How to Extract Text from PDF Document & PDF Image

Do you want to retrieve text from PDF for further processing? Want to do the perfect analysis of your content? Or searching for a solution to extract text from PDF files? Then, you are at the right place! Here in this blog, we are going to suggest the best solutions for PDF text extraction.

PDF files are one of the globally used file formats which makes it convenient for users to store and share information in a secure and easy way. This file format is invented by Adobe & is supported by all Operating Systems. As these files contain important data so sometimes there comes a requirement to extract text from PDF files. There are many solutions available to do so. Whether you want to export text from PDF image or the file itself, we have you covered.

What are we discussing here?

• Text Extraction Cases
• Manual Ways to extract PDF Text
  • Adobe Reader Save as Text option
  • Copy-Paste Method
  • Convert to Word
• Method to Extract Text from PDF Image
• Automated solution

Cases When PDF Text Extraction is Required

In the next section, we will go through the cases where there is a requirement to extract text from multiple PDF files.

1. Different types of Invoices data
2. Purchase Orders List
3. Insurance Claims and Contacts
4. Standard Level Reports
5. Electronic Form Health Record
6. Order Shipping Documents
7. Proof of Item Delivery, etc

Manually Extract Text from PDF Document

There are several ways to extract all text from PDF documents. Some manual methods are given here:

#1 Use Free Adobe Reader

Follow these steps to extract text from PDF document:

• Run the free or premium Adobe Acrobat application.
• Open the PDF file that you want to export text from.
• Go to Menu and click on the “Save as text” option.

• Now, choose where you want to save the text file.
• That’s it! All the PDF content is successfully converted into text.

#2 Copy-Paste the PDF Text

If the document does not have the “Save as text” option then, you can try to directly copy the content from the PDF file. Users can extract text from searchable PDF documents just by “copying” the text and “paste” it manually. It is a slow and boring process. If the user has one or a few files, this process works well. But in the case of huge PDF files, it is not an easy task to batch extract all text from PDF by copy-paste individually.

Do note that if the PDF file has restrictions on it, you may not be able to copy the contents of the file. Users must first remove restrictions from PDF file before copying and pasting the content. Users can also try to convert non copyable PDF to copyable PDF to get the job done.

#3 Export to Word/TXT

If you have the premium version of Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, then you can easily export text from the document. Simply, do the following:

• Open the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC.
• Choose the Export PDF option in Tools.
• Select Microsoft Word or Text format and choose several advanced settings.

• Finally, Save the doc version on your computer.
• This file contains all the text of the PDF file. Use it however you wish.

How to Extract Text from PDF Image? Free Method

1. Open Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (not the free version).
2. Open the PDF file in it.
3. Choose Scan and OCR from the Tools section.
4. Select the Recognize text option to let Adobe recognize the text from the images.
5. Proceed to extract or copy the text from the PDF image.

Also Read: How to Unlock PDF on MAC OS X? Here are the Quick Tricks

Best Way to Extract All Text from PDF Documents

In some scenarios, manual methods are not able to give results in the way as user required. Some of the reasons are mentioned in the above section. In that case, users can opt for automated software like the Best PDF Extractor Tool. It is specially designed to pull out all or specific text from single or multiple PDF files with many advanced features. It can also extract audio from PDF files. Moreover, this tool can be used in both Windows and Mac OS.

Do note that this method is not feasible for exporting text from PDF Images. It allows users to save text of PDF documents only, not the embedded images and other media.

Below we have explained the steps to use this utility to extract text from PDF documents.

1- Install this PDF Text Extractor utility on your system.

2- Now press the Add file or Add folder button to load one or more PDF files to extract text from multiple PDF files.

3- Use the Change button to set the location for saving the resultant PDF file. Also, Enter the Owner-level password if the PDF file is restricted else press the Next button to continue the process.

4- Now in Extract Tab choose the item type as the Text.

5- The next step is to apply the Text settings and filters if needed else can continue the process to extract text from PDF document.

6- After finishing the settings and applying filters press the Extract Button to batch extract text from PDF.

Advanced Features of the Software

• Enables maintaining the formatting of the text from an extracted PDF file.
• The program also supports extracting attachments from PDF documents.
• Multiple page settings for selective export.
• Allows for batch extraction of inline images from PDF files.
• Assistance with text extraction from several PDF documents.

Final Words

In this blog, we have given multiple solutions on “How to extract text from PDF documents”. Users can use manual approaches by following the step-by-step procedure described above. If in any case, the manual method fails, then users can also take help from professional tools. It helps them to batch export text from multiple PDF files in an advanced way.