“When I Copy Text from a PDF, It Is Gibberish” 100% Effective Ways

“Copy and pasting text produces garbled characters.” “When I copy text from a pdf, it is gibberish.” If this is you, we get how frustrating that can be!

Copy-pasting is supposed to speed up tasks like data extraction and editing. But when it comes out as gibberish, you’re stuck retyping everything manually. This not only wastes time but also limits your productivity.

So, why does it happen? Here are some key reasons:

• Non-standard or custom fonts not recognized by the system.
• The text encoding in PDF is different than the system’s encoding.
• PDFs with performed OCR may have corrupted or poorly generated text layers.
• PDF restrictions that intentionally block or scramble text.

Luckily, resolving this issue is easier than you think. This article will provide six easy fixes for this issue with clear instructions. Following these steps, you can effortlessly extract text from any PDF!

Let’s get started.

How to Fix “Copying and Pasting Text in PDF Turns to Gibberish? (6 Ways)

We’ve gathered practical ways to fix the issue of copied text turning into gibberish. This section will guide you through these with simple steps, helping you streamline PDF workflow without hassle.

1. Use the Alternative to Copy Text from PDF

Do you want a reliable way to extract clean, readable text from any PDF? You can use UPDF as an alternative PDF tool that won’t turn copied text into a jumbled mess. It’s an AI-driven PDF editor with versatile ways to extract text from any PDF document, helping you resolve the issue of “When I copy text from a PDF, it is gibberish.”

Why choose it? Here are some key benefits:

• Copy the text for free from searchable and editable PDFs.
• Sure-fix with multiple methods to extract text from any PDF.
• Use the power of AI to extract text from images with ease.
• Convert the PDF to Word, Text, or other formats for smooth extraction.
• Advanced OCR technology to copy text from scanned documents.
• Quickly fix the garbled text by printing the PDF as a new file.

Ready to extract text from PDFs without turning to gibberish quickly? Download and install UPDF on your Windows or Mac. Follow these steps to fix the gibberish text issue once and for all.

Way 1. Copy Text from a Searchable PDF

UPDF makes it simple to copy text from searchable PDFs in both reading and editing modes. Here’s how it works.

Step 1: Launch UPDF and click “Open File” to import your PDF file.

Step 2: Your PDF will open in the reading mode. Select the text you want to copy.

Step 3: Press “CTRL+C” or right-click and choose “Copy” from the menu.

Step 4: If you need to edit the text first, select “Edit PDF” from the left. Make your edits and copy the text as needed.

That’s it. Now, paste the text into any text editor without issues.

Way 2. Copy Text from Scanned PDF

If you want to extract text from a scanned document, UPDF makes it easy with its powerful OCR tool and chat with the image feature.

Let’s see how it works.

Step 1: Open your PDF with UPDF. Select “Recognize Text Using OCR” from the right.

Step 2: Select “Searchable PDF” and adjust the Layout, Document Language, Page Range settings, etc. Then click “Perform OCR.”

Step 3: Once the process is complete, select your desired text in the ocred PDF which will be open automatically in UPDF. Then click “Copy Text” from the visible toolbar.

Step 4: For scans in an image format, you can use UPDF AI to extract text. To do this, open any PDF in UPDF. Then select “UPDF AI” from the lower right.

Step 5: Select the “Chat” mode and click the “Add Image” icon at the bottom to upload your images.

Step 6: Write the following prompt text box. UPDF will quickly extract the text from the scanned image. Click the “Copy” option to copy it.

Prompt: Extract text from the image, keeping the structure intact.

Why not try it yourself? You can copy text from PDF for free and without becoming gibberish. And, If you often work with scanned PDFs, buy UPDF today with a big discount for effortless text extraction from scans and more!

Want to learn more about UPDF? Watch the video below to explore its best features. You can also read this UPDF review to discover the many benefits UPDF brings to your workflows!

2. Screenshot and Extracting Text

Sometimes, copying and pasting text in PDF turns to gibberish due to incompatible text encoding. A simple workaround is taking a screenshot and extracting the text using UPDF AI. Best of all, UPDF AI gives you 30 free prompts to get started!

Here’s how it works.

Step 1： Open your PDF with UPDF. Select “UPDF AI” and switch to the “Chat” mode.

Step 2： Click the Screenshot icon at the bottom. Then, drag the cursor over the text you need to extract. Once released, the screenshot will be uploaded to UPDF AI.

Step 3： Click the prompt box and ask UPDF AI to extract text from the screenshot. Then, click the “Copy” button.

Prompt: Extract the text from the screenshot with correct formatting.

3. Print PDF to a New PDF

You can also print the PDF as a new PDF to fix the issue of “copying and pasting text in PDF turns to gibberish.” This creates a new PDF with re-encoded text. UPDF offers this feature for free!

Here’s how to go about it.

Step 1: Open UPDF and click “Open File” to import your PDF. Then, click “File” from the top left and select “Print.”

Step 2: Click the Printer dropdown and choose “Microsoft Print to PDF.”

Step 3: Click the “Print” button and rename the file to save it as a new PDF.

Step 4: Open your PDF with the original PDF editor that caused the garbled text. Copy and paste the text. You should have no issue now.

4. Convert PDF to Word/Text

If you want to extract text from an entire PDF and do not want to get the gibberish contents, you can try to convert it to Word or Text format. Plus, you can convert 2 files/day for free! Why not download UPDF here and follow the below steps to know how to do it.

Step 1: Open your PDF with UPDF. Then click “Export PDF” from the right.

Step 2: Select the “Word” or “Text” format from the list.

Step 3: A pop-up will appear. Select the page range for text extraction and click “Export.”  Now you can copy and paste the text from this PDF without gibberish issues.

5. Update The Software

An outdated version of Acrobat can also be why copying and pasting text in PDF turns to gibberish. It can cause compatibility issues with newer fonts. Updating the software should resolve the issue.

Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Open Adobe Acrobat and go to “Menu” from the top left.

Step 2: Hover over the “Help” option and select “Check for Updates.”

Step 3: Follow the instructions to install the update. Once done, restart Acrobat.

6. Restart the Computer

Random glitches with the computer system can also be the reason why copying and pasting text in PDF turns to gibberish. Restarting the system will reset it and resolve issues causing corrupted text.

Here’s how to restart your device.

For Windows:

Step 1: Close all applications and click the “Start” button in the bottom left.

Step 2: Click the “Power” icon and select “Restart.”

For macOS:

Step 1: Exit all the programs and click the “Apple” logo from the top-left.

Step 2: Select “Restart” from the drop-down menu. You may need to click “Restart” again to confirm.

Ending Note

That’s all about fixing “when I copy text from a PDF, it is gibberish.” We’ve provided simple and effective solutions to get your PDF workflow back on track.

If you want to avoid this issue in the future and handle your PDF without any hiccups, give UPDF a try. It offers a seamless way to copy text and manage PDFs more productively. Download it now and work smarter with your documents!