CanDoYa
EN

PDF to Text Converter

Runs entirely in your browser - no upload, no sign-up.

Choose a digital PDF to extract selectable text.

Share this tool

How do I convert a PDF to text?

Use this PDF to text converter to extract the selectable text already stored in a digital PDF, then copy it or download a TXT file. Processing runs inside your browser, so the document is not uploaded. Scanned image-only PDFs need OCR, and this specific tool does not perform OCR.

How to use

  1. 1Choose a digital PDF. Drop one PDF onto the tool or pick it from your device. For the best result, confirm that you can select words in your usual PDF viewer.
  2. 2Extract the text layer. Click Extract text. PDF.js reads each page locally and reports progress without sending the file to a server.
  3. 3Review the plain text. Check paragraphs, columns, tables, and symbols against the original. PDF reading order can differ from visual page order.
  4. 4Copy or download. Edit the result if needed, copy it to the clipboard, or save it as a UTF-8 TXT file.

Who it's for

This converter uses Mozilla PDF.js to read each page's existing text layer on your device. It keeps page order and reported line endings, then gives you one editable plain-text result. Images, fonts, columns, tables, and visual formatting are not preserved in TXT output.

There is an important boundary: a digital PDF stores characters that software can select and search. A scan may store only a photograph of a page. Extracting the first kind is text parsing; reading the second requires optical character recognition. This tool does the first job only.

FAQ

Are my PDF files uploaded to a server?

No. Your browser reads the selected PDF locally with PDF.js, and the file is not sent to CanDoYa. The PDF engine code may download when you first use the tool, but your document is not part of that request.

Is this PDF to text converter free?

Yes. You can extract, edit, copy, and download text without an account, watermark, or payment. The work runs on your device, so there is no server conversion queue or uploaded file to retrieve later.

What are the PDF size and page limits?

The tool accepts one PDF up to 100 MB and 2,000 pages. Available memory and device speed can impose a lower practical limit, especially on phones. Split a very large document into smaller PDFs if the browser cannot finish it.

Can this tool extract text from a scanned PDF?

Not when the scan contains only page images. This converter reads existing selectable text and does not perform OCR. A scanned PDF needs an OCR tool that recognizes characters from pixels. Some mixed PDFs contain selectable text on certain pages but not others; the result flags pages with no text.

Why is the extracted text in the wrong order?

PDF pages position text fragments at coordinates and may not store a clear paragraph or column order. PDF.js follows the document's text items and line endings, which can differ from the visual reading order in multi-column layouts, tables, headers, or complex forms.

Does PDF to text preserve formatting and images?

No. TXT files contain plain characters only, so fonts, colors, images, links, columns, and table borders are not preserved. Line breaks come from the PDF text layer and may need editing after extraction.

Why is a password-protected PDF rejected?

The browser cannot read an encrypted document without its password. Open the PDF in a trusted viewer, enter the password, and save an unlocked copy if you have permission. Then add that copy to the converter.

Which languages can be extracted from a PDF?

The parser is not tied to one language. It can return Unicode text in any script when the PDF contains a correct character map and selectable text. If a document uses missing or custom font mappings, copied characters may still be incomplete or incorrect.