How do I extract highlighted text from a PDF online for free?

Open an annotated PDF in the tool. It runs in your browser with WebAssembly, without an account or server upload. Markdown, CSV, and plain text are free.

Can I export PDF highlights to Markdown or Obsidian?

Yes. Markdown is free and can be copied or downloaded as a `.md` file. Structured Obsidian Callout output and Template Designer customization are available in Pro.

Can I export PDF highlights to Excel or CSV?

Excel (.xlsx) is available in Pro and creates one row per highlight with page, color, author, and other available metadata. CSV remains free.

Can it detect different highlight colors?

Color values are included when the source annotation stores them. You can use labels or filtering to categorize notes, subject to the Pro feature boundary.

What about scanned books?

Standard annotations can be extracted from a scanned PDF. To capture the surrounding text, the scan must have a selectable text layer; otherwise, OCR it first.

Are page numbers included?

Every exported highlight includes its PDF page index when that data is available. Check whether the printed page label differs from the PDF page number.

Is there a limit to the number of highlights?

The workspace displays up to 10,000 annotations per file. Processing time depends on browser memory, PDF structure, and annotation count.

Can I filter by color before exporting?

Yes, with Pro. Use filters for color, author, type, page range, or tags before exporting.

Processing runs in the browser with WebAssembly and the PDF is not sent to a server.

Do you support password-protected PDFs?

Yes, if the PDF can be opened with your password. The tool does not bypass encryption.

PDFAnnotations

Export PDF Annotations

Export Highlights

Extract highlighted text by color

Export Comments

Export sticky notes and remarks

Export Annotations

Full export to Markdown, CSV, JSON

Word Comments

Export Word CommentsNew

Extract comments from .docx files

Remove PDF Annotations

Remove Annotations

Clean all supported markings safely

Remove Highlights

Remove highlights, keep text & notes

Remove Comments

Remove notes, keep document markup

Format Converters

XFDF Annotation Converter

Convert Adobe XFDF XML to notes

FDF Annotation Converter

Parse classic FDF data locally

100% Local & Private: Files are processed in your browser

File formats & terms explained

Pricing Workspace

Processed Locally • No Signup

PDF Highlight Extractor

Turn highlighted passages into clean, structured notes. Export to Markdown, Excel, Notion, or Obsidian — 100% local.

Drop your PDF here

Open a PDF and extract highlights and comments locally.

How to Extract Highlights from a PDF

1. Open PDF

Select or drag your annotated PDF into the browser.

2. Review

Review extracted highlights; use Pro filters for color, author, type, or page range.

3. Export

Copy or download Markdown, CSV, or plain text free; advanced formats are available in Pro.

Choose a PDF Highlight Export Format

Export PDF Highlights to Markdown

Perfect for Obsidian, Logseq, and plain-text note taking.

Export PDF Highlights to CSV / Excel

Use free CSV tables in Excel or Google Sheets; Excel (.xlsx) is available in Pro.

Export PDF Highlights to Notion

Paste annotations into Notion databases with the Pro format.

Export PDF Highlights to Plain Text

Create lightweight, unformatted archives that work everywhere.

Export PDF Highlights to Obsidian

Generate Obsidian Callouts with available color and page data (Pro).

Export PDF Highlights to JSON

Download structured highlight data for custom integrations and APIs (Pro).

Example Output (Obsidian & Markdown)

# Source: research_paper.pdf

> [!quote] Page 12 · Highlight

"The proposed local-first extraction preserves all privacy..."

*Annotated by Dr. Alice*

Files are processed in your browser and are not sent to a server.

Learn more →

Professional PDF Extraction

Designed for Accuracy

The browser engine reads supported annotations while keeping your documents private.

Includes available text formatting and colors
Keeps the document structure available in the source data
Supports comments and reply data when stored
Works offline after the page loads

PDF Highlight Extractor reads highlighted text from PDF files with WebAssembly in the browser. Markdown, CSV, and plain text are free; Obsidian, Notion, JSON, Excel, and other advanced formats are available in Pro.