Documents · .txt
What Is a TXT File?
A .txt file is a plain text file with no formatting.
- Extension
- .txt
- Full name
- Plain text file
- Type
- Document
- MIME type
- text/plain
Free TXT Tools
These run in your browser. Your TXT files are never uploaded.
About TXT Files
A TXT file contains only characters: letters, numbers, punctuation, spaces and line breaks, with no fonts, colours or images. That makes it the most universal file format there is. Notes, logs, README files, licences and configuration files are often plain text. Modern text files are usually encoded as UTF-8, which can hold any language and emoji. Windows and Unix-based systems end lines differently, so a file from one can look like a single long line in very old editors on the other.
How to Open a TXT File
- Windows
- Double-click to open it in Notepad.
- Mac
- Double-click to open it in TextEdit.
- iPhone & Android
- The Files app previews text files.
- Any device
- Drag the file into a browser tab
TXT File Questions
Why does my text file show strange characters?
It was probably saved in an older encoding, such as Windows-1252, and opened as UTF-8, or the other way round. Reopen it choosing the right encoding, then save as UTF-8.
How do I compare two text files?
Use the Text Diff tool on this site. Paste or open both files to see every line that was added or removed.