PDF to Text Converter
Extract the text from a PDF and download it as plain text, Markdown, JSON, HTML or XML. Works with text-based PDFs up to 50 MB, including password-protected ones when you know the password.
What This Converter Does
Most PDFs made from a word processor, website or report generator contain a text layer: the letters are stored as text, which is why you can select and copy them. The converter reads that layer, rebuilds the lines and spacing from the position of each piece of text, and gives you the result to copy or download.
- Upload a PDF of up to 50 MB.
- Choose a mode and an output format. Under Advanced Options you can pick pages (such as 1-5, 8), enter a password, detect tables, or remove repeated headers and footers.
- Copy the text or download it. Up to 500 pages are processed per file.
Modes and Output Formats
- Simple text: each line of the page as a line of text, with single spaces between words and columns.
- Formatted: columns separated by tabs and pages marked, so tables and side-by-side text stay apart.
- OCR: for scanned pages with no text layer. Slower, English only, up to 20 pages.
Output can be plain text (TXT), Markdown, JSON (text per page plus document details), CSV (detected tables), HTML or XML. The document's title, author and creation date are shown when the PDF includes them.
When Extraction Doesn't Work Well
- Scanned documents have images instead of text. You'll see a "no text layer" message.
- Multi-column layouts are read line by line across the page, so two columns can be interleaved. Formatted mode keeps them apart with tabs.
- Fonts with custom encodings can produce garbled characters; a warning appears when the text looks unreliable.
- Damaged files may fail to open. Re-saving the PDF from a viewer often fixes this.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is no text extracted from my PDF?
Pages that are photos or scans have no text layer. Choose OCR mode, which renders each page as an image and recognises the text with Tesseract. It reads English, up to 20 pages per file, and works best on clean, straight scans; check the result, as OCR makes mistakes.
Why are words in the wrong order or run together?
A PDF stores the position of each piece of text, not sentences or paragraphs. The converter rebuilds lines from those positions, which works well for normal documents. Multi-column layouts, text along curves and some unusual fonts can still come out in the wrong order or with missing spaces.
Can it open password-protected PDFs?
Yes, if you enter the password needed to open the file. PDFs that only restrict printing or copying (an owner password) open without one. The password is used for this conversion only and isn't stored.
How well does table detection work?
It finds simple tables: three or more lines in a row that split into the same number of columns. Tables with merged cells, cells that wrap onto several lines, or no clear gaps between columns may be missed or split incorrectly. Use CSV output to open detected tables in a spreadsheet.
Is my file kept?
No. The PDF is uploaded to Orbit2x's server, processed in memory and in temporary files that are deleted when the conversion finishes, and the text is sent back to your browser. Nothing is stored afterwards. Avoid uploading documents you aren't allowed to share with a third party.
See the privacy policy for general data practices.