# Read PDF Text

> `UiPath.PDF.Activities.ReadPDFText`

`UiPath.PDF.Activities.ReadPDFText`

## Description

Reads all characters from a specified PDF file and stores them in a string variable.

## Project compatibility

**Windows-Legacy | Windows**

## Configuration

#### Designer panel

* **FileName** - The path of the PDF file to be read. Only String variables and strings are supported.

#### Properties panel

**File**
* **FileName** - The path of the PDF file to be read. Only String variables and strings are supported.
* **Password** - The password of the PDF file, if necessary. Only String variables and strings are supported.

**Input**
* **PreserveFormatting** - If selected, this option maintains the formatting of the file after the extraction is completed. The default value is **False**.
* **Range** - The range of pages that you want to read. You can specify a single page (e.g. "7"), a range of pages (e.g. "7-12"), or a complex range, (e.g. "2-5, 7, 15-End" or "All"). Only string variables and strings are supported. The default value is "All".

**Output**
* **Text** - The extracted string. This field supports only String variables.

**Common**
* **DisplayName** - The display name of the activity.

**Misc**
* **Private** - If selected, the values of variables and arguments are no longer logged at Verbose level.
  :::note
  The **Read PDF Text** activity extracts the raw text from a PDF file, without applying any extraction algorithms and cannot be used with Document Understanding activities.
  :::

## Example of using the Read PDF Text activity

Visit [Read PDF files](https://docs.uipath.com/activities/other/latest/document-understanding/read-pdf-files) to check how the **Read PDF Text** activity is used in an example that incorporates multiple activities.