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JAEN

.rtf

Use caution

Rich 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.

Related extensions

References