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3 June 2024  Amanda J. Brook  Senior Product Manager
 

Summary
Learn how to extract text from PDF files with four simple methods. Choose the one that suits your needs and start using the extracted text in other files.



I. How to extract text from PDF files? - Using Renee PDF Aide

how to extract text from pdf
Without a specialized PDF editing tool, extracting content from a PDF file is impossible. Many resort to free online tools, but these often fail due to poor network conditions or large file sizes and pose security risks like data breaches.
Choosing a professional, safe, and user-friendly PDF editing tool is essential. The editor recommends Renee PDF Aide, which can easily extract text from PDF files and perform basic editing. Ideal for users with these needs, I will now detail the software’s functions and the steps for extracting PDF text.

What is Renee PDF Aide?

Renee PDF Aide is a multi-functional tool for PDF editing and format conversion. It uses advanced OCR technology to convert scanned PDFs into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Image, HTML, or TXT formats. You can convert entire documents or specific pages quickly, with speeds up to 80 pages per minute. The software is user-friendly and offers various features, including file repair, optimization of large files, splitting and merging pages, adjusting display angles, encryption/decryption, and adding watermarks.
Renee PDF Aide supports converting English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and other languages. In OCR mode, selecting the appropriate recognition language significantly improves character recognition accuracy. The conversion efficiency is extremely high, making it easy for even beginners to use.
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II. How to use Renee PDF Aide to extract text from PDF files?

Renee PDF Aide offers two functions: basic PDF file editing and converting PDF files into other formats. Here’s how to use Renee PDF Aide’s format conversion function to extract text from PDF files.
In the format conversion function of Renee PDF Aide, there are four different format files that can meet your needs for text extraction, so the editor will teach you how to extract text from PDF files from four aspects.

Convert PDF files to Word files with extractable text

Microsoft Word is a word processor application with file extensions “.doc” and “.docx”. As a core program of the Office suite, it is widely used for document editing. Word supports various text formats, including images, charts, artistic text, and mathematical formulas. Therefore, converting a PDF to a Word file allows for the extraction of diverse content types beyond plain text.
Step 1: Download and install Renee PDF Aide, run the software, and select the “Convert PDF” option.
select to convert pdf with renee pdf converter
Step 2: On the format conversion page, select PDF to Word. Click Add Files to import the PDF. Optionally, check Enable OCR to enhance text recognition during conversion.
how to edit a scanned pdf set before converting with renee pdf converter
Instructions for enabling OCR technology:
  • A. Recognize text in images or scanned PDFs. This option can recognize text in pictures or PDF scans, and the accuracy of text recognition can be further improved with the help of OCR technology.
  • B. Recognize embedded fonts (to avoid garbled codes). This option is applicable to the situation where there are built-in fonts in the PDF source file, which can avoid garbled characters after the format conversion is completed.
Step 3: Click Convert to start converting the PDF to Word. Once complete, find the Word file at the preset location and extract the needed text.
enable ocr to recognize characters accurately in renee pdf aide

Convert PDF files to Excel files with extractable text

Excel is a spreadsheet file of the Microsoft Excel application, with extensions “.xls” and “.xlsx”. It uses tables to manage data, allowing users to create tables and analyze data quickly. This file format excels in calculation and chart functions. If a PDF file mainly contains tables, use Renee PDF Aide to convert it into an editable Excel file for text extraction.
Run Renee PDF Aide and select “Convert PDF.” On the format conversion page, choose to convert the PDF to Excel. Click Add Files to import the PDF. Optionally, tick “Enable OCR.” Click Convert to start the conversion. After completion, find the converted Excel file at the preset location for text extraction.
how to convert pdf to excel with renee pdf aide

Convert PDF files to PowerPoint files with extractable text

PPT, developed by Microsoft Corporation, is presentation software that produces files known as “presentations” or “slides” with the format suffixes .ppt and .pptx. These are often referred to as “PPT files”. PPT files can include various media such as text, pictures, charts, animations, sounds, videos, and hyperlinks. To extract diverse content from a PDF, consider converting the PDF into an editable PowerPoint file for easier text extraction.
Run Renee PDF Aide and select “Convert PDF.” Choose to convert PDF files to PowerPoint. Import the PDF file using the “Add Files” button. Optionally, check “Enable OCR” to improve text recognition. Click “Convert” to start the conversion. After completion, find the PowerPoint file at the preset location for text extraction.
pdf to powerpoint converter

Convert PDF files to Text files with extractable text

Text translates to “text” in Chinese, with the suffix .txt. This format, associated with Microsoft’s operating system, is primarily used to store text information. If you simply want to extract text from a PDF file, converting it directly to TXT format will make extraction more convenient.
Run Renee PDF Aide and select Convert PDF. Choose to convert the PDF to a Text file. Import the PDF via the Add Files button. Check Enable OCR to improve text recognition. Click Convert to start the process. After conversion, find the Text file at the preset location for further text extraction.
convert and make an pdf to editable text with renee pdf aide ocr
The above are four ways to extract text from PDF files. For plain text, convert PDF to Text files; for charts, convert PDF to Excel files; for varied content, convert PDF to Word or PowerPoint files to extract the text.