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How to Convert PDF to Text, RTF, and XML Files

Create & Convert

August 11, 2021 · FOXITBLOG

How to Convert PDF to Text, RTF, and XML Files

This article explains how to convert PDF to text with Foxit PDF Editor, including how to export PDFs to RTF, accessible text, and XML formats.

Export PDF to RTF or plain text files

  1. Click File > Export or Save As, or navigate to the Convert tab.

  2. Select the format you want to convert the PDF to.

  3. In the pop-up dialog box, specify the file name and location for the output file. Optionally, click Save to ECM to save the output file to ECM systems or cloud services. Select View Result to open the output file after the conversion is complete.

  4. (Optional) Before saving the file, you can select additional options under Settings in the Save As dialog box. For example, when exporting a PDF to RTF, the Save As RTF Setting dialog box provides the following options:

    Page Range: Specifies the page range you want to export.

    Content Settings: Specifies whether to include comments and images in the output. This option is unavailable when exporting to plain text or when Image-based document is selected under Export Engine Settings.

    Layout Settings: Available only when exporting PDFs to Word or RTF, this option specifies whether to retain the text flow or page layout in the output. It is unavailable when exporting to plain text.

    Export Engine Settings: If the PDF primarily contains images and non-text objects, the Image-based document option is recommended. If you select Image-based document, click Set Language to select the language for OCR. Learn more about OCR for PDFs.

    Restore Default: Restores the original default settings.

  5. Click Save.

You can also use a PDF to text converter when you need to extract text from a PDF.

Export PDF to accessible text

If the document is an accessible PDF, you can save it as accessible text, which can contain assistive information, such as alternative text descriptions for images or multimedia objects in the PDF. Accessible text is often used with a braille printer. It can be imported and printed in a format that people with visual impairments can use. Learn more about PDF accessibility.

To export a PDF to accessible text:

  1. Click File > Export, or navigate to the Convert tab.

  2. Choose To Other > To Accessible Text. (Tip: You can also export the file through File > Save As.)

  3. In the pop-up dialog box, specify the file name and location for the output file. (Tip: You can click Save to ECM to save the output file to ECM systems and cloud services, including SharePoint, ndOffice, OneDrive-Personal, Google Drive, ShareFile, DMSforLegal, Dropbox, Box, and eDOCS DM. Learn more about SharePoint integration.) Select View Result to open the output file after the conversion is complete.

  4. Click Save.

Export PDF to XML 1.0 files

  1. Click File > Export, or navigate to the Convert tab.

  2. Choose To Other > XML 1.0. (Tip: You can also export the file through File > Save As.)

  3. In the pop-up dialog box, specify the file name and location. Select View Result to open the output file after the conversion is complete.

  4. Click Save.

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