The simplest way to copy text from a PDF

Most PDFs let you select and copy text the same way you would in any document — click and drag to highlight what you want, then use Ctrl+C (Windows) or Command+C (Mac) to copy it. Open the PDF in your web browser or your system's default PDF reader, position your cursor at the start of the text you need, click and drag to the end, and the text will highlight in blue. Then paste it into your document with Ctrl+V or Command+V.

This works for the vast majority of PDFs you'll encounter. The text is selectable because the PDF was created from a digital document — a Word file, a spreadsheet, an email — rather than scanned from paper. If you try to click and drag and nothing highlights, the PDF is a scanned image, and you'll need a different approach.

Some PDFs have copy protection enabled, which prevents text selection even though the file contains actual text. This is rare in everyday PDFs but common in textbooks and some financial documents. If you can't select text, check whether the document owner has restricted copying — your PDF reader will usually tell you.

Key Takeaways

  • Most PDFs allow you to select text by clicking and dragging, then copy it with Ctrl+C or Command+C, the same as any other document.
  • Scanned PDFs (images of paper documents) don't contain selectable text and require optical character recognition software to extract words.
  • Some PDFs have copy protection that prevents selection even though the text exists; this is usually noted in your PDF reader's document properties.
  • Online PDF converters can extract text from scanned PDFs, but they send your file to a server — use them only for documents that don't contain sensitive information.

Copying text from a standard PDF on Windows

Open the PDF in Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Adobe Reader — all three let you select text directly. Click at the beginning of the text you want to copy. Hold down your mouse button and drag to the end of the passage. The selected text will turn blue or highlight in another color depending on which reader you're using.

Once the text is highlighted, press Ctrl+C to copy it to your clipboard. Switch to the document where you want the text — Word, Google Docs, Notepad, an email — and press Ctrl+V to paste. The text will appear in your new location, though it may lose some formatting like bold or italics depending on where you paste it.

If you need to copy a large block of text, you can select all text in the PDF by pressing Ctrl+A, then Ctrl+C. This copies everything on the current page. If the PDF has multiple pages and you need text from several of them, you'll need to go page by page.

Copying text from a PDF on Mac

Open the PDF in Safari, Google Chrome, or Preview — the built-in Mac PDF reader. Click at the start of the text you want to copy and drag to the end. The text will highlight. Press Command+C to copy the selected text.

Move to your destination document — Pages, Google Docs, Mail, or any other app — and press Command+V to paste. The text will appear in your document. If you want to copy all text on the current page, press Command+A to select everything, then Command+C to copy.

Preview, which comes with every Mac, also lets you annotate PDFs while you work. If you're copying text from a PDF you own or created, you can open it in Preview, highlight passages with the markup tools, and then copy the highlighted sections — this can help you keep track of which parts you've already extracted.

What to do if the PDF is a scanned image

Scanned PDFs are photographs of paper documents. They contain no selectable text — only an image. When you try to click and drag, nothing will highlight. To extract text from a scanned PDF, you need optical character recognition (OCR) software, which reads the image and converts it into actual text your computer can select and copy.

Adobe Reader (the free version) includes basic OCR. Open the scanned PDF, look for a menu option that says "Recognize Text" or "OCR," and select it. Adobe will process the image and make the text selectable. Once that's done, you can highlight and copy text normally. The process usually takes a few seconds to a minute depending on the PDF's size.

If you don't have Adobe Reader or prefer not to install it, you can use an online OCR tool like ILovePDF, Smallpdf, or Google Docs itself. Upload the scanned PDF to Google Docs, and it will automatically convert the image to text. Open the converted document, select the text you need, and copy it. Be aware that online tools send your file to their servers, so avoid them for documents containing passwords, financial information, or other sensitive data.

Handling PDFs with copy protection

Some PDFs have restrictions that prevent copying even though the text is selectable. You'll usually see a message in your PDF reader saying something like "Copying is not allowed" or "This document has restrictions." This is a deliberate choice by whoever created or distributed the PDF.

If you own the PDF or have permission from the owner to copy from it, you can remove the restriction in Adobe Reader. Open the PDF, go to File > Properties, and look for a "Security" tab. If it shows "User Password" or "Owner Password," the document is protected. Contact the document owner and ask them to remove the restriction, or ask them for an unprotected version.

If you don't have permission to remove the protection and the document owner won't help, you cannot legally bypass the restriction. Attempting to remove copy protection from a document you don't own violates copyright law in most countries.

Copying text while preserving formatting

When you copy text from a PDF and paste it into another document, it usually loses formatting like bold, italics, colors, and font sizes. This happens because the PDF and your destination document use different formatting systems. If you need to keep the original formatting, there are a few options.

The simplest is to copy the text into a plain text editor first (like Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Mac), then paste it into your final document. This removes any hidden formatting that might conflict. Alternatively, paste the text into your destination document, then manually reapply the formatting you need — highlight the text, then use the Bold, Italic, or color buttons in your editor.

If the PDF contains images, tables, or complex layouts, copying individual text passages won't preserve the structure. In that case, consider taking a screenshot of the relevant section instead, or exporting the entire PDF as a different file format. Many PDF readers have an "Export as" option that can convert the PDF to Word or another format that preserves more of the original layout.

Mobile devices: copying text from PDFs on phones and tablets

On iPhone and iPad, open the PDF in Apple Books, the Files app, or a PDF reader like Adobe Reader. Tap and hold on the text you want to copy until a menu appears with options like "Copy" or "Select." Tap "Select," then drag your finger to highlight the text you need. Tap "Copy" when you're done.

Switch to the app where you want to paste the text — Notes, Mail, Pages, or any other app — tap where you want the text to go, and tap "Paste." The text will appear in your document.

On Android, the process is similar. Open the PDF in Google Play Books, Adobe Reader, or your default PDF app. Long-press on the text until a selection menu appears. Drag to highlight what you need, then tap "Copy." Move to your destination app and tap "Paste." Some Android PDF readers have slightly different menus, but the basic steps are the same across most apps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't I select text in my PDF?

The PDF is likely a scanned image rather than a text-based document. Scanned PDFs contain no selectable text — only a picture of a document. Use OCR software like Adobe Reader's built-in OCR or Google Docs to convert the image to text. If the text appears selectable but won't copy, the PDF has copy protection enabled, and you'll need to contact the document owner for an unprotected version.

Does copying text from a PDF lose the original formatting?

Usually yes. Bold, italics, colors, and font sizes often don't transfer when you paste into a different document because PDFs and word processors format text differently. Paste into a plain text editor first to strip away hidden formatting, or manually reapply the formatting you need in your destination document.

Can I copy text from a password-protected PDF?

If the PDF has a user password (required to open it), you'll need the password to open the file before you can copy anything. If it has an owner password (which restricts copying but not opening), you can read the PDF but can't copy text unless the owner removes the restriction. Contact the document owner and ask them to provide an unprotected version.

What's the difference between copying and screenshotting a PDF?

Copying extracts the actual text so you can paste it into another document and edit it. Screenshotting captures an image of what's on your screen, which you can't edit as text. Screenshots are useful when you need to preserve the exact layout or include images, but they take up more storage and can't be searched or modified.

Is it legal to copy text from any PDF I find online?

Copying text for personal use or research is generally legal under fair use, but copying large portions or entire documents for republication or commercial use is not. Always check the document's copyright notice or terms of use. If the PDF has copy protection, the owner has explicitly restricted copying, and you should respect that restriction.