5 Ways to Convert PDF to Text on Mac: Free Methods Include

Introduction:

How do you get Text from a PDF on a Mac? By format conversion, you can easily make PDFs editable and more flexible. In this SwifDoo PDF article, we will explore all the practical methods to help convert PDF to Text on Mac systems. It covers both built-in tools and third-party programs. Even if you work with scanned PDFs frequently, you can also effortlessly recognize Text in PDF files. Now, let's get started.

How to Convert PDF to Text on Mac Using Built-in Tools

In this section, we'll provide you with detailed instructions on converting a PDF using various tools. Let's dive in! MacBook offers two built-in tools supporting converting PDF to TXT: Preview and Automator. We will walk you through the process with step-by-step guides. Just check the content below.

Preview

Preview is the default PDF viewer and editor on macOS that enables users to convert PDFs to images or vice versa. Preview allows you to select all the text content, making it convenient for Mac users to extract Text from PDF documents. It is not the direct way, but it is workable to convert a PDF to text on Mac for a single-page or several-page PDF. 

Here’s a detailed guide:

1. Open a PDF in the Preview app.
2. On the top navigation bar, select Edit > Select All.
3. Right-click any highlighted text and copy it to your clipboard. Alternatively, you can press Command + C on your keyboard.
4. Open a text editor or word processor and paste the copied text content into this new document (press Command + V).
5. Save the text file, and the conversion is finished successfully.

Automator

Automator is another powerful built-in tool on Mac that serves as a smart assistant for automating repetitive tasks. If you have multiple PDF files that need to be converted in a short time, Automator is a good choice for streamlining the process.

Steps to batch convert PDFs to text on Mac:

1. Launch the Automator app.
2. Choose New Document and select Workflow.
3. Drag and drop all the PDF files you want to convert. Then, select PDFs in the left panel.
4. Select the Extract PDF Text action in the workflow area and adjust the related output settings.
5. Confirm the conversion by clicking Run in the top-right corner.

Online Converter to Convert a PDF to Text

Xodo Online Converter

Simply copying text content from a PDF file and pasting it into a text editor easily leads to a disorder in your file. It is inefficient. Luckily, it's easy to find a dedicated PDF to text converter that helps quickly and automatically convert PDFs into plain text files.

In this part, we'll introduce you to a popular online PDF converter named Xodo, which supports converting PDF to Text online for free. Xodo is an all-around PDF tool that empowers you to compress, annotate, crop, convert PDF, etc., without a hassle. Its online tool enables all users to edit one PDF file for free without logging in. The Xodo online converter also boasts OCR technology, making it easy to recognize Text from image-only PDFs.

How to convert a PDF to text on Mac or any device online for free:

Step 1. Open your web browser and navigate to Xodo’s website.

Step 2. Hover your mouse on Tools and select PDF to Text.

Step 3. Import the PDF file you need to convert and click the Convert button to transform PDF to text.

Step 4. Download the converted text file to your MacBook.

Convert PDF to TXT on Mac with Offline Software

Another workaround to convert a PDF to text on a Mac is to use third-party desktop programs. Preparing a powerful offline PDF editor guarantees a seamless experience when you need to deal with PDF-related issues while having no connection to the Internet.

Adobe Acrobat

The most famous PDF editor is definitely Adobe Acrobat. Acrobat plays a leading role in the PDF editor industry. With no bias, you can solve almost all the PDF issues in Acrobat; whether you need to convert, compress, sign PDFs, or other functions, you can find a way out in this program.

Let’s see how you can turn PDF into TXT in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC:

Step 1. Launch Acrobat and open a PDF file.

Step 2. Go to Tools center and select Export PDF.

Step 3. Click More Formats and choose Text (Accessible) or Text (Plain).

Step 4. Confirm Export and select the output destination. Then, click on Save.

Text (Accessible) is a type of rich text that contains various formatting such as font size, style, color, etc.

Text (Plain) means a pure text file with no text formatting or styles.

PDF Expert

Another worthwhile option could be PDF Expert. It’s a powerful PDF editor with a user-friendly interface that is designed for Apple products. It’s available for Mac, iPhone, and iPad and syncs your information across devices, making your workflow more organized.

PDF Expert may not perform as well as Adobe Acrobat because it offers fewer functionalities. However, for casual users who only need

Explore how to do the PDF to text file conversion on Mac in PDF Expert:

Step 1. Launch PDF Expert on your MacBook and open a PDF file.

Step 2. On the top toolbar, click Export and select to Text.

Step 3. Type the file name and save the converted TXT file to your device.

Bonus: Best PDF Reader & Editor for Mac & Windows - SwifDoo PDF

SwifDoo PDF for Mac is a tiny, fast, and user-friendly PDF reader and editor. It's packed with a set of PDF viewing, annotating, page organizing, and protecting features. You can split your reading screen into two or multiple screens to read side by side. While reading, choose the options to delete, rotate, or add pages to your PDF to merge multiple separate files into one. 

Click the following download button to download and install SwifDoo PDF for your Mac:

With important content to note, there are tools to highlight, take notes on, underline, draw shapes around, and do more to make it outstanding. When needed, you can directly modify the PDF text, pictures, and links to update to the latest. If your PDF is locked from converting or editing, SwifDoo PDF allows you to remove passwords from the PDF.

For Windows users who also need to convert PDF to Text, we highly recommend SwifDoo PDF. It's an all-around PDF converter that works perfectly on Windows operating systems. SwifDoo PDF supports converting PDFs to/from various file formats efficiently without compromising formatting or quality. The following chart offers you a comprehensive view of supported file formats in SwifDoo PDF:

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Why Convert PDF to Text on Mac?

PDF is considered the ideal file format when archiving and sharing because it's designed to be uneditable. Though editing PDFs has become an easy task, you still need to make more effort to edit a PDF file. However, if you know how to convert a PDF to Text, you can create a TXT file and modify all text content at will. In addition, transforming PDF to text also helps enhance the searchability of your file, enabling readers to locate specific information in seconds.

Conclusion

Mastering the PDF conversion ability helps you switch effortlessly between different file formats. For Mac users, knowing how to convert PDF to text on Mac helps you make PDFs editable without breaking a sweat. In this comprehensive guide, we’ve offered you five tools to turn PDFs into text files, ranging from online tools to desktop programs, built-in apps to third-party software. Choose the most suitable tool according to your requirements.