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Extract text

How to extract text from specific PDF pages

By DeckleUpdated

To extract text from specific PDF pages, open PDF to text, choose Choose pages under Pages and order, and type the pages in Page numbers in output order, such as 3, 7-9. Choose Extract text and the TXT file holds only those pages, in exactly the order you typed. You can put pages in a new order or repeat one, and the PDF itself is not changed.

PDF to text

Pages become plain text

Selected PDF pages

Order chosen in the review

UTF-8 text

Words without page formatting

Page boundary: U+000C or a blank line

Conceptual illustration · page separators retain boundaries, not columns, fonts or table geometry.

How to extract text from selected pages

  1. Open PDF to text and choose your PDF, or drop it onto the page. Page thumbnails appear so you can find the pages you want.
  2. Under Pages and order, choose Choose pages.
  3. In Page numbers in output order, type single pages and ranges separated by commas, for example 1, 4-6, 12.
  4. Read the sentence under the field. It confirms the count and the order, such as "5 pages will be exported in this order: 1 → 4 → 5 → 6 → 12."
  5. Under Between pages, choose Mark where each page ended or One continuous document.
  6. Choose Extract text, then Download text.

If a number is past the last page or the list cannot be read, the message under the field says what to fix, such as "runs past the last page", and Extract text stays unavailable until it is fixed.

How the page list works

The text follows the list from left to right. That makes the field a page picker and a reordering tool at once.

You type The TXT file contains
5 Page 5 only
2-4 Pages 2, 3 and 4
1, 3, 5 Pages 1, 3 and 5
10, 1-9 Page 10 first, then pages 1 to 9
4, 3, 2, 1 Pages 4 to 1, in reverse (a range such as 4-1 is not accepted)
1, 1 Page 1 twice

Ranges include both ends. The list can hold up to 1,000 entries, which covers repeated pages on even very long documents. Undo and Redo step through your changes, and the Reset button returns to All pages.

Use PDF page positions, not printed numbers

The numbers in the field are page positions in the file: the first page is 1, whatever is printed on it. A report with a cover and two contents pages prints "1" on PDF page 4. To extract printed pages 10 to 12 of that report, type 13-15.

Use the thumbnails on the screen to check. Each one shows the page's position, so you can match the content you see with the number to type.

Example: a 40-page annual report has the chair's statement on PDF pages 5–6, the financial summary on 22 and the auditor's report on 38–40. Typing 22, 5-6, 38-40 gives a six-page text file that opens with the figures, then the statement, then the audit, which is ready to paste into a briefing note.

Page markers with a custom order

With Mark where each page ended, a page-break character separates the pages in the order you chose. The first block in the file is the first page in your list, not page 1 of the PDF. Keep a note of the list you typed if you will need to cite pages later. How to add page breaks to extracted PDF text explains how to turn the markers into labels.

Tips

  • Test one page first. Typing a single page shows how its text comes out before you export a long list.
  • Pick from the thumbnails. They show positions, which avoids confusion with printed page numbers.
  • Check that the pages have text. A scanned page in your list comes out empty; it needs OCR first.
  • Keep the PDF pages too. If you also need those pages as a PDF, extract them with Split PDF using the same ranges.

Frequently asked questions

Can I extract text from one page of a PDF?

Yes. Choose Choose pages and type the page number, such as 7.

Can I change the order of pages in the text file?

Yes. Type them in the order you want, for example 3, 1, 2. The PDF's own order is not changed.

Why is the Extract text button unavailable?

The page list has a problem, such as a page past the end of the document. The message under Page numbers in output order names the fix.

Can I extract text from pages in different PDFs at once?

Not in one go. Combine the PDFs with Merge PDFs first, then choose pages from the merged file.

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