Forum Discussion
How to copy text from PDF that cannot be copied?
I've got this PDF that I can read just fine, but for some reason I can't copy text from PDF at all—the selection tool just won't grab anything, and right-clicking gives me no copy option. It's really...
If you're okay with a quick online step , Google Docs is excellent for both scanned and restricted PDFs. It serves as a powerful tool when you need to copy text from pdf that cannot be copied due to security restrictions or image-based formatting.
Simply upload the PDF to Google Drive, right-click it, and select "Open with" → Google Docs. The platform runs OCR on scans and strips away restrictions, allowing you to easily copy text from pdf that cannot be copied in its original format.
Pros: No installation required and works effectively with scanned images.
Cons: Uploads your file to Google servers, which poses a potential privacy risk.