PDF · Text

Convert PDF to text

Get the text out of a PDF so you can copy, search, edit or quote it. Typed PDFs are read directly; scanned pages are recognised with OCR. Your file never leaves your computer.

● Runs in your browser. Your files are never uploaded.

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Drop files here, or tap to choose PDF, scans, photos, Word, Excel, CSV. You can also paste a screenshot.

.pdf.jpg.png.docx.xlsx.xls.csv.txt

What you get

notice-scan.pdf · 2 scanned pages becomes:

NOTICE

All members are informed that the annual general meeting will be held on 14 November at 11 am in the society office.

Agenda: accounts for the year, election of the committee.

Good for

Copying a paragraph from a PDF that will not let you select text
Making scanned letters, notices and agreements searchable
Pulling text into Word or Google Docs to edit it
Quoting a document accurately in an email or a report

Worth knowing

Handwriting is not recognised reliably. Printed text works best.
Faint photocopies and low-resolution scans (under about 150 dpi) reduce accuracy.
The result is plain text with light Markdown. Fonts, colours and layout are not kept.

How it works

Drop your file into the box above, or tap to choose it. Several files at once work too.
The file is converted inside your browser. Scanned pages and images are read with OCR in the languages you pick.
Preview the Markdown, copy it, or download it as a .md file.

Questions

Can it read scanned PDFs?

Yes. Pages without selectable text are rendered and read with OCR in your browser, in the languages you choose. Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Arabic, Chinese and 100+ others are supported.

How do I get a .txt file?

Download the result as .md. A Markdown file is a plain text file, so you can rename it to .txt or open it in Notepad, TextEdit or Word as it is.

Is there a page limit?

Typed pages have no page limit. Scanned pages count towards a daily OCR allowance on the free plans; Pro has no limit.

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