In the early days of Windows, Microsoft created a format called Rich Text Format so that Word files could be opened on any platform. RTF files were and still are supported by many editors, allowing editing and reading of such files.
A file with the extension (ie ending with) “.rtf” is an RTF file. In this article, 4pcworld.com will help readers learn about the RTF file format and how you can open it.
What is RTF file format?
The RTF format was created so that it can support elements such as images, boldface, italics, and many other formatting styles. Notepad is only available in plain text format, so those who want to send files with Word-like formatting capabilities can save the file in RTF format and it will open anywhere, i.e. on macOS and Linux. Microsoft created this format in 1987 for cross-platform document exchange.
All Windows versions have an application – WordPad, which saves files in RTF format by default. So, even without Office applications, you can still use WordPad to open RTF files. However, this format is no longer officially supported by Microsoft and was discontinued in 2008, but is still widely used.
How to open an RTF file?
If you are using Windows, double-click the file and it will open immediately in the WordPad application. Since everything is already set up, you don’t need to install anything. You can even open RTF files in the Word Office application, if you set it as the default option or specify it specifically.
If you are using some other platform, then it is very likely that the default editor of that platform is capable of opening RTF files. Otherwise, you will need to install third-party applications.
For example, TextEdit on macOS can open RTF files. On Linux, you will have to install a third-party application, such as LibreOffice, to open RTF files.
Applications that can open RTF files
Applications like LibreOffice, AbiWord, OpenOffice, many online tools like Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive all allow you to view RTF files. So, if you can’t open the file on your computer, upload it to one of the above services to view the content. Most smartphones, both iOS and Android, can open RTF files with a tap.
How to convert RTF files to other formats?
To convert RTF files, you will need an application such as Microsoft Office on Windows or LibreOffice.
When you open the file, you will have to save it as a new file, then select the new text format that supports RICH Formatting. You can convert to DOC or OpenDocument Text file format, etc.
More information about RTF format
The RTF format was first used in 1987 but stopped being updated by Microsoft in 2008. Since then, there have been several modifications to the format. What determines whether one document editor displays files the same way as another depends on the version of RTF being used.
For example, although you can insert images into RTF files, not all readers know how to display them, because they are not all updated to the latest RTF specifications. When this happens, the image will not be displayed.
RTF files were once used for Windows help files but have since been replaced by Microsoft Compiled HTML Help files that use the CHM file extension.
The first version of this format was released in 1987 and was used by MS Word 3. From 1989 to 2006, versions 1.1 to 1.91 were released, with the last RTF version supporting these things like XML markup, custom XML tags, password protection, and math elements. What is PING? .
Because the RTF format is based on XML and not binary, you can actually read the content when you open the file in a plain text editor like Notepad.
RTF files do not support macros, but that doesn’t mean .RTF files are macro-safe. For example, an MS Word file containing a macro may be renamed to have the .RTF extension to appear secure, but then when opened in MS Word, the macro may still run normally because it is not actually is an RTF file.
Note: Although their file extensions look similar, RTF files are not the same as WRF or SRF files.
