WaywardTools

Small tools. Local when they can be.

PDF HTML Swap

PDF to HTML

Your file never leaves this device. Conversion runs in your browser. The document itself is not uploaded.

1 · Choose a PDF file

…or drop a PDF file here

.pdf · stays in this tab

2 · Convert

3 · Download

Choose a file to convert. It is not uploaded.

FAQ and format details
Why convert PDF to HTML?

You need to quote, restyle, or keep converting a PDF you cannot edit. HTML is the hub for Markdown, Word, and EPUB on this site, so PDF→HTML is the on-ramp. It is also a way to see whether a 'PDF' is real text or just pictures of text.

How this conversion runs

pdf.js reads the bytes locally (encrypted files without a password fail). Text items are grouped into lines by position, then into paragraphs. Larger type becomes headings, bold/italic font names become emphasis, Courier and other mono fonts become code blocks, and a left-column table of contents is turned into in-page links when the PDF destinations or titles can be matched. Repeated headers and footers are dropped when they show up on most pages.

Keep in mind for PDF → HTML

This is still an inference from painted glyphs, not a tagged document tree. Complex magazines, forms, and tight tables will be messy. Images and vector art are not extracted. Hyphenation at line ends is usually joined. If you need the look, keep the PDF; if you need the words with some structure, this is the tool.

After you have a HTML file

Skim the HTML for a missed column or a heading that should have been a paragraph. Clean in an editor, then convert to Markdown or DOCX. For scanned minutes, run OCR in another product first, then bring the searchable PDF here.

Why is the result empty?

The PDF has no text layer (a scan) or the text is drawn as curves. This converter does not OCR. Use a searchable PDF or an OCR tool first.

Can you unlock a passworded PDF?

Not without the password, and this page does not collect one. Decrypt a copy in Acrobat or qpdf on your machine, then drop the unlocked file.

This pair at a glance
Accepts
.pdf
Writes
.html · text/html
Read fidelity
medium (PDF → HTML)
Write fidelity
exact (HTML → HTML)
Source size
Plan for files under 38 MB

The file is read in this tab. It is not uploaded.

Something off with this pair? Send feedback.

About PDF and HTML

Source file

PDF

A page-description format that paints glyphs and graphics onto fixed pages. Universal for print, archival, and sharing.

PDF (Portable Document Format) describes pages, not a flowing document tree. Incoming PDFs are reconstructed as HTML: designed pages keep positioned text, fonts, images, and vectors; simpler reading documents become flowing articles. Export to PDF paints HTML onto pages via pdf-lib. Pixel-perfect Word/InDesign layout is not the goal.

Extensions
.pdf
MIME types
application/pdf
Kind
binary · binary
Category
page description
Standard
Open format · since 1993
Spec
ISO 32000
Comfortable size
Up to about 38 MB in this browser converter
Read into HTML
medium fidelity · implemented — pdf.js extracts text, fonts, images, and vectors. Designed or overlapping pages stay visually positioned; simpler reading documents become flowing HTML with inferred headings, lists, and a sidebar when one exists. Scanned PDFs without a text layer will be empty.

What this format can hold

  • page layout
  • paragraphs
  • images
  • links
  • embedded fonts

Usually dropped on the way in

  • form fields
  • javascript
  • scanned pages without ocr

Apps that consume PDF

  • Adobe Acrobat / Reader (Adobe) — creates and opens on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
  • Chrome (Google) — opens on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
  • Edge (Microsoft) — opens on Windows, macOS
  • Preview (Apple) — opens on macOS, iOS
  • Foxit — creates and opens on Windows, macOS
  • Okular (KDE) — opens on Linux

Catalog notes

  • Encrypted PDFs cannot be opened in-browser without the password (not collected).
  • OCR for image-only scans is out of scope for v1.

Destination file

HTML

The web’s native document format: structured markup for headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, links, and media.

HTML is the pivot format for this converter. Incoming files are turned into a sanitized HTML document, and outgoing files are generated from that document. Browsers, email clients, and most rich-text editors already speak it, which is why it is the most flexible interchange point.

Extensions
.html, .htm, .xhtml
MIME types
text/html, application/xhtml+xml
Kind
text · utf-8
Category
markup
Standard
Open format · since 1993
Comfortable size
Up to about 7.6 MB in this browser converter
Written from HTML
exact fidelity · implemented — Pretty-printed full HTML document with a generated title.

What this format can hold

  • headings
  • paragraphs
  • lists
  • tables
  • links
  • images
  • inline formatting
  • semantic structure

Apps that consume HTML

  • Chrome (Google) — opens on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
  • Firefox (Mozilla) — opens on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
  • Safari (Apple) — opens on macOS, iOS
  • Edge (Microsoft) — opens on Windows, macOS
  • VS Code (Microsoft) — creates on Windows, macOS, Linux
  • WordPress — creates and opens on Web

Catalog notes

  • Scripts, event handlers, and external stylesheets are stripped during conversion so the hub stays a document, not an app.
  • XHTML is accepted as input and emitted as HTML5.
Other conversions

Other conversions from PDF: MarkdownWordRTFOpenDocumentEPUB

Other ways to get HTML: MarkdownWordRTFOpenDocumentEPUB