How to Convert a PDF to TXT or Extract Text
Question details
The user wants to convert a PDF to a TXT file or extract text from plans and technical drawings.
- Product
- PDF Editor
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Extracting text data from PDF plans and technical drawings for editing or analysis.
- Observed behavior
- Needs a method to convert PDF to TXT, as direct TXT conversion might not be natively supported by some basic export subscriptions.
Check if your PDF is a scanned document or a text-based file. Scanned technical drawings will require an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tool to extract the text.
Convert PDF to Word or RTF and Save as TXT
Since direct TXT conversion isn't always supported by basic PDF exporters, converting to Word or RTF first is the most reliable workaround.
Many PDF export tools support converting PDFs to Word (.docx) or RTF formats. Once converted, you can easily save the document as a plain text file using any standard word processor.
Open your PDF tool and use the export feature to convert the document to Microsoft Word or RTF format.
Open the newly created Word or RTF document in your word processor.
Go to 'File' > 'Save As', choose your destination, and select 'Plain Text (*.txt)' from the format dropdown menu.
Extract Text from Technical Drawings Using OCR
For image-based PDFs like scanned plans, use OCR tools to recognize and extract text directly.
Easily Extract Text and Convert PDFs with WPS Office
WPS Office provides robust PDF tools, including a built-in OCR feature to extract text from scanned drawings, and direct options to convert PDFs into editable Word documents from which you can easily save text.
- 1. Open PDF in WPS: Download and launch WPS Office, then open your PDF file.
- 2. Use PDF to Word or OCR: Navigate to the 'Tools' tab and select 'PDF to Word' for standard documents, or 'OCR' for scanned technical drawings.
- 3. Extract the Text: If using OCR, select the area on the drawing to extract text. Copy the text or save the converted Word document as a Plain Text (.txt) file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I convert a scanned PDF directly to a TXT file?
You need a PDF editor with OCR capabilities to recognize the text first. Once the text is recognized, you can save or copy it into a TXT file.
Why can't I select text in my PDF technical drawing?
The drawing might be flattened as an image. Use an OCR feature to make the image text selectable and extractable.
Does converting to TXT keep the formatting of the PDF?
No, plain text (.txt) files do not retain formatting such as bolding, tables, or layout structures. Only the raw characters are preserved.
