My contract has real text except for a scanned signature page; how do I extract it and see which pages are missing?
Choose Page by page before you extract and download. Every page gets a heading line with its number, and a page with no text layer keeps its heading plus a note that it looks scanned, so the downloaded .txt shows exactly where the gap is. The text pages come out normally; the signature page stays empty, because the tool does no OCR.
What the output choice changes
The tool has two ways to present the result, and the choice also decides what is copied and downloaded. One combined text joins the pages that have text and nothing else, with no headings. A scanned page leaves no trace, so the text jumps from clause 12 on page 5 to the appendix on page 7 with no hint. Page by page starts every page with a heading, and a page with no text keeps its heading and a message explaining why.
A three page contract whose second page is a scan. In Page by page mode the text file reads:
--- page 1 --- followed by the text of clause 1.
--- page 2 --- followed by: Page 2 has no text layer: it looks like a scanned image. This tool does not perform OCR.
--- page 3 --- followed by the text of clause 3.
In combined mode, the text of pages 1 and 3 runs together and page 2 is never mentioned.
Steps
- Open the PDF text extractor and choose the contract.
- Leave the Pages field empty to read the whole contract, and choose Page by page.
- Press Extract text, then check the summary line: if it says 5 of 6, one page has no text.
- Scroll the result and look for pages marked no text layer beside their number.
- Download the .txt while still in this mode so the notes stay in the file.
What to do with the missing page
The tool will not invent text for a scanned page, and that is deliberate. On a signature page, what matters is usually the names and dates, which are few, so type them yourself under the page heading in the text file, or read them straight from the original PDF. If the scanned page is a long clause, ask the other party for a version exported from their software instead of the scan.
Why visible gaps matter
When you use extracted text to review a contract or compare it with another version, a page that vanishes without a trace can make you think a clause was removed, or make you miss one that is really there. Headings and notes turn a silent absence into a clear flag you can act on.
Common questions
Can I remove the headings after downloading?
Yes, they are ordinary lines in the text file. Keep a copy with them before you delete them.
Why are the headings in Arabic in my file?
Headings and notes follow the language of the tool interface you are using, not the language of the contract.
Could the signature page be blank rather than scanned?
If a page holds neither text nor an image, its note says it looks empty, which is worth checking against the original.