# .pdf to text **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-to-text/483724 "2009-01-30T16:37:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-to-text/483724/1 "2009-01-30T16:37:49Z")
Where can I get a free program to convert .pdf files to text? I googled and tried one, but it got to 99% and then quit. (The particular .pdf file was rotated 90º, but I’d expect a conversion program to be able to handle that.) This isn’t a huge issue, as we can have the sender re-send as an Excel file or as a .txt document; but it would be handy to be able to convert .pdfs. I doubt the company would pay any money for a program, as we’re below our earnings target this year. If I can find a program that works well, then I might shell out for it myself. But I’d want to try it first. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-to-text/483724/2 "2009-01-30T16:41:38Z")
Here is a prety good summary of some techniques with a link to software applications: [How to Extract Text or Images From a PDF File](http://desktoppub.about.com/od/pdf/f/pdfextraction.htm) and another: [Convert PDF Files to Word Documents, HTML or Text Files](http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/09/convert-pdf-files-to-word-documents.html) ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-to-text/483724/3 "2009-01-30T16:43:16Z")
Unless the PDF was specifically set up to disallow it, you should be able to select the text, copy it, and paste it into whatever needs it. You just have to use the text selection tool. The reader gives you the hand tool by default, so you need to change tools. Of course, if it’s a lot of pages, copying each page by hand would be inefficient. But you can go to the Edit menu and choose ‘Copy File to Clipboard.’ You might need to use ‘Paste Special’ to end up with the right format in the destination app. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-to-text/483724/4 "2009-01-30T17:44:22Z")
**Saltire** : I can’t even Find text, let alone select it. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-to-text/483724/5 "2009-01-30T18:05:24Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > **Saltire** : I can’t even Find text, let alone select it. Is this a scanned document? ---
**Author:** ![hobscrk777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a6a055/32.png) [@hobscrk777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobscrk777)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-to-text/483724/6 "2009-01-30T18:09:03Z")
Sometimes, I just want to fill out a pdf form, not necessarily convert it to a word document. If that’s the case, check [this link.](http://www.pdfescape.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-to-text/483724/7 "2009-01-30T18:10:21Z")
Ask for a different format. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-to-text/483724/8 "2009-01-30T18:31:40Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > Is this a scanned document? Yes. So there’s no way to convert this one. It didn’t register before. However, a conversion program might come in handy for others. > [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Ask for a different format. That’s what we do. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-to-text/483724/9 "2009-01-30T19:09:56Z")
A scanned PDF document isn’t a document. It’s an image. You would need an OCR program to read the scanned image letters and convert them into text. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-to-text/483724/10 "2009-01-30T20:48:43Z")
> [@Saltire](#): > > Unless the PDF was specifically set up to disallow it, you should be able to select the text, copy it, and paste it into whatever needs it. You just have to use the text selection tool. The reader gives you the hand tool by default, so you need to change tools. When I try that on a page that is in several columns – such as a magazine – I end up with the first line of column 1, first line of column 2, second line of column 1, second line of column 2, etc. I end up giving up. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-to-text/483724/11 "2009-01-30T20:56:04Z")
Acrobat (the full version, not Reader, the free thing) will turn a scanned document into text, but it will require an awful lot of reformatting and punctuation re-inserting afterwards, depending on the font and resolution of your scanner. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-to-text/483724/12 "2009-02-24T16:53:11Z")
Sorry to resurrect last month’s thread, but I did a vanity search today and found there was a question I hadn’t caught before for which I know an answer. On multi-column texts, you can select each column indivitually by using the select tool and holding down the Alt or Option key. With the key held down, the select tool will draw a box as you drag, and only select the text inside the box. Just box the column, copy, and paste. It’s a good deal extra work, since you need to copy and paste once for each column. But at least there is a way to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pdf-to-text/483724/13 "2009-02-24T18:20:24Z")
> [@Saltire](#): > > On multi-column texts, you can select each column indivitually by using the select tool and holding down the Alt or Option key. With the key held down, the select tool will draw a box as you drag, and only select the text inside the box. Just box the column, copy, and paste. Thanks! MS Word has had this feature for a decade or two. Just hold down the Alt, and the mouse selects a box. But I almost never found a use for it, because any document where it would be useful is probably already in a table format, where selecting a column is simple. It never occurred to me to try it for the columns of a pdf. I hope I remember this the next time I need it! Yes! I tried it! It works! Thanks!