Documents · .rtf
What Is an RTF File?
A .rtf file is a simple formatted-text document that almost any word processor can open.
- Extension
- .rtf
- Full name
- Rich Text Format
- Type
- Document
- MIME type
- application/rtf
- Developed by
- Microsoft (1987)
Free RTF Tools
These run in your browser. Your RTF files are never uploaded.
About RTF Files
RTF stores text with basic formatting such as fonts, bold, italics, colours, tables and images, written as plain text with formatting codes. Because it is simple and very old, almost every word processor on every platform can read it, which made it a popular way to exchange documents between different apps. Microsoft stopped developing it in 2008, and DOCX and PDF have largely replaced it, but it is still used by some apps, such as macOS TextEdit.
How to Open an RTF File
- Windows
- Open it in WordPad (on older Windows) or Microsoft Word.
- Mac
- Double-click to open it in TextEdit. Pages and Word also open RTF.
- Any device
- Google Docs and LibreOffice Writer open RTF files.
RTF File Questions
What's the difference between RTF and TXT?
TXT is plain text with no formatting at all. RTF adds fonts, styles, tables and images.
Is RTF still used?
Yes, mostly for compatibility. TextEdit on Mac uses it by default, and some legal and medical systems still export RTF.