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How to convert a PDF to text on Windows

By DeckleUpdated

To convert a PDF to text on Windows, open PDF to text in your browser, drag the PDF onto the page, keep All pages or choose the pages you need, pick how pages are separated and choose Extract text. You get a plain .txt file that opens in Notepad. The PDF is not changed. If you want an editable Word document instead, Word can open PDFs directly; see below.

PDF to text
Illustrated document pages containing a chart, photograph and text.
Illustration · a document can contain more than its visible pages.

How to convert a PDF to text on Windows with Deckle

  1. Open PDF to text in Microsoft Edge, Chrome or Firefox.
  2. Drag the PDF from File Explorer onto the page, or choose Select a file. The page preview opens straight away.
  3. Under Pages and order, keep All pages, or choose Choose pages and type page numbers such as 2-4, 9.
  4. Under Between pages, choose Mark where each page ended or One continuous document.
  5. Choose Extract text.
  6. Download the .txt file, named after the PDF, and open it in Notepad.

After the export, Deckle compares the text file with the selectable text in the PDF and reports the share of characters kept.

Text file or Word document?

You want Use
The words only, to search, paste, or feed into another program Deckle's PDF to text
A document you can edit with headings, bold and pictures Word's PDF conversion, below

Mark where each page ended adds a page-break character between pages, useful when you need to know which page text came from. One continuous document separates pages with a blank line, which is tidier for pasting into an email. See how to extract PDF text with page breaks.

Open a PDF in Word

Microsoft describes Word's PDF conversion in Opening PDFs in Word. You open the PDF in Word, and Word makes an editable copy; the original PDF is not changed. It works in Word for Microsoft 365, 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016.

Microsoft lists its limits: the layout may not match the original exactly, pages that are mostly graphics may come through as a picture with no editable text, and elements such as tables with cell spacing, endnotes, PDF bookmarks and PDF comments may not convert well. Check the converted document against the PDF.

What PDF to text can and can't read

Deckle extracts text that is already selectable in the PDF. To test a file, open it in Edge and try to select a sentence. If you can, it will extract.

A scanned page or a photo of a document is a picture, so it gives an empty page in the text file. A PDF that asks for a password needs an unlocked copy first; use Unlock PDF.

Multi-column pages, sidebars and tables can come out in a different order from the one you see. Fonts, images, links and colours are not kept, because a text file holds only characters. If your text is empty, see why PDF to text gives no output.

Tips

  • Extract only what you need. Typing 5-9 keeps the file short and quick to check.
  • Change the order while extracting. Pages follow the order you type, so 3, 1-2 puts page 3 first.
  • Check figures by hand. Tables lose their columns in plain text. Compare totals with the PDF.
  • Notepad handles the file. The text is UTF-8, which Notepad opens correctly, including accented and non-Latin characters.

Frequently asked questions

How do I copy text from a PDF on Windows?

For a whole document, export it with PDF to text. For a sentence or two, select the text in the PDF reader and copy it.

Why is my text file empty?

The PDF has no selectable text, which is normal for scans and photographed pages.

Will the text keep the layout?

No. A text file has no layout. Lines and paragraphs are rebuilt from where the text sits on the page.

Is the PDF uploaded?

No. The text is extracted in your browser on your PC.

Can I get text from a scanned PDF?

Not with PDF to text, which reads only text that is already selectable. A scan is a picture of the page, so it produces empty pages. Microsoft says Word's conversion works best on files that are mostly text, and that a page of mostly graphics can come through as an image with no editable text.

Related tools

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