.rtf
Use cautionRich Text Format
Microsoft's cross-platform formatted-text format. Richer than plain text, and the lowest common denominator for formatted documents on every OS.
MIME types
- application/rtf
- text/rtf
Category
document
What opens this file
- Word
- TextEdit
- LibreOffice Writer
- WordPad (through Windows 11)
How to open by OS
Windows
- WordPad (through Windows 11), Word, LibreOffice Writer.
Mac
- TextEdit, Word.
Linux
- LibreOffice Writer.
Ios
- Pages, Word Mobile.
Android
- Word Mobile.
Safety notes
- OLE objects embedded in RTF have been exploited in multiple campaigns. Treat unsolicited .rtf with Protected View enabled.
Common mistakes
- RTF has fewer features than docx — complex tables and layouts break. Use docx or PDF for those.
- Windows mail clients sometimes interpret HTML-like content as RTF when the MIME is ambiguous.