PDF to RTF Converter (Rich Text Format)

How it works

Choose your PDF in the box (tap or click) and press "Convert to RTF"; your browser saves an .rtf of the same name. Behind that button the PDF's text layer is read, its lines are joined into paragraphs, clearly oversized lines turn into bold headings, and everything is written out as Rich Text Format. The point of RTF is that it opens almost everywhere: TextEdit on every Mac, WordPad on older Windows machines, Word, LibreOffice and the text fields of many business applications read it without extra software. A concrete case: your county posted a 3-page permit application as a PDF, and the case management system at work only accepts RTF attachments. Convert it here, open it in TextEdit or Word, fill in the blanks and attach it; accented names such as "José Peña" come through intact. What RTF will not get from the PDF is the page design: tables arrive as rows of text, multi-column pages are read as a single column, and pictures, colors and the original typefaces stay behind. Pages that are only a scan (a photo of paper) hold no letters to read; you get a clear message rather than a blank .rtf.

This tool is also known as pdf to rtf, convert pdf to rtf, pdf to rich text format, pdf to wordpad, pdf to rtf converter free.

What is RTF (Rich Text Format)?

RTF (Rich Text Format) is a document format Microsoft published in 1987 to move formatted text between programs. The file is plain text sprinkled with control words that start with a backslash: \b switches bold on, \par ends a paragraph, \fs32 sets a 16-point font size. Because it is so simple, almost every word processor opens RTF, and it cannot contain macros. The last version, 1.9.1, dates from 2008; RTF is far less capable than DOCX, yet it remains the common language of TextEdit, WordPad and a great deal of business software.

What is the difference between RTF and DOCX?

Both carry editable, formatted text, but they are built differently. RTF is a single text file; open it in Notepad and you can read the control words. DOCX is a ZIP package of XML files in which styles, comments, tracked changes and embedded images live in separate parts, so it is richer and usually smaller. RTF's strength is reach: TextEdit on every Mac and Word on almost every office PC open it, and because it cannot contain macros it is treated as safe. For a long, styled document with a table of contents choose DOCX; for simple text that has to open anywhere choose RTF.

Why do accented letters break in RTF files, and how does this tool avoid it?

RTF dates from 1987, and an RTF file itself is made only of ASCII characters. Anything beyond plain English letters can be written in two ways: as hexadecimal codes tied to a Windows code page (1252 for Western Europe), or as the character's Unicode number. With the first method, a file opened on a computer set up for another language shows the wrong letters, and characters outside that code page, such as Polish or Turkish letters, cannot be written at all.

This tool uses the second method: every non-ASCII character is written as \u233? (233 is the Unicode number of é). The question mark is a fallback for very old readers that do not understand Unicode; WordPad, Word, TextEdit and LibreOffice read the number and display the correct character. That way the file shows the same letters whatever language the opening computer is set to.

RTF, Word (DOCX) or ODT?

If someone will edit the file in Word or LibreOffice, the PDF to Word tool gives a better result: headings use Word's heading styles and a table of contents is one click away. If you work in LibreOffice Writer, the PDF to ODT tool produces Writer's native format.

Choose RTF when the file has to go into software that only accepts RTF (some accounting, medical and document management systems, older email clients), when it will be opened in WordPad on a Windows PC without Word, or when you want to edit it in TextEdit on a Mac and keep basic formatting. RTF also has a safety advantage: it cannot carry macros, so it is rarely blocked as an attachment.

Frequently asked questions

What program opens an RTF file?

TextEdit on a Mac, Word, the free LibreOffice Writer, Google Docs (upload to Drive and open) and the Word mobile app all open RTF. WordPad opened it on Windows for decades, but Microsoft removed WordPad from recent Windows 11 updates; on such a PC use Word or LibreOffice. Double-clicking the file opens whichever program is associated with .rtf on your computer.

Is formatting kept when converting PDF to RTF?

Text, paragraphs and headings are kept; headings are written bold and larger. Table borders, column layout, images, colors and the PDF's original fonts are not carried over; the text is set in Arial. The page size comes from the first page of the PDF, with 2 cm (about 0.8 inch) margins.

Is my file uploaded to a server?

No. The PDF is read and the RTF is written inside your browser on this page; the file, its name and its contents are never sent to a server. You can even disconnect from the internet after the page has loaded and the conversion still works.