Pdf To Text Free Mac

There are many ways to convert PDF to text, and some of those methods are just not going to give you the results you need.

The easiest ways to convert PDF to text on Mac

Mac Preview is the free utility to view, annotate, compress and manage PDF pages, but it is not capable of editing the PDF text. It does support filling out PDF forms, but the original PDF should come with form fields and interactive elements. With this free PDF to Word converter, you can create, convert, edit, and even sign PDF documents. It works on Windows and Mac and has a full-feature word processor much like MS Word that gives you. Steps to batch convert image to text Mac: Step 1. Install the software. Download, install and run Enolsoft PDF Converter with OCR on Mac. Drag & drop text-based images into the program of the interface, or click “+” to import files. You can batch convert over 200 images, even in large sizes. Enolsoft PDF to Text for Mac. Enolsoft PDF to Text for Mac is a powerful Mac PDF Converter that allows the users to convert PDF documents into Word, Excel, PPT, Epub, Image, etc. This Mac PDF Converter uses OCR technology to transform scanned PDF documents into editable text files, thus saving you from manually having to type in the text again.

Here, we'll show you the right ways to convert PDF to text, and highlight a few pdf to text converter apps we really like.

OCR and PDF to Text Converters

Convert your PDFs to text files with ease. Best utilities in one pack, give it a go!


OCR PDF to text

Prizmo is a very powerful document scanning and PDF exporter for Mac. It excels when you need to convert scanned PDF to text on your desktop, but it's so much more than that!

Prizmo also converts PDFs to text using an advanced OCR, or optical character recognition. Its 'recognize' feature scans your PDFs for characters, which helps it know what should be converted to a text file, and what might be an image or formatting that can be omitted.

We like Prizmo because its PDF to text OCR is really clever, and omits formatting other converters may leave behind. In side-by-side testing, we've found it to produce better true text documents than many other services.

Here's how to use Prizmo to convert your PDF document to a text file:

  1. Open Prizmo. Select 'New File.'
  2. Choose 'Open Image File.'
  1. Select the PDF file you want to convert to text from your computer.
  2. Select 'Recognize' from the top right corner of the screen.
  3. From the Menu bar, go to File > Export.
  4. From the drop-down menu, select 'Rich Text.'
  5. Select 'Export to File.'
  6. Name your new text file, and choose where you'd like to save it.

Convert pdf to searchable text

If you've got huge PDFs you want to convert to text documents, there's a really good chance you'll want those new files to be as searchable as your PDF was. This is especially critical for wordy PDF files, as text documents lack formatting. Instead of visual cues to tell you where to look, you'll have a wall of text.

PDFPen is a great application focused on making PDFs editable, which is awesome when you need signatures on documents or for people to fill-in forms. But it's also a really powerful PDF to txt converter, and allows for batch converting if you need that functionality.

Game guardian apple. Here's how to convert a PDF to text with PDFPen:

  1. Open PDFPen, and select the document you want to convert. Select 'Open.'
  2. From the Menu bar, go to File > Export.
  3. Choose 'Rich Text' from the drop-down menu.
  4. Select 'export,' and you're done!

That's really all it takes! Now you have a searchable text document from your PDF. Check out how to search a PDF.

Keep a few things in mind when using PDFPen to turn PDF documents into text files. It retains some formatting, which can be handy in certain cases. While there are times you will definitely want to strip out all of the formatting a PDF has, sometimes objects are actually necessary bits of info.

Mac

We converted a financial document boasting of zero-percent introductory rates for a credit card, and most text converters left out the actual '0' from the document because it was an object, not a character. PDFPen didn't have an issue, but did retain some formatting after converting the PDF to a text document, which may not be what you're looking for.

Convert Handwriting to Text

Pdf

When we talk about converting PDF to text, we're most often discussing the OCR. While many OCR services intend to strip anything not immediately recognizable as a character out of the final product, MathKey does things a bit different.

The app makes itself really handy for those who prefer to handwrite, especially for mathematical purposes. It's built for recognizing mathematical equations, which is great for those who like to put pen to screen on an iPad with Apple Pencil to work out math problems.

Because it's focused on math, MathKey allows you to export scanned images as images, LaTex, or MathML.

MathKey also has a really handy method for linking your iPad or iPhone works to the Mac. In the mobile app, you can scan a QR code to link to the MathKey website. Once linked, you can then transfer your math problem sketches to your Mac, where you are able to convert your handwriting. After you convert it, you're able to export it as an image, LaTex, or MathML file, which can be used in any document you like.

It's great for those times you have to include some mathematical equations to a document, but don't feel like fussing with the Mac's keyboard workarounds for typing the equations out.

Convert anything to text

Another useful tool in your work is TextSniper. The app converts any text on your screen to text. Just use the app shortcut Command + Shift + 2, select the part of the screen with the text you want to convert, and the text will be copied to your Mac’s clipboard. Copy-paste wherever you need it and you are done! Bonus feature — the app also reads QR and barcodes.

Use TextSniper’s simple selection tool to get the text from images, PDFs, screenshots, videos, banners, or anywhere you need. Whether you want your PDF scans or images deciphered, TextSniper got it all.

And if you don’t want to remember the app’s keyboard shortcut, just click on the app’s icon in your menu bar to manually trigger the selection tool.

How to use Automator to convert pdfs to text - a native macOS solution

You can use Preview to save text files as PDFs, but not PDF to txt. Instead, Apple's built-in Automator is your go-to solution. Just keep in mind Automator is a 'pro' tool, so follow along closely so you don't mess anything up:

  1. Open Automator on your Mac.
  2. Select 'New Document.'
  3. Select 'Workflow' from the menu that appears.
  4. From the menu on the left side, select 'Files and Folders.'
  5. On the sub-menu to the right of the main menu, find 'Ask for Finder items.' Drag that to the open space on the far right side of the window.
  6. Select 'PDFs' from the menu.
  7. Select 'Extract PDF text' from the sub-menu that appears. Drag it to the right side of the screen, under 'Ask for Finder items.'
  8. In 'Extract PDF text,' select 'rich text' as your output type. Your Automator screen should look like this:
  1. From the menu bar, select File > Save.
  2. Enter the name of your new app.
  3. Choose where you want to save your app.
  4. Select 'Application' as the file format. (The default is 'workflow.)

That's all you have to do set your new Automator app up. Now, let's run it and extract text from PDF:

  1. Double-click your app.
  2. Choose the PDF file you want to convert, and select 'Choose' on the bottom right of the window.

Now your PDF has been converted to a text document, and saved to your desktop. All you have to do is open it up and your PDF is readable as a text document!

A few things to note. First, your PDF will not be destroyed or altered in any way. This Automator app only extracts text from the PDF and saves that text as a new file.

Because the app will only convert PDF to txt, no images will be converted.

How to convert text in PDF in Adobe Acrobat

You can use OCR with Adobe Acrobat, though there are some things to keep in mind. Acrobat is a professional tool, and can be really difficult for first-timers or novices. Because it was designed of professionals, those who don't need a powerful PDF viewer will likely find Adobe Acrobat far too fussy for most use cases.

And remember while we're discussing a finite use-case in converting PDFs to text documents, that doesn't mean it has to be difficult. This is why we suggest Prizmo, PDFPen, and MathKey. Chances are one of those apps suit your needs far better than Adobe Acrobat.

But if you want to use Adobe Acrobat's OCR functionality, here's how:

  1. Open a PDF file within Acrobat.
  2. Select 'Tools' in the top right corner of the window.
  3. Select 'Recognize text.'
  4. Select 'In this file.'
  5. On the next screen, choose how many pages in your document you'd like scanned. You can also make edits to the language or output preferences by clicking 'edit.'

That's really all it takes to scan the document, but it's a lot more granular than other apps.

This also doesn't export your document, so keep that in mind. All you've done with Adobe Acrobat is make your PDF searchable, and each character recognizable.

What about OCR PDFs online?

There are several unique online services for scanning PDFs using an OCR online feature. Their capabilities are similar – all scan your PDFs and turn them into text documents using an optical character recognition service, but there are things to consider.

First, you're using a cloud-based service, and there's no way to know what's happening behind the scenes. While we don't doubt most are simply converting PDFs to text as a service, we do wonder why they offer it free of charge. It may be to train a machine learning algorithm using what amounts to crowdsourced data, or they could be saving copies of your PDFs or text files for some purpose.

Online services are sometimes a front for capturing your email address for marketing purposes. They may also have a model where your first scan is free, and subsequent scans cost money, or you have to subscribe to some service. Many might do so just to get some scans done, but if you forget about your subscription, the cost adds up over time.

Simply put, we prefer using native apps to get the job done.

Converting a PDF to a text file is one of those use-cases where your needs are unique enough that it can be difficult to find a solution, but urgent enough that you need a solution quickly.

Pdf To Text Free Download

It's difficult to recommend Adobe Acrobat. While it's robust, it's usually overkill for most of us. Adobe thrives in legacy enterprise settings where companies need the power Acrobat provides.

Automator is handy, and provided good results. It held onto too much formatting for our liking, and rendered some text in colors. The conjuring full movie download in hindi 480p filmywap. Text documents opened in the TextEdit app on the Mac, and it was difficult to read much of the text Automator provided. We wanted clear, concise, accurate text from a PDF that was readable, and search-able.

That's what Prizmo and PDFPen excel at. We like both because they make accomplishing your tasks easy. Each are strong in their respective ways; Prizmo ha a much stricter OCR engine, while PDFPen captures more of the page info. We ran some side-by-side testing of three documents, and discovered this to be true across all PDF documents we used.

There's no recommendation, and we think both are easy enough to use it doesn't warrant a decision to be rendered. If one doesn't work, the other app can fulfill your needs quickly and easily.

Best of all, Prizmo, PDFPen, TextSniper and MathKey are all available for free as part of a free trial of Setapp, the most well-rounded suite of productivity apps for Mac.

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PDFs are everywhere. But are they easy to deal with? Absolutely not. Unlike Microsoft Word or Google Docs where you can easily edit text and images, PDFs feel like “words carved in stone.” You need additional tools to change text, sign, or redact information. No wonder many people want to know how to change PDF to Word to make it more editable.

Pdf To Text Free Mac Online

Indeed, Word documents give you more editing tools, so it makes a lot of sense to convert PDF to Word, make edits, and then convert it back. How to convert PDF to Word on Mac? You can use copy and paste, but it’s too much work — you’ll end up spending more time on transferring text than actually editing it.

Get the best PDF editor for Mac

Change anything in your PDF without converting it to other formats. PDFpen can handle OCR, signatures, images, and so much more.

Convert Pdf To Text Free

The point is you absolutely need to know how to convert PDF to Word on Mac — whether to sign your lease agreement or correct a file at work. So why not learn the best ways to convert PDF to Word doc now to make your life much easier later on.

How To Convert PDF To Word On Mac

So how do you turn PDF into Word quickly and seamlessly? Truth is there are a few ways to convert PDF to Word to make simple edits in your files. For example, you could convert PDF to Word doc using Google Drive or Adobe Acrobat Pro. You could also capture PDF text with a built-in Mac utility called Automator. But the real secret is to know a few advanced apps that do all the work for you. Let’s dive into all.

How to change PDF to Word with Google Docs

Google Docs is a popular online editing tool and there’s a good chance that you already store some PDFs within its storage solution called Google Drive, which also allows you to convert PDFs to Word docs without the need to download a PDF to your computer first. Just note that if your PDF includes lots of images, Google Drive might remove them in the final document.

Here’s how to set your Google Drive to read PDF files in Google Docs and then convert them into Word documents:

  1. Click on the cog symbol at the top right in Google Drive and choose Settings
  2. In the General tab, check the box in 'Convert uploads' that states 'Convert uploaded files to Google Docs editor format'
  3. Find the desired PDF file within Google Docs and right-click on it.
  4. Choose 'Open with' and select Google Docs
  5. Once a new Google Doc window opens, click File in the top-bar menu and select Download as Microsoft Word

Google Drive works really well if you have a simple PDF text document that you need to edit in Word. However, if your PDF file is image-heavy, you’re going to need a more powerful PDF to Word converter for Mac.

How to convert PDF to Word using Adobe Acrobat Pro

Adobe Acrobat Pro is another complete solution to create and edit PDFs. The good thing about it is that your fonts and layout features, such as bullets and tables, will be left intact. Even when you’re out of the office, you can still export PDF to Word using a mobile version of Acrobat.

To convert from PDF to Word using Adobe Acrobat Pro:

  1. Open your desired PDF file
  2. Choose the Export PDF tool on the right sidebar
  3. Select Microsoft Word as the export format and then Word Document
  4. Click Export
  5. Save and name your Word file in your desired location

If the PDF file contains any scanned text, Acrobat will recognize it automatically.

How to convert from PDF to Word using Automator

Automator is a Mac utility, built right into your macOS. It generally helps with menial tasks, such as renaming files in batches or moving files in bulk. For our purposes, Automator also offers to help with extracting text from PDF without converting the file to Word. You can then edit the text in any text editor, such as the Ulysses app.

To use Automator for extracting text:

  1. Open Automator via the Applications folder
  2. Select Workflow and tap Enter
  3. Click on Files and Folders in the left column
  4. In the second column, select Ask for Finder Items and drag it into the right pane that says 'Drag actions or files here to build your workflow.'
  5. Choose the PDFs in the left column and select Extract PDF Text located in the second column
  6. Drag and drop Extract PDF Text to the right under Find Files and Folders
  7. Select Rich Text instead of Plain Text to retain formatting
  8. Choose where you want Automator to place your extracted text files
  9. Save as an application, open the new Automator application, and select the PDF you want to grab the text from

Open the new Rich Text document in a word processor like Ulysses, a focused writing app. Ulysses helps you write with a clean distraction-free user interface as well as structure and format your piece in its Markdown editor. Conveniently, you’re also able to keep your side notes, sketches, and manuscripts in the app’s library. When you’re done, just export your work into a well-designed ebook or a new PDF file.

Ulysses can also be the answer to how to convert Word to PDF on Mac, since it’s able to open Word files and export anything as PDF too.

Pdf To Text Mac Free

On another note, Automator works great for working with text files, but what can you do if you want to extract words from images in your PDF?

How to extract text from images with Prizmo

When you want to grab text embedded in an image, you need Prizmo.

Prizmo is an essential app that uses optical character recognition (OCR) to create searchable PDF documents. It also lets you edit or correct small errors or formatting mistakes in scanned files, just as you would be able to in your favorite word processor. All in all, Prizmo is your best friend if you’re looking to work with text in any printed papers, business cards, or even receipts.

How to extract text from anywhere with TextSniper

Whether you are struggling to turn your PDF scans to text or wondering how to quickly capture text from a banner, landing page, video still, or other non-textual format, try TextSniper.

This precise tool works just like a screenshot, only for text. Use app shortcut Command + Shift + 2 or manually find the feature in the app’s menu in your Mac’s menu bar to prompt the selection tool.

Select any part of your screen with the text you need copied and in mere seconds, your text is copied to your clipboard. Use Command + V to paste the text to Word or any other text editor of your choice.

How to edit PDFs without converting them to Word

If figuring out how to export PDF to Word sounds like too much work — there’s another way to edit them as well, using PDFpen.

PDFpen is a powerful editor you can use to add new images, text, and even signatures directly to your PDF files. You can also erase and edit existing content, resize or move graphics, and copy and paste from other sources while retaining formatting.

Use PDfpen when you need to review and add feedback to PDF files. You’d be able to simply highlight, underscore, or add corrections to any file. With a simple drag and drop feature, you can add new pages, reorder existing ones, or combine separate PDF files into one. If you’re going to be editing PDF files on a regular basis, PDFpen is a must-have.

Mac Pdf Converter To Word

Now that you know how to export PDF to Word, extract text from PDF, and even edit your PDF file directly, you can take control of your important documents and make edits as needed.

Pdf To Text Converter Mac

Best of all is that all four apps mentioned above: Ulysses, Prizmo, TextSniper and PDFpen, are available absolutely free for seven days as part of the trial for Setapp, a collection of more than 160 Mac apps, all of which promise to make your day on Mac as productive as it can be. Try and see for yourself today!

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