How To Copy From Pdf

Posted on by

From time to time, users need to copy text from an Adobe PDF. The following sections contain step by step instructions on how to do so based on the program you're using and its version. To proceed, select the link that applies to you from the below list.

Warning

However, you still can copy and paste from this kind of PDF file if you have the password. After opening your secured PDF document in this program, click the 'Enable Editing' button to enter the password. Then follow the above steps to copy and paste content from your PDF. Mar 29, 2019  How to Create a Copy of a Page in a PDF Document. If you need to create a copy of a single page from a larger PDF file, you don't need any expensive software. In Windows 10, OS X, and Android, you can extract pages without installing. PDF Copy Paste might probably be an ideal solution that works best for you. PDF Copy Paste software allows you to open and view PDF files, and crop out the text, picture, image, photo, chart, and other graphical elements from PDF files.

Not all browsers and online readers support copying text from a PDF. Most of the time, you'll only be able to select certain portions of the PDF or none at all. We suggest downloading the file and opening it in the Adobe Reader program for best results.

Online PDF reader

Protected PDF Documents. If the creator of the PDF document disabled content copying, you can't select and copy the text from Adobe Reader. You can use OCR software such as Microsoft OneNote, FreeOCR or SimpleOCR. Take a screenshot of the text you wish to copy and then use the OCR software to extract the text.

  1. Open the PDF in your online reader or Internet browser by clicking the link to the file.
  2. Select the text you want to copy by holding down the left mouse button and dragging across the text. Again, this may not work in many online programs.
  3. Press and hold the Ctrl key and the C key on your keyboard. You can also right-click with your mouse and select Copy in the drop-down menu.
  4. Open a word processor or text editing program.
  5. Paste the copied text into a word processor or text editor by pressing and holding the Ctrl key and the V key on your keyboard. You can also right-click with your mouse and selecting Paste in the drop-down menu that appears.

Copying text in Adobe Reader DC

How To Copy From Pdf Online

How To Copy From PdfNote

Before trying the steps below, look at the top title bar. If the document says (SECURED), as shown in the picture to the right, the PDF file is copy protected and will prevent you from copying the text using the steps below. See our copying text from a secured PDF section for steps on how to bypass the PDF security.

  1. Open the PDF in your online reader or Internet browser by clicking the link to the file.
  2. Select the text you want to copy by holding down the left mouse button and dragging across the text. Again, this may not work in many online programs.
  3. Press and hold the Ctrl key and the C key on your keyboard. You can also right-click with your mouse and select Copy in the drop-down menu.
  4. Open a word processor or text editing program.
  5. Paste the copied text into a word processor or other text editor by pressing and holding the Ctrl key and the V key on your keyboard. You can also right-click with your mouse and selecting Paste in the drop-down menu that appears.

Adobe Reader X or later

  1. If you've opened the PDF in your Internet browser, hover your mouse cursor over the open document to look for an option to download it.
  2. Once you've downloaded the file, open it in Adobe Reader.
  3. In the opened PDF document, right-click with your mouse and select the Select Tool option in the pop-up menu (it has a check mark to the left of the option when selected).
  1. Select the text you want to copy by holding down the left mouse button and dragging across the text.
  2. Press and hold the Ctrl key and the C key on your keyboard. You can also right-click with your mouse and select Copy in the drop-down menu.
  3. Open a word processor or text editing program.
  4. Paste the copied text into a word processor or other text editor by pressing and holding the Ctrl key and the V key on your keyboard. You can also right-click with your mouse and selecting Paste in the drop-down menu that appears.
Note

If you cannot highlight any text from a PDF document using the steps above, it likely has copy protection or all its text is an image. Only professional (paid) versions of PDF programs can remedy this issue.

Adobe Reader 9 or earlier

  1. If you've opened the PDF in your Internet browser, hover your mouse cursor over the open document to look for an option to download it.
  2. Once you've downloaded the file, open it in Adobe Reader.
  3. In the PDF document, click the Select tool in the toolbar, as seen in the following image.
  1. Once this option is chosen, highlight the text you want to copy and click Edit and then Copy. You may also right-click the highlighted text and click Copy or Copy to clipboard.
  2. Paste the copied text into a word processor or other text editor by pressing and holding the Ctrl key and the V key on your keyboard. You can also right-click with your mouse and selecting Paste in the drop-down menu that appears.
Note

If you cannot highlight any text from a PDF document using the steps above, it likely has copy protection or all its text is an image. Only professional (paid) versions of PDF programs can remedy this issue.

Copying text from a secured PDF

How To Copy From Protected Pdf

A PDF file is often secured to prevent you from copying the content because the author or company who produced the PDF is protecting their Copyright. If you're attempting to copy text from a PDF for commercial use, you must obtain explicit permission from the Copyright holder. If you need to copy text for personal use, or for accessibility reasons, the following steps can help you copy edit-restricted text.

For a PDF, it is possible to add the following types of document restrictions.

  • Printing: Allowed or Not Allowed
  • Document Assembly: Allowed or Not Allowed
  • Content Copying: Allowed or Not Allowed
  • Content Copying for Accessibility: Allowed or Not Allowed
  • Page Extraction: Allowed or Not Allowed
  • Commenting: Allowed or Not Allowed
  • Filling of form fields: Allowed or Not Allowed
  • Signing: Allowed or Not Allowed
  • Creation of Template Pages: Allowed or Not Allowed
Tip

To view a PDF's security properties in Adobe Reader, click File, Properties, and then click on the Security tab.

To bypass or reset the PDF security settings, we will be using Google Chrome to print the PDF as a new PDF, which will not have any of the original PDF security settings.

  1. Open Google Chrome. If Google Chrome is not installed on your computer, you can follow our how to install Google Chrome steps.
  2. Drag the PDF file you want to convert to Chrome, which should open the PDF in Chrome. If the PDF is trying to open as a download and not in Chrome, see our steps on how to open a PDF in Chrome instead of as a download.
  3. Once the PDF is open in Chrome, click the printer icon or use the Ctrl+P keyboard shortcut.
  4. In the print window, click the Change button and change the Destination to 'Save as PDF.'
  5. Click the Save button.
  6. Once the file is saved, open the PDF in Adobe Reader or any other PDF reader, and you should be able to copy and paste the text following any of the steps mentioned above on this page.
Can

Additional information

How To Copy From Pdf Into Word

  • See our PDF definition for further information and related links.