How to extract text from a PDF with OnyxPDF
- Drop your PDF into the tool.
- Click “Extract Text”.
- Read or copy the text in the panel, or download it as a .txt file.
Why do it in your browser instead of uploading?
- No upload: extract the text of a private document without handing the document to a server.
- Instant copy-paste access to text that a PDF viewer makes awkward to select across pages.
- The natural first step before summarising or translating a document with any tool you like.
- Free, with no page limits.
Good to know (honest limits)
- Only the embedded text layer is extracted. Scanned PDFs and photos of pages contain no text layer — use OCR, which reads the pixels instead.
- Reading order follows the PDF’s internal text order; heavily designed pages (magazines, two-column layouts) can come out jumbled.
Frequently asked questions
Why did my scanned PDF extract no text?
A scan is a picture of text, not text. Use the OCR tool on this site — it recognises the characters from the image, in seven languages.
Can I save the text as a file?
Yes — download a .txt containing the full extracted text, page by page.
Does extraction change my PDF?
No. It only reads the file; your original is untouched.
Is the document uploaded?
No. Text extraction runs in your browser with pdf.js.