This article explains how to use office software to batch convert multiple PDF files to TXT text format, suitable for scenarios where PDF content such as meeting minutes, project materials, user manuals, and contract terms needs to be uniformly extracted as plain text. The article combines before-and-after processing effect diagrams and software operation screenshots to explain the complete workflow from entering the PDF tool, selecting "PDF to TXT", adding files, setting the save location to starting the process, and also supplements file naming, conversion result checking, and notes on scanned PDFs, helping users reduce repetitive operations and improve document organization efficiency.
In daily office work, PDF files are very suitable for circulation and archiving. However, when we need to copy content, perform full-text searches, import into systems, organize materials, or conduct subsequent text analysis, the PDF format is not as convenient as TXT text. If there are only one or two files, manually opening, copying, and pasting can be barely manageable; but when there are dozens or even hundreds of PDFs in a folder—such as meeting minutes, project descriptions, user manuals, weekly reports, emergency contact lists, etc.—processing them one by one is very time-consuming and prone to issues like missed conversions, duplicate names, and disorganized save locations.
This article aims to address "how to batch convert many PDF files into TXT text format." We will use screenshots to demonstrate the process of batch converting PDF to TXT using the office software " HeSoft Doc Batch Tool ". Its product positioning is as a batch document processing office software, whose core value lies in consolidating repetitive file conversion and organization tasks into a single workflow, thereby reducing the time spent on manual clicking, copying, and pasting.
Applicable Scenarios: When Do You Need Batch PDF to TXT Conversion
Batch PDF to TXT conversion is not simply about changing the file extension, but about extracting text content from PDFs into plain text files for easier subsequent editing, searching, archiving, or importing into other systems. Common scenarios include:
- Data Archiving and Retrieval: After converting a large number of PDF reports to TXT, you can quickly search for keywords using system search or text tools.
- Meeting Minutes Compilation: For files like Meeting_Notes.pdf, converting them to Meeting_Notes.txt makes it easier to copy, merge, and edit them later.
- Project Document Processing: PDFs like project specifications, requirement documents, and user manuals need text extraction for building an internal knowledge base or document library.
- Contract Terms and Description Text Extraction: Files like Terms_and_Conditions.pdf often require text verification, and the TXT format is more lightweight.
- Standardizing Batch File Formats: Uniformly converting PDFs from different sources into TXT facilitates subsequent automated processing.
If your requirement is to convert PDFs to Word, Docx, Excel, HTML, or image formats, you can also see relevant PDF tool entries in the software interface; but this article focuses on converting PDF to TXT, that is, generating .txt plain text files.
Effect Preview: Before Processing, There Are Multiple PDF Files
Before processing, the folder contains a batch of PDF files with names including Emergency_Contacts.pdf, Meeting_Notes.pdf, Personal_Checklist.pdf, Project_Specifications.pdf, Quick_Reference_Guide.pdf, Terms_and_Conditions.pdf, User_Manual.pdf, and Weekly_Report.pdf. From the screenshot, you can see that the extensions of these files are all .pdf, indicating they are currently in PDF format.
In actual office scenarios, these files might be distributed within the same folder or come from different project directories. When converting manually, you need to open each PDF, copy the content, create a TXT file, and paste and save. The more files there are, the more obvious the repetitive labor becomes. The value of batch processing tools lies in importing multiple PDFs at once and letting the software perform unified conversion according to the list.
Effect Preview: After Processing, TXT Files with the Same Name Are Generated
After processing is complete, the original PDF files are converted into corresponding TXT text files. In the screenshot, you can see that Emergency_Contacts.pdf becomes Emergency_Contacts.txt, Meeting_Notes.pdf becomes Meeting_Notes.txt, Personal_Checklist.pdf becomes Personal_Checklist.txt, and other files also retain their original main filenames, with only the extension changing from .pdf to .txt.
This result, where "the main filename remains unchanged while the extension changes," is very suitable for batch archiving. Users can easily identify which PDF each TXT file originates from, making it convenient for further organization by project, date, or type. It should be noted that TXT is a plain text format and usually does not retain complex formatting, images, table styles, or page layouts from PDFs; it is more suitable for text extraction and content retrieval.
Operation Step 1: Enter PDF Tools and Select PDF to TXT
After opening " HeSoft Doc Batch Tool ", you can see multiple office file processing categories in the left navigation bar, such as Home, Task Flow, All Tools, File Name, Folder Name, File Organization, Word Tools, Excel Tools, PowerPoint Tools, PDF Tools, Text Tools, Image Tools, etc. Since our current processing targets are PDF files, we need to first enter the PDF Tools category.
On the PDF Tools page, you can see multiple PDF-related function cards, such as PDF to Docx, PDF to Pptx, PDF to Excel, PDF to HTML web page, etc. The function we need to select here is "PDF to TXT". In the screenshot, this function card is located in the right area with the description "Batch convert PDF files to TXT format."
The purpose of this step is to tell the software the type of task to execute: not compressing PDFs, nor converting PDF to Word or PDF to Excel, but uniformly converting multiple PDF files to TXT text. After clicking this function, the software will enter the corresponding batch processing page.
Operation Step 2: Add the PDF Files to Be Converted
After entering the "PDF to TXT" page, the current task name is displayed at the top of the interface. The page workflow is divided into three stages: Select records to process, Set save location, and Start processing. The first step is to add the PDF files to be converted into the task list.
As seen in the screenshot, the upper right part of the page provides two entry points: "Add File" and "Import Files from Folder". If you have a small number of PDFs scattered in different locations, you can use "Add File" to import them individually or by multi-selection; if all PDFs are in the same folder, it is recommended to use "Import Files from Folder," which aligns better with the batch processing approach.
After importing, the software lists the file records in a table, including sequence number, name, path, extension, creation time, modification time, and an actions column. In the screenshot, 8 PDF files have been successfully imported, and the bottom also shows a record count of 8. You can use the table to check if all files have been added, if the extension is pdf, and if the paths are correct. If a file does not need to be converted, you can use the delete button in the actions column to remove it from the list.
The expected outcome of this step is: all PDFs that need to be converted to TXT appear in the processing list, and no other files have been added by mistake.
Operation Step 3: Confirm the File List and Proceed to the Next Step
Before officially converting, it is recommended to first review the list. Focus on three checks: first, whether the number of files matches the number of PDFs in the folder; second, whether the filenames are correct, for example, ensuring Emergency_Contacts.pdf, Weekly_Report.pdf, etc., are all included; third, whether the paths point to the target folder, to avoid converting PDFs from outdated versions or wrong directories.
After confirming everything is correct, click the "Next" button at the bottom of the interface. According to the page flow prompts, the next stage is setting the save location. Although the screenshot does not show the save location page, it can be reasonably inferred from the process bar that the software will ask the user to specify where the converted TXT files should be saved. It is recommended to choose a clear output directory, for example, creating a "TXT Output" folder next to the original PDF folder, making it easier to distinguish between source and result files.
The purpose of this step is to avoid scattering conversion results in uncertain locations. When batch processing files, the save location is very important, especially when converting dozens of PDFs at once; a unified output directory can reduce subsequent search costs.
Operation Step 4: Set the Save Location and Start Processing
After setting the save location, enter the "Start Processing" phase. After clicking start processing, the software will convert the PDFs to TXT according to the list order. Since the interface has already determined the task type as "PDF to TXT," the user does not need to select the output format one by one; the software will uniformly generate .txt text files.
After processing is complete, open the output directory and check if TXT files corresponding to the PDFs have been generated. Under normal circumstances, the conversion results will be similar to the state shown in the effect previews: the main filename remains consistent, and the extension becomes .txt. For example, Project_Specifications.pdf corresponds to Project_Specifications.txt, and User_Manual.pdf corresponds to User_Manual.txt.
If many files have been converted, it is recommended to randomly open a few TXT files to check if the content is complete before proceeding with subsequent archiving or system import. For important materials, it is also recommended to keep the original PDF files. Do not delete the source files just because TXTs have been generated, as TXT is mainly for text content extraction, while PDFs are still suitable for retaining layout and original documentation.
Common Issues and Notes
1. Will the original formatting be preserved after converting PDF to TXT?
TXT is a plain text format and usually does not retain the complex formatting from PDFs, such as fonts, colors, images, table borders, headers, and footers. Its advantages are small file size, ease of searching, and ease of copying, making it suitable for extracting text content. If you need to preserve a more complete document structure, you may need to consider other formats like PDF to Docx.
2. Can scanned PDFs directly convert to text?
If the PDF itself is generated from image scans and contains no selectable text, directly converting to TXT may not yield complete text. The screenshots only show the "PDF to TXT" function and do not display OCR recognition settings, so it's advised to first confirm whether the text in the PDF is copyable. If it is a scanned document, text recognition processing may be needed first.
3. How to avoid mistakes when batch importing?
It is recommended to place the PDFs needing conversion into a separate folder, then import them via "Import Files from Folder." After importing, check if the extension column shows all entries as pdf and verify the record count is correct. Files that do not need conversion can be deleted in the actions column.
4. Will the filenames become confusing after conversion?
As seen from the before and after processing effects, the conversion results usually retain the original main filename, with only the extension changing to txt. This makes it easy to trace the source and is suitable for batch archiving. However, if the original filenames themselves are duplicates or not standardized, it is recommended to organize the naming first before conversion.
Summary: Reduce Repetitive Conversion Work with Batch Processing
The core value of batch converting PDF files to TXT text format is not "whether a single file can be converted," but "whether many files can be completed at once with high consistency." Through the PDF tools of " HeSoft Doc Batch Tool ", users can enter the "PDF to TXT" function, batch-add PDF files, confirm the list, set the save location, start processing, and ultimately obtain a batch of identically named TXT text files.
If you are currently organizing a large volume of PDF materials, meeting documents, project descriptions, or archival files, it is recommended not to copy and paste them individually anymore. First, gather the PDFs into a folder, then use the batch PDF to TXT function to process them uniformly, which can significantly reduce repetitive labor and improve the efficiency of document organization and content retrieval.