How to Extract Text from a PDF

Extracting text can make reports easier to quote, search or reuse, but results depend on how the PDF was created.

Check whether text is selectable

Open the PDF and try selecting a sentence with your cursor. If text highlights character by character, the file likely contains embedded text. If the page behaves like one large picture, it may be a scan.

Run text extraction

Use PDF to Text to process the document and download or copy the extracted text. Check paragraph order, line breaks, columns, tables and special characters. PDF layouts are designed for pages, so extracted text may not always follow the reading order you expect.

When OCR is needed

Scanned pages and photos need optical character recognition (OCR) to identify letters. The current Doc Writer Lab text extraction tool extracts existing embedded text; it does not perform OCR on image-only pages.

Protect sensitive content

Extracted text can contain personal details or confidential information. Store and share it with the same care as the original document.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the extracted text blank?

The PDF may contain only page images, use unusual text encoding, or have restrictions that prevent extraction.

Will tables keep their layout?

Not always. Check columns and numbers against the original before reusing extracted data.

Related tools and resources

Keep the original document until you have checked the downloaded result. For important or sensitive documents, follow the requirements of the organisation receiving the file.