RTF, Rich Text Format (.rtf)

The RTF Document file format

RTF stands for Rich Text Format and enables the user to write text with the ability to save it and use it between different operating systems. Unlike other text file types, RTF only allows text, no images, video, or audio. The text production can be done with any other word processing program and the file can be saves as an RTF file instead of the default file. This makes it easy to transport text through different programs (like Microsoft Office and Word Perfect, or between different versions of Windows). RTF is not to be confused with enriched text, Rich text, or IBM’s RFT-DCA.

Technical details of RTF files

The first version of RTF was released in 1987 with RTF 1.1. In March 2008, RTF 1.9.1 was released. RTF files updated with nearly every version of Microsoft Office Word and every few versions, a new group of control words were added. In the latest version, the use of XML, XLS, OMML, and SmartTags elements was introduced. The user can embed font data, 16-bit Unicode characters as well as images on a binary level into the file. When viewing in plain-text mode, the markup language is legible but not so distracting as to keep the reader from being able to understand and follow the material.

More information about the RTF file format

File extension .rtf
File category Document
Example file Download example.rtf file (34.9 MiB)
Download example_multipage.rtf file (2.7 MiB)
Download example_small.rtf file (1.1 MiB)
Associated programs AbiWord
Kword
Microsoft Word
TextEdit
WordPad
Useful links Learn more about RTF
File conversion Convert a file to RTF
Developer Microsoft

Convert your RTF file to another file format

  1. RTF to DOC
  2. RTF to DOCX
  3. RTF to HTML
  4. RTF to ODT
  5. RTF to PDF
  6. RTF to TXT
  7. RTF to GIF
  8. RTF to FB2
  9. RTF to MOBI
  10. RTF to PPT
  11. RTF to AZW3
  12. RTF to SVG
  13. RTF to TIFF
  14. RTF to JPG
  15. RTF to PNG
  16. RTF to ZIP
  17. RTF to 7Z
  18. RTF to EPUB
  19. RTF to SWF

Convert your document file to the RTF format

  1. XLSX to RTF
  2. TXT to RTF
  3. HTM to RTF
  4. PDF to RTF
  5. XML to RTF
  6. PUB to RTF
  7. MOBI to RTF
  8. DOC to RTF
  9. PPTX to RTF
  10. LIT to RTF
  11. SHS to RTF
  12. ODT to RTF
  13. DOTX to RTF
  14. JPG to RTF
  15. XLSM to RTF
  16. EPUB to RTF
  17. DOCX to RTF
  18. HTML to RTF
  19. WPS to RTF
  20. PAGES to RTF

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