# Is there an app to convert to only text (not ‘texting’)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 9, 2021, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-app-to-convert-to-only-text-not-texting/955796 "2021-12-09T21:27:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-app-to-convert-to-only-text-not-texting/955796/1 "2021-12-09T21:27:06Z")
Hey — my first FQ thread! Woo-hoo! 🙂 I used to have an app (iOS) that stripped out any formatting and images and left only the text characters remaining. Is there still such an app? I must’ve deleted the old app. I’ve searched a bit but keep getting texting apps, for text message communications. Not what I want. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-app-to-convert-to-only-text-not-texting/955796/2 "2021-12-10T00:07:19Z")
Maybe a note-taking app? On a PC. You can paste into a text editor like Notepad and you’re left with just the ASCII characters. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-app-to-convert-to-only-text-not-texting/955796/3 "2021-12-10T01:14:15Z")
I am certain there is an app, but you did not mention what was the format of the original file. For example, for PDF files there is pdftotext (& variations on this name). Or try one of the dragging or selecting gestures mentioned here: [How to Get Text from PDF on iPhone and iPad with iOS 15](https://nerdschalk.com/how-to-get-text-from-pdf-on-on-iphone-and-ipad-with-ios-15/) ---
**Author:** ![Hoops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoops/32/6408_2.png) [@Hoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoops)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-app-to-convert-to-only-text-not-texting/955796/4 "2021-12-10T01:43:37Z")
I think the specific concept you are looking for is _plain text_. If I Google _plain text converter iOS,_ I get a lot of results that seem to resemble what you’re looking for. Such as: > **[‎Plain Text Paste](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/plain-text-paste/id699658222)** > > ‎Copy as plain text right within your favourite apps!\* Are you tired of pasting text into an app such as Mail, only to find that the text is too large or the wrong color? Using Plain Text Paste, you can now copy as plain text\*, or remove formatting... (Not that I’ve ever used that app myself.) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-app-to-convert-to-only-text-not-texting/955796/5 "2021-12-10T05:05:51Z")
Microsoft Word has (or once had?) a menu option for that. When you copy text to one of Word’s internal clipboards, all formatting is preserved with it. But when you paste the same text somewhere else (within Word), there are two paste options – one that includes the formatting and one that removes all that. ---
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-app-to-convert-to-only-text-not-texting/955796/6 "2021-12-10T06:24:02Z")
It’s still in there. When you right-click where you want to paste, you’re given several options (depending on the clipboard content) and one of them is ‘keep text only’ which will paste the text in to match your current in-document formatting. The suggestion upthread to paste into Notepad is pretty effective too and is something I do frequently. Not an operation I’ve tried performing on my phone so I’ve never researched methods for doing so. That being said, there is an MS Word smartphone app, and it also has the same pasting options. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-app-to-convert-to-only-text-not-texting/955796/7 "2021-12-10T09:54:40Z")
> [@Hoops](#): > > I think the specific concept you are looking for is _plain text_. Yes this is _ **exactly** _ it. Thank you! > [@Hoops](#): > > If I Google _plain text converter iOS,_ I get a lot of results that seem to resemble what you’re looking for. Such as: > > [‎Plain Text Paste on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/plain-text-paste/id699658222) > > (Not that I’ve ever used that app myself.) And — hey! This was the exact app I used years ago. Double thank you!! Thanks, Hoops! All net from 45 feet — swish! (Hmm, I’m assuming your uName is a basketball reference, but that may not be the case…) ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-app-to-convert-to-only-text-not-texting/955796/8 "2021-12-10T09:57:43Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Maybe a note-taking app? > On a PC. You can paste into a text editor like Notepad and you’re left with just the ASCII characters. > [@Tabco](#): > > It’s still in there. When you right-click where you want to paste, you’re given several options (depending on the clipboard content) and one of them is ‘keep text only’ which will paste the text in to match your current in-document formatting. > > The suggestion upthread to paste into Notepad is pretty effective too and is something I do frequently. Not an operation I’ve tried performing on my phone so I’ve never researched methods for doing so. That being said, there is an MS Word smartphone app, and it also has the same pasting options. On my laptop I do this all the time. I find it very handy. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-app-to-convert-to-only-text-not-texting/955796/9 "2021-12-10T09:58:58Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Microsoft Word has (or once had?) a menu option for that. When you copy text to one of Word’s internal clipboards, all formatting is preserved with it. But when you paste the same text somewhere else (within Word), there are two paste options – one that includes the formatting and one that removes all that. Oh, interesting! I never knew Word had this option. I’ll have to explore it. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-app-to-convert-to-only-text-not-texting/955796/10 "2021-12-10T10:00:42Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > I am certain there is an app, but you did not mention what was the format of the original file. For example, for PDF files there is pdftotext (& variations on this name). Or try one of the dragging or selecting gestures mentioned here: [How to Get Text from PDF on iPhone and iPad with iOS 15](https://nerdschalk.com/how-to-get-text-from-pdf-on-on-iphone-and-ipad-with-ios-15/) This article is very informative. Good tips here. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-app-to-convert-to-only-text-not-texting/955796/11 "2021-12-10T10:05:41Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Maybe a note-taking app? > On a PC. You can paste into a text editor like Notepad and you’re left with just the ASCII characters. More: the problem is that in iOS all the note taking apps that I tried retained images, which I wanted stripped out. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-app-to-convert-to-only-text-not-texting/955796/12 "2021-12-11T07:16:49Z")
> [@Hoops](#): > > I think the specific concept you are looking for is _plain text_ . Who even knows what “plain text” means any more? I’m an old school computer user, from the days when plain text was all there was. I have always had a lot of occasions to deal with plain text. (Which I now often refer to as “plain old plain text”.) And there are soooo many computer users these days who have no idea what that means. > [@Bullitt](#): > > Yes this is _ **exactly** _ it. Thank you! Well why didn’t you just say so? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-app-to-convert-to-only-text-not-texting/955796/13 "2021-12-11T13:09:12Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > > [@Bullitt](#): > > > > Yes this is _ **exactly** _ it. Thank you! > > Well why didn’t you just say so? 🙂 Exactly! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2023, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-app-to-convert-to-only-text-not-texting/955796/14 "2023-02-19T11:51:39Z")
To close the loop on this, on my iPhone I downloaded the app called Old Notepad and it’s been working very well. [![](https://i.imgur.com/6VadcTo.png) ](https://i.imgur.com/6VadcTo.png)