All about RTF Files
The RTF file type is primarily associated with WordPad.
What is an RTF file?
How to open an RTF file
You need a suitable software like WordPad to open an RTF file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your RTF file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a RTF file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.
Online RTF File Viewer
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Easily convert RTF files to JPG, PDF, HTML, DOC, ...
You can convert RTF files using our online RTF file viewer (powered by Convert.Guru):- Just click the "Choose your .rtf file to view" button on this page.
- After your file is opened in browser,
- click "Save as..." in the menu.
- Then click the file format (e.g. PDF, JPG, DOCX, TXT, ...) you want.
- Download the converted file.
Programs that open and convert RTF files:
- WordPad by Microsoft
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. RTF files are often referred to as WordPad simple text files because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
- 7-zip (compressed data) by Igor Pavlov7-zip is an archive file compression and encryption program compatible with Windows and macOS. It can unpack an RTF file saved in ZIP format. This file format is classified as Compressed.
- TextEdit (text document) by AppleTextEdit is a word processor for macOS, NeXTSTEP, and GNUstep operating systems. It saves a Rich Text Format document in an RTF file. This file format is classified as Simple text file. Related links: Rich Text Format
- Writer (text document) by ApacheWriter is an open source word processor bundled with OpenOffice productivity software suite. It saves a Rich Text Format document in an RTF file. This file format is classified as Simple text file. Related links: Rich Text Format
- XProtect (quarantined data) by AppleXProtect is the file signature-based antivirus technology built into macOS. It can detect and quarantine potentially malicious RTF files saved in AppleDouble format and disguised as Rich Text Format documents. This file format is classified as Data.
RTF file format details:
To view or edit RTF files you need to know the file format, because it determines how the data in this file is stored. A file format is determined by the file extension and signature, so JPEG images have the extension .jpg and the first bytes in the file are ÿØÿ. However, different programs can use the same file extension, and file extensions can be assigned incorrectly. Exact knowledge of the format is therefore important in order to solve problems occurring in files. Our examination of the RTF files comes to the following conclusion:
The RTF file extension is quite widespread and mainly uses a defined RTF format. But the following two file formats are common:
- 85% of all RTF files belong to Rich Text Format. The files are using the common file format RTF. RTF is short for Rich Text Format, a proprietary document file format for cross-platform document interchange with Microsoft products. It may contain formatted text and graphics. The content consists of readable text data, which can be read using a text editor. The average file size is 25 KB with most files being between 590 bytes and 590 KB in size. The file type is old but is used even today. Several words can almost always be found in the files, e.g. rtf1, fonttbl, ansi, fcharset, ansicpg1252, deff0, deflang, colortbl, fnil, green and blue. Such RTF files store data about document, eula, text, license, sample, documento, revised, outlinem, ditnote, taking, check, list and rich.
- 2% of all RTF files start with the bytes crucial for this file format. These files are text files and can therefore be read using a text editor. The file size is in the range of 1 KB to 3 KB. Several words can almost always be found in the files, e.g. Data, Modulo controllo Controlli, Mod. Redditi PF21 - Procedura di Controllo delle Dichiarazioni and Versione 1.0.1 del 08/06/2021. Files like these are about baivcn, mcclcu and smnlna.
All other RTF files (13%) have no uniform format, such as ZIP, RIFF, Mac2OSX and rtfd. These files are often connected to imag, read, letter, guide, application or table. Just click the "Choose your .rtf file to view" button on this page to find out what your RTF file is.
Technical Data for RTF File Extension
The following listing is compiled from the database produced by the 'Associate This!' program, selected data from the main FILExt database and file extension information submitted by users.
EXEFile: WORDPAD.EXE
EXEFile: wordview.exe
EXEFile: WINWORD.EXE
EXEFile: WINWORD.EXE
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Accessori\WORDPAD.EXE %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Accessories\WORDPAD.EXE %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Acessórios\WORDPAD.EXE %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Bureau-accessoires\WORDPAD.EXE %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Tilbeh¢r\WORDPAD.EXE %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Zubehör\WORDPAD.EXE %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office 2003\OFFICE11\WINWORD.EXE /n /dde
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office10\WINWORD.EXE /n /d
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office10\WINWORD.EXE /n /dde
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\WINWORD.EXE
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\WINWORD.EXE /n /dde
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office\Winword.exe %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office\Office\WINWORD.EXE /n
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Office_XP\Office10\WINWORD.EXE /n
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\OfficeXP\Office10\WINWORD.EXE /n /dde
EXEFile: F:\office97\Office\Winword.exe %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\WORDVI~1\OFFICE11\WORDVIEW.EXE /n /dde
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\WordView\wordview.exe %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\CopyWriter\CopyWriter.exe %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Tillbeh”r\WORDPAD.EXE %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Atlantis\Atlantis.exe %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\EasyOffice\EASYWORD.EXE %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Accessoires\WORDPAD.EXE %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\AbiSuite2\AbiWord\bin\AbiWord.exe %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Accesorios\WORDPAD.EXE %1
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\SSuitePersonal\WordFormat2.exe
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles% PER UFFICIO\EASYWORD.EXE
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\ZubehGÇ?r\WORDPAD.EXE
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\MOZILL~1\firefox.exe -GoogleToolbar .rtf
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\OpenOffice.org 3\program\\swriter.exe -o
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox 3.5 Beta 4\firefox.exe -GoogleToolbar .rtf
an rtf text document is a special file format by Microsoft and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.
How to solve problems with RTF files
- Associate the RTF file extension with the correct application.
- Update your software that should actually open text documents. Because only the current version supports the latest RTF file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the Microsoft manufacturer website after an available WordPad update.
- To make sure that your RTF file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.
- Click here to open your .RTF file online - secure, fast, and no downloads needed.