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How to Extract Text from PDFs with Claude

Extract text from any PDF URL with Claude and ToolRouter. Pull clean text from reports, contracts, and documents instantly.

Tool
PDF icon
PDF

Claude pairs PDF text extraction with live analysis — once it has the raw text it can immediately answer questions about the content, pull out specific clauses, or compare two documents side by side. You interact conversationally rather than processing output in separate steps.

Connect ToolRouter to Claude

1Open connector settings Open Settings
2Add a custom connector with these details
Name
ToolRouter
URL
https://api.toolrouter.com/mcp
3Let Claude set you up Open Claude
No API key needed.All platforms →

Steps

Once connected (see setup above), use the PDF tool:

  1. Ask Claude: "Extract the text from this PDF: [paste URL]"
  2. Claude retrieves and returns the full document text
  3. Ask follow-up questions: "Find every mention of revenue" or "Summarise section 3"
  4. Use the extracted text to build quotes, notes, or structured data

Example Prompt

Try this with Claude using the PDF tool
Extract the full text from this PDF report: https://example.com/annual-report.pdf — then list every mention of operating costs.

Tips

  • Paste the direct PDF URL (ending in .pdf) for best results
  • Claude can extract and immediately quote specific sections if you describe what you need
  • For multi-column layouts, ask Claude to re-read paragraphs that look garbled

More Claude Guides

How to Summarise PDFs with ClaudeHow to Merge PDFs with ClaudeHow to Get PDF Info with Claude

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