Convert PDF to Text Online
Extract all text from a PDF file and download it as a plain .txt file.
There are many reasons you might need the raw text from a PDF without any of the formatting. You want to paste the content into another application. You need to process the text programmatically. You want to search or analyse the content in a plain text editor. You are feeding the text into a translation tool that does not accept PDFs directly. Whatever the reason, extracting text from a PDF is not always straightforward. This tool sends your PDF to our secure server where the text content is extracted and returned as a clean .txt file. The result contains all readable text from the document in the order it appears on the page. Your file is deleted immediately after processing.
How to use
- Click 'Choose PDF' and select the PDF file you want to extract text from.
- Click 'Convert to TXT' to send the file to our server for text extraction.
- Download the resulting .txt file containing all text from the PDF.
FAQ
What content is included in the extracted text?
All readable text in the PDF is extracted including body text, headings, captions, and table content. Images are not included in the output. If text appears in an image rather than as actual PDF text data, it will not be extracted — use the OCR PDF tool first to add a text layer to image-based PDFs.
Will the formatting and layout be preserved?
No. The output is plain text without any formatting. Bold, italic, font sizes, colours, and layout positioning are not preserved. The text is extracted in reading order as the PDF renderer encounters it, which may differ from the visual order for complex multi-column layouts.
Does this work on scanned PDFs?
No. A scanned PDF contains images of text rather than actual text data. Extracting text from a scanned PDF will produce an empty or near-empty file. Use the Dockitt OCR PDF tool first to add a searchable text layer to the scanned document, then use this tool to extract the text.
The extracted text has unusual characters or garbled words.
This happens when the PDF uses embedded or custom fonts that do not map cleanly to standard Unicode characters. Some PDFs use font encoding tricks that make the text visually correct but prevent it from being extracted accurately. Unfortunately there is no reliable fix for this — it is a limitation of how that PDF was created.
Can I extract text from a password-protected PDF?
No. The PDF must be unlocked before the text can be extracted. Use the Dockitt Unlock PDF tool to remove the password, then extract the text from the unlocked version.
Is my file safe when I upload it?
Yes. Your file is sent over an encrypted connection and processed on a secure server. It is deleted immediately after the text file is returned to you. Dockitt does not store, read, or share your files.