Inspect PDF text
See every piece of text in a PDF — its content, position, font, and size — with a visual overlay on the page. Free, browser-based, no upload.
What is Inspect PDF text?
nutoolz Inspect PDF Text reads every text run in a PDF and renders it as a coloured overlay on the page thumbnail, alongside a list of the extracted strings, fonts, sizes, and coordinates. Useful for debugging copy-paste, diagnosing why text isn't selectable, or understanding how a PDF is structured. Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Drop a PDF here or click to choose
One PDF at a time. Everything runs in your browser.
How to use Inspect PDF text
- 1
Drop or choose a PDF
Drag a PDF onto the upload area or click to browse. Files stay on your device.
- 2
Scroll through the pages
Each page renders as a preview with coloured boxes over every text run. The right panel lists the extracted strings with font and size.
- 3
Click a box or list entry
Clicking a coloured box on the page highlights its matching entry on the right; clicking an entry highlights its box on the page.
Frequently asked questions
Why would I use this?
Three common cases: (1) you can't copy text from a PDF and want to see whether the text exists as real characters or is just an image; (2) you're debugging a PDF that came out of a tool like Word or LaTeX and want to see what's actually on each page; (3) you're a developer working on PDF tooling and need a quick visual of how text is laid out.
Why doesn't any text appear for my PDF?
If the page preview shows colored boxes but no text in the side panel, the PDF likely contains text as outlines (vector paths) rather than real characters. If neither boxes nor text appear, the PDF is image-only (a scan). For image-only PDFs, use our OCR tool to add a text layer first.
What does each colored box mean?
Each box is one text 'run' as the PDF stored it — a contiguous group of characters that share the same position, font, and size. Click a box to highlight its corresponding entry in the side panel.
Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. Text extraction runs entirely in your browser via pdf.js. Your PDF never leaves your device.
What's the difference between this and the PDF → Word tool?
Inspect PDF Text is a visualisation — it shows you where text lives on the page without producing an output file. PDF → Word produces a downloadable .doc with the extracted text in paragraphs.