PDFToolkit

Convert from PDF

Live tool

PDF to Text Converter

Extracts existing selectable text. OCR is not included.

InputPDFOutputTXTLimit25 MB per filePagesUp to 100ProcessingBrowser processing

Core tools can be used without creating an account.

Supported formats and limits are shown before processing.

Processed locally in your browser. Your file is not uploaded to our server.

Updated 2026-07-10. This workflow is processed locally in the browser and has passed the core file, processing, and download check.

Choose files

PDF - up to 25 MB

TXT

Browser processing limit

Files stay on your device. The result is created in this browser session.

  • OCR is not included; image-only pages may produce no text until processed elsewhere.
  • TXT output is plain text, so visual layout, tables, and columns need review.
  • Encrypted, damaged, or font-encoded PDFs can fail or return missing or replaced characters.

Choose files to process locally

or click to choose from your device

No files selected yet.

Use a page range when only part of the document is needed in the TXT output.

Status: Waiting for files

  1. Reading file
  2. Validating PDF
  3. Processing locally
  4. Creating result
  5. Ready

Files stay on your device. The result is created in this browser session.

Use cases

Copying report text

Reviewing selectable contracts

Preparing notes from PDFs

Checking whether a PDF has a text layer

Limits

PDF to Text works only when the file exposes a text layer; scan quality, reading order, custom font encodings, and file restrictions can affect the TXT result.

  • OCR is not included; image-only pages may produce no text until processed elsewhere.
  • TXT output is plain text, so visual layout, tables, and columns need review.
  • Encrypted, damaged, or font-encoded PDFs can fail or return missing or replaced characters.

Steps

  1. Choose a PDF from your device.
  2. Select all pages or enter the page range that should be extracted.
  3. Extract the existing text layer locally and download a TXT file from this browser session.

File handling

The PDF is read locally in the browser. File contents and extracted text are not sent to the PDFToolkit server for this tool.

  • The tool is scoped to existing text layers.
  • Image-only pages return a clear no-text message instead of pretending OCR ran.
  • The result is created in the current browser session.

Related tools

PDF OCRRecognize text in scanned PDFs and prepare searchable text or editable exports.PDF to WordConvert a PDF into an editable DOCX file for Word, Google Docs, or compatible editors.Extract Images from PDFExtract embedded PDF image resources into a ZIP file without rendering whole pages.

Helpful guides

How to extract text from a PDF without OCRWhen selectable PDF text can become a plain TXT file and when OCR is still required.How to make a PDF searchable with OCRUse OCR to add searchable text to scanned PDF documents.

PDF to Text FAQ

How can I tell whether a PDF already contains selectable text?

Try selecting or copying a short sentence in a PDF viewer. If the text can be selected, PDF to Text can usually read that existing layer; if the page is only a scan or photo, OCR is needed instead.

Why is the extracted text in the wrong reading order?

PDF text order can differ from the visual layout, especially in columns, tables, headers, and positioned text blocks. TXT output does not preserve the page's visual layout.

Why are some characters missing or replaced?

Some PDFs use custom font encodings or glyph mappings that do not expose clean Unicode text.

Can PDF to Text extract text from scanned pages?

No. It extracts an existing selectable text layer only. Scanned pages, photos, and image-only pages may return no text unless OCR is run in a separate workflow.