Word to Text Converter
Extract the text from a Word document with headings, lists and tables still readable. Edit the result, copy it, or download a .txt file. The document is read in your browser, so it is never uploaded.
Word to Text
Add your files. Recommended settings are ready, so you can process in one click.
PDF, Word, images, audio, video, archives and more
Up to 100 files · 250 MB · No account- 1Add files
- 2Choose an action
- 3Download or keep going
What happens to your file.
The DOCX package is read in your browser and its structure is mapped before any text is taken, so headings stay on their own line, list markers and nesting are kept, table rows become tab-separated or CSV lines, and footnotes are numbered at the end. Hidden text is left out because Word does not display it, deleted tracked changes are dropped and insertions kept, and the file is written as UTF-8 so accented characters and non-Latin scripts survive.
Where it stops: Plain text has no fonts, colours, images or page layout, so those are not carried over. Headers and footers belong to the page layout and are left out. Equations, charts and SmartArt cannot be represented as text; the extraction report lists anything that was left out rather than dropping it silently. Old .doc files cannot be read in the browser and are converted on the server instead.
How each part of the document becomes text
| In Word | In the text file |
|---|---|
| Heading 1 to 6 | Its own line, optionally # Markdown or UPPERCASE |
| Bulleted and numbered lists | - and 1. markers, nested levels indented |
| Tables | One line per row, columns separated by a tab or as CSV |
| Hyperlinks | The link text, the URL, or "text (URL)" |
| Footnotes and endnotes | Numbered [1] [2] lines after the document |
| Page breaks | An optional ---- page break ---- line |
| Pictures | Optionally their alt text in square brackets |
| Bold, italic, colour, fonts and page layout | Not represented; plain text has no formatting |
Which preset should you choose?
- Readable: headings on their own line, list markers kept, tables as tab-separated columns. The right choice for text a person will read.
- Plain: just the wording, with no markers and no footnotes, for word counts, translation tools or text analysis.
- Markdown: # headings and links written as "text (URL)", so the result can be pasted into a Markdown editor or a static site.
- Custom: set each option yourself, including CSV tables, page-break markers and picture alt text.
Tab-separated or CSV tables?
Tab-separated columns paste straight into Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers, one cell per column, and stay readable in a text editor. Choose CSV if the text will be read by a program: values containing a comma, a quote mark or a line break are quoted and escaped to the usual CSV rules. Choose "Leave out" when the tables are layout rather than data.
What people use it for.
Everything you need, without a paywall.
Common questions.
How do I convert a Word document to a text file?
Add the .docx file, choose how headings, lists and tables should look, then use Download .txt. You can also select the text in the preview and copy it. Nothing is uploaded: the document is read in your browser.
Is my document uploaded to a server?
Not for .docx, .docm or .dotx files, which are read and converted entirely in your browser. Only the old .doc format needs the server, and then only if you choose "Convert on server" for that file.
Can I convert an old .doc file?
Browsers cannot read the legacy .doc format, so those files are converted with LibreOffice on the server when you choose "Convert on server". Alternatively, open the file in Word and save it as .docx first.
Will tables and bullet points be kept?
Yes, as far as plain text allows. Bullets and numbers keep their markers with nested levels indented, and table rows become one line each with tab-separated or CSV columns. You can also leave tables out.
What happens to images and formatting?
Pictures, fonts, colours and page layout cannot exist in a text file. You can keep a picture's alt text in square brackets so you know where it was.
Which text encoding is the file saved in?
UTF-8, so accented letters, curly quotation marks, and Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic or Greek text are preserved exactly.
Can I extract text from several documents at once?
Yes. Add up to 50 documents and the download becomes a ZIP with one .txt file per document, each named after its source.
Why is some text missing from the result?
Header and footer text, hidden text and tracked deletions are left out on purpose, and equations, charts and SmartArt cannot be represented as text. The extraction report lists what was left out so nothing disappears without being mentioned.
You might also need.
Convert DOCX documents to clean HTML while preserving paragraphs, headings, lists, tables and basic text emphasis.
Extract readable text from PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, HTML and Markdown files using format-aware parsers.
Remove common core properties from DOCX documents while preserving visible document content.
Combine multiple DOCX files into a single Word document while preserving paragraphs, tables and section order.