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.

  • This tool does not run OCR.
  • Scanned and image-only pages may return no extractable text.
  • Plain text output does not preserve exact PDF layout.

Choose files to process locally

or click to choose from your device

No files selected yet.

This extracts selectable text only. It does not run OCR on scanned pages.

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 reads selectable text from the PDF text layer. It does not run OCR, so scanned pages, photos, and image-only pages may return no text.

  • This tool does not run OCR.
  • Scanned and image-only pages may return no extractable text.
  • Plain text output does not preserve exact PDF layout.

Steps

  1. 1Choose a PDF from your device.
  2. 2Select all pages or enter the page range that should be extracted.
  3. 3Extract 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 make a PDF searchable with OCRUse OCR to add searchable text to scanned PDF documents.How to convert scanned PDF to editable WordLearn when OCR is needed before creating an editable Word document.

PDF to Text FAQ

Why is extracted text in the wrong order?

PDF text order can differ from the visual layout, especially in columns, tables, headers, and positioned text blocks.

Why are some characters missing or replaced?

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

Can this extract text from scanned PDFs?

No. It extracts an existing selectable text layer only. Scanned pages may require OCR.

Can it open password-protected PDFs?

Password-protected or encrypted PDFs may fail local validation unless the browser PDF library can read them.

How do I use PDF to Text online?

Choose PDF, review the settings shown on the page, start the workflow, then download the TXT result when processing is ready.