PDF to Text Converter – Complete Guide | Rune

Converting PDF to text opens up content for editing, searching, and reuse. Here's everything you need to know about the process.

What is PDF to Text Conversion?

PDF to Text conversion extracts the text content from a PDF file and outputs it as plain text. This makes the content:

• Editable in any text editor
• Searchable with standard search tools
• Copyable without formatting issues
• Ready for data processing

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Upload Your PDF

1. Go to Rune's PDF Text Extractor.
2. Drag and drop your PDF or click to browse.
3. File loads with page previews.

Step 2: Choose Extraction Mode

Clean Mode

• Removes line breaks, headers, footers
• Creates clean, readable text
• Best for: editing, repurposing

Exact Mode

• Preserves original layout
• Maintains spacing and structure
• Best for: formatted documents

Step 3: Select Pages

Options:

• All Pages: Extract entire document
• Page Range: Specify pages like "1-5, 8, 12-end"

Step 4: Extract

Click "Extract" and wait (usually under 3 seconds).

Step 5: Download or Copy

• Copy to clipboard
• Download as TXT
• Download as Markdown

Understanding Extraction Results

Original PDF	Clean Mode Output	Exact Mode Output
Multi-column layout	Single flowing text	Columns preserved
Headers/footers	Removed	Included
Line breaks	Cleaned up	Preserved

When to Use Each Mode

Use Case	Mode
Copy for essay	Clean
Data extraction	Clean
Preserving tables	Exact
Matching original	Exact

Limitations

• Scanned PDFs: Require OCR (use Image to Text tool)
• Encrypted PDFs: Must be unlocked first
• Image-only PDFs: No extractable text

Conclusion

PDF to Text conversion is simple with the right tool. Rune's PDF Text Extractor offers both clean and exact extraction modes for any use case.