How Do You Copy Text from a PDF? 6 Foolproof Ways

Have you ever tried to copy your text in PDF, and you do not know how to get started? It appears to be simple to copy something out of a PDF, yet once files are password-protected, it immediately becomes aggravating. Either one is working with scanned documents or attempting to copy the text without formatting problems, the proper procedure can save the trouble.

In this guide, we will provide you with 6 foolproof ways to learn how to copy text from a PDF. Furthermore, if your content appears blurry or unreadable, we will introduce you to an enhancing tool.

Part 1. How to Copy and Paste a PDF Document Manually

Users can easily copy and paste their required content manually from a PDF document by simply utilizing shortcut keys. This method is considered the easiest, but it can sometimes disrupt the overall formatting or layout, especially in complex PDFs. So, if you want to explore how to copy text off a PDF, follow the given stepwise guide for a manual method:

Step 1. Initiate by selecting the desired content and hit Ctrl+C (Windows) or CMD+C (Mac) to copy it.

Step 2. Open the destination where you want to paste it and press Ctrl+V (Windows) or CMD+V (Mac) to paste it there.

Part 2. How to Copy a Text in a PDF That Is Locked or Restricted?

If you are wondering how to copy the text from a PDF that is locked, we have listed down some efficient methods:

Method 1. Remove Restrictions

Tools like Smallpdf allow you to unlock your restricted PDF in case you are wondering how to copy the text from a PDF. This web-based tool enables you to insert files from your device, Dropbox, or Google Drive.

Step 1. Initiate by launching the tool and hitting the “Choose Files” button to insert your locked file.

Step 2. Here, enter the file password in the “Password” tab and click the “Unlock” button to open it.

Step 3. As your file is unlocked now, tap on the “Download” to further copy and paste your data.

Method 2. Convert File Online

While knowing how to copy and paste a PDF file, you can use web-based PDF editors like pdfFiller to open file and copy text. Upon opening the file, users can modify and rewrite the existing data through various editing tools. To understand how to open a locked PDF online and copy its text, follow the simple guide below:

Step 1. Access the tool and insert your required document by tapping on the “Select From Device” button. Upon uploading, insert your password for locked file and press the "Submit" button.

Step 2. As the tool converts the file to online, select the desired content by choosing the “Copy” option from the pop-up menu and pasting it where needed.

Method 3. Use Google Drive

Besides lock files, Google Drive allows you to open restricted files using its “Share” option. The platform allows imposing 3 different types of restrictions on uploaded documents, including “Viewer, Commenter and Editor” access. You don't need to download any sort of additional software to follow the guide below for copying text from a PDF document:

Step 1. Select the restricted file across Google Drive, right-click it, then click on the “Share” option. Next, click on the “Share” option again to open the new pop-up menu.

Step 2. Select “Anyone with link” and pick “Editor” or any given option to make it accessible for copying data.

Part 3. How to Copy Things from PDF to Word?

To avoid scrambled text and weird formatting, discover the following methods to learn how to copy text from a PDF document to paste into a Word document:

1. Manual Copy/Paste

You can easily copy and paste your content from a PDF file to Word by right-clicking it or using shortcut keys like Ctrl +C and Ctrl +V. The plus point of this method is that it doesn't ruin the formatting as we are pasting into a different file. Let's walk through the following guide to copy and paste content from PDF to Word manually:

Step 1. Open the PDF, then select the desired content and right-click it to choose the “Copy” option from the pop-up menu. Here, you can also use Ctrl+C shortcut key to copy the selected text.

Step 2. Open Word, right-click the place where you want to paste and tap on the given “Paste” option from the pop-up menu. At this point, you can also use Ctrl+V to paste the copied data directly.

2. Convert PDF to Word

Besides manual copy-pasting, users can directly transform their PDF file to a Word file by using conversion tools like “iLovePDF.” This tool converts your file by simply inserting the file directly from your device, Google Drive, or Dropbox. Moreover, it has built-in OCR, so have a look at the following detailed guide to understand how to copy and paste from PDF:

Step 1. Access the tool, and tap on “Select PDF File” to insert your PDF document from the file manager.

Step 2. Now, in the following interface, hit the “Convert to Word” button to get the conversion process started. As your file is converted, download the Word file to your device.

Part 4. How to Copy Text from a PDF Scanned Document?

It is not simple to copy data on a scanned PDF; hence, you require an OCR tool such as OCR online to convert image-based text to editable text. Almost all languages are supported in this tool, such as English, Chinese, and French.

You can select the desired output format from MS Word, MS Excel, and Plain text. In the process of learning, how do I copy and paste from a PDF document, here, we have provided a detailed stepwise guide:

Instructions. As you enter the main interface, tap on “Select File” to upload your image. Afterwards, select the desired “Language” and “Output” format of the file and hit the “Convert” button. Once the file is converted successfully, open it across a PDF editor and copy the text according to your need.

Part 5. Enhance Low-Quality PDF Pages with HitPaw FotorPea

When you learned how to copy text from a secured PDF document, you attempted to copy from a scanned/or image PDF. However, the image is just too pixelated to be read or analyzed by tools. To recover your essential data from that image, use HitPaw FotorPea (formerly HitPaw Photo Enhancer) to upscale your pictures without compromising their textual elements.

Key Features

• 1. Provides Creative Denoise to remove any sort of noise and compression effects.
• 2. Let you fix lens blur and motion blur to sharpen the overall image quality.
• 3. Enables brightening low-light images without compromising data quality.
• 4. Offers an AI Generator to generate eye-catching images by providing text prompts.
• 5. Gives a background remover to remove and replace your desired background in images.

Guide to Enhancing PDF Pages with FotorPea

After knowing how to copy and paste from a PDF, if you want to upscale your pixelated textual image, follow the given guide:

1. Launch the Tool to Further Select the “Enhance Photos Now”

   As you access the main interface of HitPaw FotorPea, click on “Enhance Photos Now” to enter the editing interface.

   
   
2. Import PDF images

   Click "Add" to upload the PDF from your phone. Scan the QR code to successfully upload the image to your computer.

   
   
3. Toggle the Desired Models for Pixelated PDF Images

   Here, enable the “Text” model along with other required models for your PDF images and hit the “Preview” button to initiate the process.

   
   
4. Export the Upscaled PDF Images to Device Folder

   After previewing your generated outcome, hit the “Export 1 images” to get it saved into the designated folder of your device.

   

Part 6. FAQs on How to Copy and Paste from a PDF

Conclusion

Summing up, in this article we have provided efficient methods to copy and paste the data from both simple and secured PDF files. Within the process of how to copy text from PDF if your textual image is pixelating we recommend using HitPaw FotorPea to upscale your images.