PDF (Portable Document Format) is also a popular file format, developed by Adobe in 1992. It is often used to exchange documents without damaging the original layout. PDF files can contain not only text and images but also fonts, raster images, etc.
When reading, reviewing, or proofreading a document, you may often need to highlight certain information to draw attention. But what if you want to extract the highlighted content from PDF? Fortunately, there are plenty of tools on the market that can help you export highlighted text from PDF files in just a few clicks.
Well, how to extract highlighted text from PDF? Here we list 4 feasible ways for you.
Way 1. Use Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat is a popular PDF editing tool that allows you to open, edit, annotate, sign, and protect PDFs. It can help you export highlighted text from PDF with a few clicks. Here is the guide:
Step 1: Launch Adobe Acrobat and open the PDF document that contains the highlights and comments you want to extract.
Step 2: Once the PDF file opens, click on the comments icon, and then click the three-dots icon to open a menu. Here you have two ways to export:
- Export Selected to Data File: If you want only specific comments, select them in the Comments pane (hold Ctrl for multiple selections).
- Export All To Data File: This will export all comments.
Step 3: For data file export (FDF or XFDF), select a specific location on your computer and save the file. FDF and XFDF are file formats designed specifically for storing annotation data in PDFs. Other programs may not be able to read them directly without additional processing. You can use third-party tools to convert FDF/XFDF files to a more user-friendly format.
Way 2. Use Sumnotes
If you don't like installation or want to work across platforms, the online PDF highlight extractor Sumnotes can meet your needs. Sumnotes is an online PDF and Kindle note management software that can easily summarize notes from PDF files while helping you focus on the most important things.
This tool can help you easily copy all highlighted text and download it to Word, Excel, or TXT in seconds. Here are detailed steps for exporting highlighted text from PDF:
Step 1: Visit the Sumnotes website and upload your PDF from a local folder or Google Drive as prompted.
Step 2: After uploading the PDF, all highlighted text will be displayed on the left panel. Select View Annotations. It will filter highlights by color.
Step 3: Click on the Download Annotations option and it will then export highlighted text from PDF to text, word, or Excel file, based on your choice.
Way 3. Use Foxit PDF Reader
Foxit PDF Reader integrates many practical tools to help you edit PDFs, including extracting highlights. The most obvious advantage of using Foxit PDF Reader to extract highlighted text is a one-click export. After uploading a PDF, it can detect highlighted text and export it to TXT in one click. The steps are as follows:
- Launch Foxit PDF Reader on your computer, and then open the PDF file with the highlighted text.
- Go to Comment > Export. Here are three options: All Comments, Selected Comments, and Highlighted Text. Choose one according to your needs.
Way 4. Use PDF Highlights Extractor
PDF Highlights Extractor is a Java Swing-based extraction tool that helps users extract highlighted text from portable document files in seconds. It is open-source software and is well-received for its two main features, which make this tool more advantageous than other free software in the market.
Step 1: Download and install the software on your system. Once completed, you will get a pefhex.jar file. Don't forget to install the Java file as you will need it while executing PDF Highlights Extractor.
Step 2: Right-click on the pdfhex.jar file > Open With > Java (TM) Platform SE binary.
Step 3: After that, search and load the PDF file with highlights and click on the Extract button to see all PDF highlights.
Step 4: Finally, you need to select the output format between Text and Excel and save the file with highlighted text.
Bottom Line
Now, you have learned the 4 easiest ways to extract highlighted text from PDF. You can choose one of them to do that.
By the way, MiniTool PDF Editor is an all-in-one PDF editing tool that enables you to convert, merge, split, compress, extract, and annotate PDF files in a flash.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Vega joined MiniTool as an editor after graduation. She enjoys helping people with computer problems, including disk management, data recovery, and more. She is constantly expanding her knowledge in related fields. And she will continue to bring more easy-to-understand professional articles to help people solve various problems on the PC. In her daily life, Vega enjoys hanging out with friends, shopping online, and listening to music. She is someone who knows how to enjoy life.