PDF to TXT

Extract a PDF's existing text into a plain .txt file. Works on text-based PDFs — for scans, use OCR PDF instead. Runs entirely in your browser.

Extract text from a PDF

Upload a text-based PDF, then extract its content as plain text.

Drag & drop a PDF file here, or click to browse
Choose a single, text-based PDF to extract.

    Extracted text

    Your file is processed locally in this browser tab using pdf.js. It is never uploaded to Calcooo or any server.

    How to use this tool

    1. Drag and drop your PDF file into the box above, or click to browse and select it.
    2. Press Extract text and wait while each page is processed.
    3. Review the extracted text in the box below.
    4. Copy the result or download it as a .txt file.

    FAQ

    Frequently asked questions

    Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?

    No. The PDF is read entirely in your browser using pdf.js. Nothing is uploaded to a server.

    Does this work on scanned PDFs?

    No — this tool reads the PDF's existing embedded text layer, which a scan or photo-based PDF doesn't have; use the OCR PDF tool instead for scanned documents.

    Why is some spacing or formatting slightly off?

    PDF text is positioned by exact coordinates rather than a flowing document structure, so this tool does its best to reconstruct reading order and line breaks, but unusual layouts like multi-column pages may extract in a different order than expected.

    What do I get for a multi-page PDF?

    All pages combined into one text file, with a "--- Page N ---" marker between each page.