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Convert DOCX to TXT - Extract Clean Text Instantly

Extract plain text from Word documents. Universal compatibility for any system.

Step 1: Upload your files

You can also Drag and drop files.

Step 2: Choose format
Step 3: Convert files

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Need Just the Text from a Word Document?

Word documents contain more than text. There's formatting, fonts, images, tables, and embedded objects. Sometimes you just need the raw text without all the extras.

Converting DOCX files to TXT strips away everything except the actual words. You get clean, portable text that works anywhere. In our testing, a typical 500KB Word document converts to a 15KB TXT file, making it dramatically easier to process and transfer.

How to Convert DOCX to TXT

  1. Upload your DOCX file - Drag and drop or click to select your Word document
  2. Confirm TXT output - TXT is selected as your target format
  3. Download your text file - Get clean, plain text ready for any use

The entire process takes seconds. No software installation, no account creation, no waiting in queues.

Why Convert DOCX to Plain Text?

TXT files have advantages that Word documents cannot match:

  • Universal compatibility - TXT opens on every device, operating system, and text editor in existence. No special software required.
  • Tiny file sizes - Plain text files are dramatically smaller. In our testing, we've seen 30-40x size reductions compared to the original DOCX.
  • Data processing ready - TXT is the preferred format for databases, programming scripts, text mining, and AI training data.
  • No dependency on Microsoft - TXT files aren't tied to any company's software. They'll be readable decades from now.
  • Lightning fast - TXT files open instantly, even on older or resource-limited devices.

Common Use Cases

Programming and Development

Developers need clean text for parsing, string processing, and data extraction. TXT files integrate seamlessly with Python, JavaScript, and virtually any programming language. Import text directly into your scripts without parsing complex document structures.

Data Analysis and Text Mining

Analyzing Word documents directly is cumbersome. Converting to TXT first lets you feed content into databases, spreadsheets, natural language processing tools, or machine learning models. Clean text means clean data.

System Administration

Configuration files, logs, and documentation often need to be in plain text format. Converting policy documents or procedures from Word to TXT ensures they're accessible on any server or command-line environment.

Archival and Long-Term Storage

TXT is one of the most stable formats for long-term preservation. Unlike DOCX, which depends on Microsoft maintaining backwards compatibility, TXT files will be readable using any text editor, on any system, indefinitely.

What You Keep and What You Lose

Converting DOCX to TXT preserves your text content but removes everything else:

Preserved

  • All text content
  • Basic paragraph breaks
  • Line structure

Removed

  • Fonts, colors, and text styling
  • Tables (converted to plain text)
  • Images and graphics
  • Headers and footers
  • Comments and tracked changes
  • Hyperlinks (text remains, links removed)

This is intentional. TXT format exists specifically to store text without formatting overhead. If you need to preserve some formatting, consider DOCX to RTF or DOCX to PDF instead.

Alternative Formats to Consider

TXT isn't always the right choice. Here's when to use different target formats:

  • DOCX to PDF - When you need to preserve exact formatting for sharing or printing
  • DOCX to HTML - When content will be displayed on websites
  • DOCX to RTF - When you need basic formatting but broader compatibility than DOCX
  • DOCX to ODT - When recipients use LibreOffice instead of Microsoft Word

Choose TXT specifically when you need pure text content without any formatting considerations.

Batch Conversion for Multiple Files

Processing an entire folder of Word documents? Upload multiple DOCX files at once and convert them all to TXT in a single batch. This is particularly useful for:

  • Converting document archives to searchable text
  • Preparing training data for machine learning
  • Creating text-based backups of Word documents
  • Migrating content between systems

In our testing, batch conversion of 50 Word documents completed in under a minute, producing clean text files ready for immediate use.

Works on Any Device

Our converter runs entirely in your browser:

  • Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook
  • Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge
  • iPhone, iPad, Android tablets and phones

No downloads, no plugins, no waiting. Convert DOCX to TXT on any device with a web browser.

Pro Tip

For data processing workflows, TXT files are ideal because they contain no hidden formatting codes that could interfere with parsing. When importing text into databases or scripts, TXT ensures you're working with clean, predictable content every time.

Common Mistake

Converting to TXT when you actually need to share a readable document. TXT strips all formatting, making documents harder to read. If recipients need to read the content easily, use PDF instead. TXT is best for technical and data processing purposes.

Best For

Developers needing text for parsing, data analysts preparing content for processing, system administrators creating plain text documentation, and anyone archiving documents for long-term storage in a format-independent way.

Not Recommended

Don't convert to TXT if you need to preserve document appearance, share formatted reports with colleagues, or maintain table structures. TXT is a technical format, not a presentation format.

Frequently Asked Questions

DOCX is Microsoft Word's format that stores text plus formatting, images, tables, and styling. TXT is plain text only, containing just letters, numbers, and basic punctuation. TXT files are smaller, more portable, and open on any device without special software.

Yes, all formatting is intentionally removed. TXT is pure text format. Fonts, colors, tables, images, headers, footers, and styling are stripped out. Only the text content and basic paragraph structure remain.

Every operating system and device can open TXT files. Windows Notepad, Mac TextEdit, Linux text editors, mobile apps, and even command-line tools all read TXT natively. No special software is ever needed.

The text itself is preserved exactly. Every word, sentence, and paragraph from your original document transfers to the TXT file. Only visual formatting (fonts, colors, layout) is removed.

No. Password-protected documents must be unlocked before conversion. Remove the password protection in Microsoft Word first, then upload the unprotected file for conversion.

Table cell contents are converted to plain text, typically with tabs or spaces separating columns. The visual table structure is lost, but all text within cells is preserved. For complex tables, consider exporting to CSV instead.

Common reasons include data processing and programming tasks, importing into databases, text mining and analysis, creating configuration files, ensuring long-term file accessibility, and reducing file sizes for storage or transfer.

Our converter outputs UTF-8 encoded text files, which support virtually all languages and special characters. UTF-8 is the most widely compatible text encoding standard.

Yes, you can convert TXT to DOCX, but the original formatting won't return. Converting to TXT is a one-way process for formatting. You'll get a Word document with your text, but you'll need to reapply any desired formatting manually.

Yes. Upload multiple Word documents at once and convert them all to TXT in a single batch. This is ideal for processing document archives, preparing data for analysis, or converting entire folders of files.

Yes. Conversion happens in your browser, meaning your files aren't uploaded to external servers. Your documents stay on your device throughout the entire process.

Our converter handles DOCX files up to 100MB. Most Word documents are well under this limit. For extremely large documents, the conversion may take slightly longer but will complete without issues.

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