PDF download Download Article
Quickly select all the text in a PDF in any application
PDF download Download Article

Selecting all of the text in a PDF document seems like it would be a fairly straightforward process, right? Sometimes it is, but things get tricky when a PDF has more than one page. If you've attempted to select all of the text in a PDF document but are only grabbing one page at a time, you're not alone. Fortunately, this issue can be resolved in Adobe Acrobat Reader and Apple Preview, the two most popular PDF readers, with just a couple of quick tweaks.

How to Select All Text in a PDF: Quick Guide

To select all of the text in a PDF, click Ctrl + A on your keyboard. Ctrl + A is the standard "select all" command for most applications, including PDF readers.

Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

Using Adobe Acrobat Reader

PDF download Download Article
  1. If you already have Acrobat Reader installed, ensure that you have the latest version. To do this, click “Check for Updates.” If an update is available, click “Install.” If no updates are necessary, proceed to the next step.
    • If you don't have Acrobat Reader, point your web browser to get.adobe.com/reader.[1] Remove the checkmarks next to the two “Optional Offers” (McAfee Security and TrueKey), then click “Install Now.” When the “Finish” button turns green, click it to complete the installation.
  2. Double-click the PDF file to open it in your updated version of Acrobat Reader.
    Advertisement
  3. [2] Open the View menu and select “Page Display.” There should not be a check next to “Single Page View.” If there is, remove it by clicking “Enable Scrolling.” In order to select the entirety of the document (rather than just one page), this step is crucial.
  4. Click somewhere in the document, then press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Command+A (Mac) to select all text in the document.
  5. Once the text is selected, you can copy it by pressing Ctrl+C (Windows) or Command+C (Mac). Another way to do this is to open the Edit menu and select “Copy File to Clipboard.”
  6. To paste the text into another program, click where you'd like to add the text and press Ctrl+V (Windows) or Ctrl+V on Mac.
  7. Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

Using Apple Preview

PDF download Download Article
  1. [3] Double-click the PDF to open it in Preview. If the PDF opens in software other than Preview, drag the PDF file to the Preview icon in the dock.
  2. Click the Edit button (a small square with a pencil icon) to display the editing toolbar.
  3. [4] To ensure that all text in the document can be selected (not just the current page), click the View menu (the top left of the document, signified by a small box with a downward-facing arrow to its right) and place a check next to “Continuous Scroll.”
  4. First, enable text selection by clicking the editing toolbar icon signified by the letter A next to a cursor. Now, click somewhere in the document, then press Command+A to select all text in the document.
    • To copy the selected text, press Command+C.
    • To paste the selected text into another document, click in the desired paste location and press Command+V.
  5. Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
Advertisement

Tips

Submit a Tip
All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
Name
Please provide your name and last initial
Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
Advertisement

About This Article

Nicole Levine, MFA
Written by:
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. This article has been viewed 228,712 times.
How helpful is this?
Co-authors: 20
Updated: December 4, 2024
Views: 228,712
Categories: Reading PDF Documents
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 228,712 times.

Is this article up to date?

Advertisement