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FilesKit

Extract text from a PDF

Pull the text out of one or many PDFs and save it as a plain TXT file you can search, edit or paste anywhere. The PDF is read in your browser, so it is not uploaded.

PDFProcessed in your browser
The tool loads in your browser…

Features

  • Paragraphs, not a wall of text

    Text runs on the same baseline are joined into lines, and larger gaps start a new paragraph, so the result is readable instead of one long block.

  • Page markers

    Add a line such as “--- Page 3 ---” before every page, which helps when you quote or cross-check the original.

  • Optional re-flow

    Join the lines inside each paragraph to remove the PDF’s own line breaks, ideal for pasting into an email or a word processor.

  • Many PDFs at once

    Convert up to 20 PDFs in one run and download the TXT files separately or as a ZIP. A file that cannot be converted does not stop the others.

  • UTF-8 output

    The TXT file is saved as UTF-8, so Bengali and other non-Latin text stays intact in any modern editor.

How to use PDF to Text

  1. Choose one or more PDFs, or drop them onto the page.
  2. Choose whether to add page markers and whether to join the lines of each paragraph.
  3. Select Extract text.
  4. Download the TXT files.

Supported formats

AcceptsPDF
ProducesTXT

PDFs that are scans (pictures of pages) have no text to extract. There is no OCR.

Limits and things to know

  • Up to 20 PDFs, 100 MB each and 300 MB in total. Password-protected and damaged PDFs are reported by name.
  • Only real text is extracted. A scanned PDF without a text layer gives an error because there is no OCR.
  • The order of the text follows how the PDF stores it. Pages with several columns, tables or text boxes can come out in an odd order.
  • Some PDFs, especially those with unusual fonts for Bengali and other complex scripts, store text in a way that comes out garbled. This is a property of the file, not something the tool can repair.
  • Images, tables, formatting and links are not part of the result.

Privacy and processing

PDF.js, the PDF reader of Firefox, runs in your browser and reads the text. Your file is loaded into the browser’s memory and nothing is sent to FilesKit, which has no server that receives files.

Common uses

  • Quote or search a document

    Copy text from a long report or contract into a note, an email or a search tool without retyping.

  • Prepare text for editing

    Get the words of a PDF into an editor, then rewrite, translate or restructure them.

  • Feed text to other tools

    Create a plain text version for scripts, indexers or accessibility readers that cannot open PDFs.

  • Check what a PDF really contains

    See whether a PDF has real text or is only a scan before you try to search or copy from it.

How this differs from other approaches

Many online extractors upload your PDF to a server and some limit pages or ask you to register. FilesKit reads the file on your device. Desktop PDF editors keep more of the layout, and OCR software is the right choice for scanned pages.

Frequently asked questions

Is my PDF uploaded?

No. The text is extracted in your browser and FilesKit has no server that receives your files.

Why does it say my PDF has no selectable text?

The PDF is probably a scan, which is a picture of text. This tool reads text that is stored in the file and does not include OCR. Run the scan through an OCR program first.

Why is the order of the text wrong in some places?

PDFs store positioned pieces of text, not paragraphs. For multi-column pages, tables or text boxes the storage order can differ from the reading order.

Is the layout and formatting kept?

No. You get the text with paragraph breaks. If you need to keep the look of the page, use PDF to Word or work with the PDF directly.

Can it extract Bengali text?

Yes, when the PDF stores Bengali as real text with a proper encoding. Some PDFs embed fonts in a way that makes the extracted text unreadable, and then no tool can recover it reliably.

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