Extract Text

Pull all selectable text out of a PDF as plain text.

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About Extract Text

Extract Text harvests the text layer from a PDF and returns it as plain text. Works on any PDF with an embedded text layer — most office documents, web-saved PDFs, and exported reports.

For scanned PDFs (image-only), the text layer is empty — use PDF OCR first to add one.

How it works

  1. 1

    Upload the PDF.

  2. 2

    Click Extract.

  3. 3

    Copy the extracted text or download as .txt.

When to use it

  • Feed PDF content into an LLM prompt or search index.
  • Pull a quote out of a long report without copy-pasting.
  • Convert PDF to plain text for translation tools.

Privacy

Files are processed by the Evixpdf engine in-house with the AGPL-free MIT stack — no third-party cloud upload. Sessions auto-purge after processing.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to the questions people most often ask about Extract Text. Read the one that matches your situation — they're written to be skimmed.

1Does this work on scans?
No — scans have no text layer. Run PDF OCR first to add one, then extract.
2Is layout preserved?
Text comes out in reading order. Multi-column layouts may interleave; for precise positioning, use a layout-aware tool.

Still stuck?

Browse our hand-written guides or ask us directly — we usually reply within a business day.

Ready when you are

Try Extract Text now

No signup, no email required. Drag your file in and you're done in seconds.