PDF to Text
Extract plain text from a PDF with optional layout preservation, page ranges and page markers.
Upload PDF File
About This Tool
PDF to Text pulls the text layer out of a PDF and writes it to a plain .txt file.
Layout preservation groups text by its position on the page so tables, columns and indentation survive the conversion. Turn it off for a single reflowed paragraph stream instead. You can limit extraction to a page range and optionally mark page boundaries in the output.
Extraction runs entirely in your browser, and a preview of the result is shown before you download.
How to Use
Upload Your PDF
Drag and drop your PDF or click to select it.
Choose Options
Optionally set a page range and decide whether to preserve layout and mark page boundaries.
Extract and Download
Click Extract, review the preview, then download the text file.
Use Cases
Feed Text Pipelines
Get clean text out of reports for search indexing or analysis.
Quote and Cite
Copy passages out of a document without fighting the PDF viewer.
Archive Plain Text
Store a lightweight, future-proof text copy alongside the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the output empty?
The PDF has no text layer — it is a scan. Run OCR first, then extract.
What does "preserve layout" do?
It reassembles text into lines and pads column gaps, which keeps tables readable. Without it, everything becomes one flowing stream.
Can I extract only some pages?
Yes. Enter a range such as 1-5,8 to limit extraction.