Private convert tool
PDF Text Extractor
Turn a text-based PDF into an editable TXT file. Processing stays in your browser.
More file tasks
Identify whether a PDF already has selectable text, understand when OCR is required, and extract a private TXT copy without uploading the document.
How it works
A useful result,
without the upload.
Extract selectable text from a PDF and download a clean TXT file locally, without uploading the document or creating an account. The file is decoded and processed inside this browser tab, so File Preflight never receives its contents.
Worked example
Extract the text layer from a 24-page report into one searchable plain-text document.
How to use the PDF Text Extractor
- Choose a text-based PDF file using the file picker.
- Wait for text extraction to complete.
- Review the extracted text preview in the text area.
- Download the TXT file for editing or further processing.
- Verify the extracted content matches the original PDF.
What happens under the hood
This tool uses pdfjs-dist to extract text from PDFs locally in your browser. It reads the existing text layer from each page, preserves page breaks, and exports the result as UTF-8 text. The extraction runs entirely on your device without uploading files, using pdfjs-dist's text content extraction functions.
Before you send the file
- This tool reads an existing text layer; it does not perform OCR on scanned images.
- Columns, tables and positioned text may not retain their visual reading order.
- Review confidential, legal or technical text before reusing the extracted result.
Frequently asked questions
Can this extract text from scanned PDFs?
No. Scanned PDFs contain images without selectable text. This tool requires a text layer, which scanned documents lack.
Does the text retain original formatting?
Basic text is preserved, but complex formatting like columns, tables, and positioned text may lose their visual structure.
Is the extracted text searchable?
Yes. The downloaded TXT file is plain text and fully searchable in any text editor.
Can I extract specific pages?
Yes. The tool processes all pages by default, but you can manually delete unwanted text from the preview before downloading.
Keep an untouched original and inspect the downloaded file before replacing any production asset. Closing this tab removes the selected files from the tool.