PDF to Text Converter
Extract all the text from a PDF
To convert PDF to text, drop your PDF above and click Extract text. Fylo reads the text layer of every page with Mozilla's pdf.js in your browser and saves it as a .txt file, keeping lines in reading order with a page break between pages. A 100-page PDF takes about a second. Scanned PDFs need OCR, which isn't supported yet.
Drop PDFs here
or tap to browse · paste with Ctrl+V · add many at once
Your files never leave your device
How to convert PDF to Text
Add PDFs
Drop one or more PDF files.
Extract
Click Extract text.
Download
Save the .txt files or a ZIP of all of them.
How text extraction works
Most PDFs created from Word, browsers or design apps store real text with positions on the page. Fylo reads those text items page by page, groups them into lines by their vertical position and writes them out in reading order, separating pages with a form-feed character that many editors display as a page break.
Scanned PDFs and OCR
A scanned document or photographed page is just an image — there's no text layer to extract. Recognising characters in images (OCR) is a separate, heavy process; it's on our roadmap. If your PDF has no text, Fylo says so clearly instead of giving you an empty file.
Learn more: PDF format guide · TXT format guide
| PDF type | Text extraction |
|---|---|
| Exported from Word, Google Docs, browsers | Works well |
| Multi-column layouts | Works; columns may interleave |
| Scanned or photographed pages | Needs OCR (not yet supported) |
| Password-protected | Remove the password first |
Frequently asked questions
Why is my extracted text empty?
The PDF is probably a scan — images of text without a text layer.
Is formatting kept?
No, the output is plain text.
Does it work with large PDFs?
Yes — a 100-page PDF takes about a second on a laptop.
Can I extract text from images?
Not yet; OCR is planned.
Can I convert many PDFs at once?
Yes — drop them all and download the text files as a ZIP.
Is the text in the right order for multi-column PDFs?
Usually, but some multi-column layouts interleave lines from different columns.
Can I copy text from a protected PDF?
If a PDF requires a password to open, remove it first. PDFs that only restrict copying in viewers may still extract normally.
Does it keep tables?
Table text is extracted line by line in reading order; column alignment isn't preserved.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. PDF to Text runs entirely in your browser — your files are processed on your own device and never sent anywhere. Once the page has loaded, it even keeps working if your connection drops.
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