RTF to PDF Converter
Turn an RTF or WordPad document into a PDF right here in your browser, with nothing to install and nothing uploaded.
Drop an RTF file here
You get a PDF file. Converted on this device: the file is not uploaded. Up to 50 MB.
Converting happens inside your browser, so this needs JavaScript turned on.
Preview
The preview shows the start of the document; the downloaded file has all of it.
How to convert RTF to PDF
- Pick the file. Drop the .rtf file on the box above, or click Choose an RTF file. Documents saved by WordPad, Word, LibreOffice Writer and TextEdit all work.
- Check the result. A preview shows the start of the document, and a short list says if anything in your file could not go into the PDF.
- Download the PDF. It gets the same name as your file, ending in .pdf, and opens in any PDF reader, browser or phone.
Everything happens inside this browser tab. The file is not sent anywhere, so it works for contracts, letters and records you would rather not upload, and it works offline once the page has loaded.
What goes into the PDF
| In the RTF file | In the PDF |
|---|---|
| Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, superscript, subscript | Kept |
| Font sizes, text color and highlight | Kept |
| Fonts | Drawn with Helvetica, Times or Courier, whichever is closest |
| Alignment (including justified), indents, line and paragraph spacing | Kept |
| Bullets and numbered lists | Kept |
| Links | Kept, and clickable |
| PNG and JPEG pictures | Kept, scaled to fit the page |
| Paper size, orientation and margins | Kept (US Letter or A4) |
| Tables | Lines of tab-separated text |
| Headers, footers, footnotes, WMF and EMF pictures, embedded objects | Left out |
Text in English and other Western European languages stays real text you can select, search and copy. Other scripts are drawn as a picture of the text, sharp enough to print.
Change the document before you convert it
To fix a typo or the layout first, open the file in the RTF editor, make the change, and choose File → PDF document there; Page setup in the same menu sets the paper and margins. For a file to keep editing in Word or Google Docs instead, save it as .docx from the editor's File menu.
Questions
How do I convert a WordPad document to PDF?
WordPad documents are usually .rtf files. Drop the file on the box above or click Choose an RTF file, then click Download PDF. If your PC still has WordPad, you can also print the document to the Microsoft Print to PDF printer that Windows 10 and 11 include.
Will the PDF look the same as the RTF file?
Close to it. Text, sizes, bold and italic, colors, highlight, alignment, indents, spacing, lists, links and PNG or JPEG pictures carry over. The PDF uses the standard fonts every PDF reader has (Helvetica, Times and Courier), so a document in Calibri or Georgia gets the nearest of them and lines may break in slightly different places.
What page size and margins does the PDF get?
The ones written in the RTF file: US Letter or A4, whichever is closer to the file’s paper, in portrait or landscape, with its margins. A file that states no page, as many do, gets US Letter with 1 inch margins at the top and bottom and 1.25 inches at the sides, the page WordPad used.
Can I select and search the text in the PDF?
Yes, for English and other Western European languages: the text is real text in the PDF, and links can be clicked. Text in other scripts, such as Cyrillic, Greek, Chinese or emoji, is drawn as a sharp picture of the text so it looks right in any reader, but it cannot be selected or searched.
Is my file uploaded to convert it?
No. The RTF file is read and the PDF is written by your browser on your device; this page has no server that receives files. Close the tab and nothing of the document remains.
Why are some parts of my RTF file missing from the PDF?
This converter shows what a simple word processor shows. Tables become lines of tab-separated text, and headers, footers, footnotes, embedded objects and pictures in the old Windows formats WMF and EMF are left out. The result box lists anything left out of your file before you download.