How to extract text from a PDF

Sometimes you just want the words — to quote, to reuse, or to process. Extracting text gives you a clean .txt file from any text-based PDF.

Text vs scans

Extraction works on PDFs with real text. For scans, run OCR first to create that text, then extract.

What you lose

Plain text drops formatting, columns and images by design — you get the words in reading order, nothing else.

Good uses

• Quoting a passage without retyping.
• Feeding content into a search index.
• Word-counting a document.