not kept, only the text.

Your files and privacy

Text is extracted inside your browser and the PDF is not uploaded to Docshar's server. If you are signed in, Docshar counts your operations (tool, number of files, sizes and page counts), never the file contents. See the Privacy Policy.

Questions

Why do I get a No text was found message?

The PDF is probably a scan, so its pages are pictures without text. Use the OCR tool to recognise the text.

Can I remove the page markers?

Yes. Untick Mark where each page starts before you click Extract text.