Extract text from PDF

Extract selectable text from PDF pages locally and download a plain-text file without sending the document to a server.

No files selected

Files stay in this browser and are never uploaded.

When this tool is useful

Copying readable text from digitally generated reports, articles, invoices, and notes for search or editing.

How local processing works

The browser reads each page's text items, joins them in an approximate reading order, separates pages, and creates a UTF-8 plain-text download.

How to use it

  1. Choose the source files.
  2. Review the available settings and page order.
  3. Process locally, inspect the result, and download it.

Important limitations

There is no OCR, so image-only scans may return little or no text. Multi-column layouts, tables, equations, custom encodings, and positioned fragments can appear in an imperfect reading order, and formatting is not preserved.

Private by design

Your files stay in this browser. The tool does not upload the source or output to our servers.

Questions and answers

Does this tool upload my files?

No. Processing happens in your browser; closing the page clears the working session.

Will the output always match the source exactly?

There is no OCR, so image-only scans may return little or no text. Multi-column layouts, tables, equations, custom encodings, and positioned fragments can appear in an imperfect reading order, and formatting is not preserved.

Concrete input and output example

Input a digitally generated six-page report and extract its selectable text to UTF-8. Page text is separated in the download, but a two-column table may read in an approximate order and scanned pages receive no OCR.

Browser compatibility notes

Reviewed against the implementation and required web APIs on 2026-08-12. Use a current browser where these APIs are available and verify important output on your device.

Chrome / Edge (current desktop)
Requires local PDF parsing, worker/canvas APIs where applicable, document creation, and Blob download.
Firefox (current desktop)
Uses the local PDF workflow; always verify the generated download in its destination viewer.
Safari (current desktop)
Uses the same local workflow; large page sets can have a lower practical memory ceiling.

A tool-specific question

Can it read text from a scanned PDF?

Not unless the scan already contains a selectable text layer. This tool performs no OCR, and complex layouts can produce an approximate reading order.

Tool guidance reviewed

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