Why does it return no text?

Your PDF is likely a scanned document — each page is an image rather than selectable text. Use the OCR tool instead, which can recognize text from images.

Does this work with multi-language PDFs?

Yes. The tool extracts whatever text is embedded in the PDF, regardless of language. It reads Unicode text directly from the file structure.

Is the reading order always correct?

FileKit reconstructs reading order by analyzing text positions. For standard single-column documents, accuracy is excellent. Complex multi-column or table-heavy layouts may occasionally reorder some text.

Can I extract text from a specific page only?

Currently the tool extracts text from all pages. The output includes page separators (--- Page 1 ---) so you can easily find and copy text from any specific page.

Why does my PDF extract garbled text?

This usually happens with scanned PDFs (which contain images, not text) or PDFs with custom font encodings. Try the OCR tool for scanned documents.

Can I extract text from specific pages only?

The tool extracts text from all pages. You can select and copy the portions you need from the output.

Does it preserve formatting like tables and columns?

Plain text extraction preserves reading order but not visual formatting. Tables may appear as separated text lines.

What is the difference between text extraction and OCR?

Text extraction reads embedded text data from digital PDFs. OCR recognises text from images in scanned PDFs. Use extraction for digital files and OCR for scans.

PDF to Text

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FileKit — Free browser-based file tools. No upload, no signup.

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Max 500.0 MB per file·Supports: PDF

Scanned PDFs (image-only) will return no text — try the OCR tool instead.

You might also need

🔍

Extract Text (OCR)

Pull text from images — beta

🖼️

PDF to Images

Export every page as a JPG or PNG image

📄

Compress PDF

Reduce PDF file size — four levels including page rasterisation

How PDF text extraction works

FileKit uses pdf.js to read each page's text content directly from the PDF — no OCR involved. Reading order is reconstructed by clustering text by vertical position. Output is plain UTF-8 text with page separators. For scanned-image PDFs (where each page is a picture), there is no embedded text to extract — use the OCR tool instead. All processing runs in your browser.

How to Extract Text from a PDF

1
Upload your PDF
Drag and drop a digitally-created PDF (not a scan). FileKit reads the embedded text layer directly.
2
Extract and review
FileKit pulls all text content from every page and displays it in an editable text area. Page breaks are preserved.
3
Copy or download
Copy the text to your clipboard or download it as a .txt file. For scanned documents, use the OCR tool instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your Privacy, Guaranteed

FileKit processes every file directly in your browser using JavaScript and WebAssembly. Your documents, images, and data never leave your device — there is no server upload, no cloud storage, and no account required. What happens in your browser stays in your browser.

100% client-side processing
No server upload — ever
No account or signup needed
Works offline after first load

PDF to Text

You might also need

How PDF text extraction works

How to Extract Text from a PDF

Upload your PDF

Extract and review

Copy or download

Frequently Asked Questions

Your Privacy, Guaranteed

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