Extract text or a table from a PDF, free
Get a document's content as plain text, or its tables as a file your spreadsheet opens directly. Certyneo Reader reads the document inside your browser; no copy leaves it.
Drop your PDF here
or choose a file on your computer, tablet or phone
100% local reading: the document is never sent over the internet.
Extract the content in three steps
- 1
Open the document
Drag the PDF into the reader or pick it from your device, then open the « Extract » tool.
- 2
Pick the output
Plain text to copy or search; spreadsheet to get columns back in your calculation software.
- 3
Read it back before using it
The text is faithful. The table is rebuilt: check the columns before feeding the file into any accounting.
Everything happens in your browser: the file never leaves your device. Open in the reader
Related tools and guides
- ↑ Free tools
- → pdfTools.extract.related.links.reader
- → Edit the text of a PDF
- → Annotate and highlight a PDF
- → Redact sensitive information in a PDF
- → Make a scanned PDF searchable with OCR
- → Compare two versions of a PDF
- → Check if a PDF has been modified
- → Reorder, rotate and delete pages
- → Merge several PDFs into one
- → Split a PDF into several files
- → Compress a PDF to send it by email
- → Password-protect a PDF
- → Fill in a PDF form
- → Convert JPG or PNG images to PDF
- → Add a watermark to a PDF
- → Add Bates numbering to a PDF
- → Create a fillable PDF form
- → Process several PDFs at once
- → pdfTools.extract.related.links.signature
Frequently asked questions about extraction
Why is the table not always right?
Because a PDF holds no tables. It holds text placed at coordinates, and the columns are inferred from how the cells line up. That inference gets merged cells, centred columns and tight tables wrong. When no column emerges, the tool returns one column per line rather than an invented table: a wrong table costs more to repair than text to piece back together.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. Extraction happens inside your browser. Certyneo never receives, stores or reads your document, and adds no promotional mention.
My document returns no text, why?
It is most likely a scan: the page is an image, with no text layer. Run it through character recognition first, then come back and extract the text.
Are accents preserved in the spreadsheet file?
Yes. The file is written in UTF-8 with the byte order mark, which is enough for spreadsheets to open it in the right encoding instead of falling back on the system's.
Can the file contain formulas?
No, deliberately: a cell starting with « = », « + », « - » or « @ » is executed on opening by spreadsheets. A booby-trapped document could thereby run a command on the machine of whoever opens the file. Those cells are neutralised as they are written; they stay readable, but are no longer calculated.
Does this PDF need to be signed?
Send it for electronic signature in minutes: your signers sign from their phone, without creating an account.
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