How to open a .RTF file online
Rich Text in three steps, with no word processor.
Choose your .RTF file
Drop your .RTF file onto the box above, or click Choose file.
Supported
Your .RTF file is opened: fonts, colours, lists, tables, links and pictures.
Read or reuse
Switch between the formatted page, plain text and the raw code, then save as HTML or TXT.
What is a .RTF file?
A 1987 format that every word processor still understands.
An RTF file is a Rich Text Format document, a portable text file with basic formatting (bold, italic, fonts, colors, simple tables) that almost every word processor can open. Use Microsoft Word, LibreOffice Writer, or Google Docs to open it. On Windows 11, WordPad is gone, so LibreOffice or Word are the practical choices.
Programs that open .RTF files
| Full name | Rich Text Format Document |
|---|---|
| Developer | Microsoft |
| First released | 1987 (RTF 1.0, Microsoft); last specification version 1.9.1 in 2008 |
| Category | Documents |
| MIME type | application/rtf |
| Signature | 7B 5C 72 74 66 31 "{\\rtf1" - the literal opening of every RTF file |
Related viewers
Free, no sign-up.
Is my .RTF file uploaded?
No. Your .RTF file is converted to a web page for you. No extra components need to be downloaded.
Why is a picture missing?
Some .RTF files store pictures as Windows metafiles (WMF/EMF), which browsers can't draw. They're marked in the text. PNG and JPEG pictures are shown normally.
My text shows strange characters. Why?
A .RTF file can use old code pages for non-English text. The viewer follows the code page and font character sets declared in the file; if the file declares them wrongly, some letters may look off.
What is the code view for?
It shows the raw .RTF source with control words highlighted and picture data collapsed. It's useful for debugging exports or checking what an app really saved.
Can I convert my .RTF file to Word or PDF?
You can save the text as HTML or TXT here. Converters to DOCX and PDF are coming soon.
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