How this works
This tool reads the text layer already embedded in your PDF and outputs it as plain text, in reading order, page by page. It's faster and more accurate than OCR for PDFs that already contain real text (as opposed to scanned images).
Frequently asked questions
What if my PDF is a scanned image?
A scanned PDF has no underlying text layer, so this tool will return little or nothing. Use our OCR PDF tool instead, which reads text from the image itself.
Does this preserve formatting like tables or columns?
No — this extracts raw text content, not layout. For a result closer to the original formatting, try our PDF to Word tool.