Convert before extracting PDF text
The selectable-text button works on the PDF that was actually generated from your Publisher document. It does not guess words from the filename, use a sample paragraph or claim to reconstruct a damaged source. Wait for a successful conversion and the local PDF preview to open before requesting the text download.
The export walks through the produced PDF pages and collects their text items. A plain-text file marks page boundaries so you can relate content to the visual preview. The operation is local and bounded to the supported document size and two million text characters. A conversion or text-extraction error is reported instead of returning invented content.
Understand what selectable text can miss
A publication may contain text inside pictures, outlined lettering or other graphics. Those items can look like words on the PDF page while having no selectable text representation. This feature is not optical character recognition, so it does not transcribe such image-only content. Inspect the preview when the exported text appears incomplete.
Text items also have a reading order that may differ from the visual arrangement of a complex page. Multiple columns, captions, rotated labels and separate text boxes can be interleaved or grouped unexpectedly. Ligatures, line breaks and spacing can change during conversion or PDF extraction. Use the text as a reviewable starting point rather than assuming it preserves the publication’s full structure.
Retain a useful handoff package
Download the PDF alongside the text file when handing content to an editor or translator. The PDF preserves the produced visual layout, while the text file makes selectable wording easier to search and reuse. Keep the original PUB for native editing and for any material that did not survive the import as expected.
The browser preview does not open PDF annotations, JavaScript or document actions; pages are rendered to a canvas. That inactive preview is separate from the original files you may open in another application. Review untrusted documents with appropriate care, compare important text against the visible pages and verify names, numbers and punctuation before publishing extracted content. This workflow provides actual conversion and extraction evidence, not editorial or typographic approval.