Rich Text Format

Not to be confused with Enriched text or Rich text.
Rich Text Format
Filename extension
.rtf
Internet media type
text/rtf[1]
application/rtf[2]
Type code'RTF.'[3][4][5]
Uniform Type Identifier (UTI)public.rtf
Magic number{\rtf
Developed byMicrosoft
Initial release1987; 37 years ago (1987)
Latest release
1.9.1
19 March 2008; 16 years ago (2008-03-19)
Type of formatDocument file format
Open format?No

The Rich Text Format (often abbreviated RTF) is a proprietary[6][7][8] document file format with published specification developed by Microsoft Corporation from 1987 until 2008 for cross-platform document interchange with Microsoft products. Prior to 2008, Microsoft published updated specifications for RTF with major revisions of Microsoft Word and Office versions.

Most word processors are able to read and write some versions of RTF.[9] There are several different revisions of RTF specification; portability of files will depend on what version of RTF is being used.[7][10]

RTF should not be confused with enriched text[11] or its predecessor Rich Text,[12][13] or with IBM's RFT-DCA (Revisable Format Text-Document Content Architecture), as these are different specifications.

  1. ^ "Text Media Types". iana.org. 1993-06-08. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  2. ^ "Application Media Types". iana.org. 2007-06-18. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
  3. ^ Microsoft Corporation (May 1999). "Rich Text Format (RTF) Specification, version 1.6". Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  4. ^ Microsoft Corporation (2004-04-20). "Word 2003: Rich Text Format (RTF) Specification, version 1.8". Microsoft. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  5. ^ John Siracusa (2005-04-28). "Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger – File types revisited". Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  6. ^ "tutorial: Rich Text Format (RTF)". Colorado State University. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 2010-03-13. Like ".doc," RTF is a proprietary file format, but it has been designed to be more widely compatible and transferable.
  7. ^ a b "4.3 Non-HTML file formats". e-Government Unit. May 2002. Archived from the original on 2007-04-02. Retrieved 2010-03-13. There are many different revisions of Microsoft's proprietary Rich Text Format and portability of files will depend on what version of RTF is being used.
  8. ^ e-Government Unit (May 2002). "4.3 Non-HTML file formats (archived site)". Archived from the original on 2007-03-21. Retrieved 2011-01-12. There are many different revisions of Microsoft's proprietary Rich Text Format and portability of files will depend on what version of RTF is being used.
  9. ^ "Benefits of Rich Text Format (RTF)". Desktop Publishing, Presentations & Word Processing. ETR Associates. Archived from the original on 2008-03-23.
  10. ^ "Sean M. Burke – RTF-Writer – The RTF Cookbook". Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  11. ^ Resnick, P.; Walker, A. "The text/enriched MIME Content-type".
  12. ^ Borenstein, N.; Freed, N. "MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions): Mechanisms for Specifying and Describing the Format of Internet Message Bodies".
  13. ^ Borenstein, N.; Freed, N. "MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) Part One: Mechanisms for Specifying and Describing the Format of Internet Message Bodies".