Convert PDF to Text
Extract the selectable text from a PDF straight in your browser, no upload required. Toolmingo reads the document's text layer with pdf.js and pulls out the words from every page so you can copy them or save a plain .txt file. Note that scanned or image-only PDFs have no text layer, so they return nothing and would need OCR instead.
Drop your PDF below and pick 'Text' — copy the extracted words or download them as a .txt file.
Drop a PDF here
or click to choose · convert PDF to JPG, PNG or extract text — in your browser
Why convert PDF to Text?
- Get clean, copy-ready text to reuse in a document, email, or note without retyping anything.
- Save the full document as a lightweight .txt file that opens in any editor.
- Pull quotes or data out of a PDF quickly when you only need the words, not the layout.
- Plain text is searchable and easy to paste into tools that cannot read PDF formatting.
How to convert PDF to Text
- 1Drop your PDF onto the converter below — it loads in your browser only.
- 2Choose 'Text' as the output format.
- 3Click Convert to extract the text from every page's text layer.
- 4Copy the result to your clipboard, or download it as a .txt file.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my scanned PDF return no text?+
Scanned or image-only PDFs are just pictures of pages with no underlying text layer, so there is nothing to extract. You would need an OCR tool to recognize the characters first.
How can I tell if my PDF has selectable text?+
Open the PDF in a viewer and try to highlight a word with your cursor. If text highlights and copies, it has a text layer this tool can extract; if you can only select the whole page as an image, it does not.
Does extracted text keep the original formatting?+
No. Extraction returns plain text only, so fonts, columns, tables, and page layout are not preserved — just the words in reading order.
Related conversions
Need more than PDF → Text?
The full PDF Converter handles batches, resizing and more — all free and in your browser.