Why can’t I copy text from a PDF?

Start with a quick selection check

Open the PDF and drag across a few words. If individual characters highlight, the page has selectable text. If nothing highlights, or you only select a page-sized image, the page may need OCR. A document can mix text pages and scanned pages, so check the page you actually need.

If no words can be selected

A scan stores the page as pixels. Extracting its embedded image does not turn those pixels into selectable words. Optical character recognition is needed first; PDFCopy does not offer OCR yet.

If the document requires a password, use a reader that accepts the correct password. Password entry and unlocking are not supported in this preview.

If copied text has strange characters or the wrong order

The file’s fonts and character mappings can make text extraction unreliable. Multiple columns or unusually placed text can also produce an unexpected reading order. Select a shorter passage, inspect the result, and correct it before copying. PDFCopy does not promise to repair every font encoding or reconstruct every page layout.

If every line becomes a separate paragraph

In Text mode, select the passage and choose Join wrapped lines. This joins single line breaks while retaining blank paragraph separators inferred from the source. Review the result: double spacing, headings, and complex layouts can need manual editing.

If a table pastes into one spreadsheet column

Plain text selection does not describe spreadsheet cells. Use Table mode, select the table, and check the inferred grid. Adjust boundaries before copying. Your spreadsheet can still change number formats, identifiers, or dates when pasting.

If you only need a picture

Use Images mode to download supported embedded raster images. This preserves stored JPEG bytes or rebuilds supported raster data as native-size PNG; it does not create a page screenshot or recognize text.