RTF to TXT Converter
Get the words out of an RTF file as plain text, without the codes, fonts or colors.
Drop an RTF file here
You get a TXT 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 turn RTF into plain text
- Choose the .rtf file above, or drop it anywhere on this page.
- Read the preview. It shows exactly the text that goes into the file, list numbers and tabs included.
- Click Download TXT. You get a .txt file with the same name, ready for Notepad, an email, a form or a script.
The conversion runs in your browser on your own device. Nothing is uploaded, so it works the same for a one-line note and for a manuscript.
What the conversion does
On the left, a short RTF file as Notepad shows it; on the right, the text this page makes from it.
{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0{\fonttbl{\f0\fswiss Calibri;}}
{\colortbl ;\red192\green0\blue0;}
\pard\sa200\sl276\slmult1\qc\b\f0\fs28 Packing list\b0\fs22\par
\pard\sa200 Bring \cf1 warm\cf0 clothes and:\par
{\pntext\f0 1.\tab}{\*\pn\pnlvlbody\pndec\pnstart1\pnindent360{\pntxta.}}\fi-360\li720 Boots\par
{\pntext\f0 2.\tab}Caf\'e9 money\par
}Packing list Bring warm clothes and: 1. Boots 2. Café money
The codes, the font table and the colors are gone; the centered title, the red word and the list keep their words, the list keeps its numbers, and “Café” keeps its accent.
What a text file keeps
- Kept: every word, paragraph breaks, line breaks, tab characters, bullets as “•” and list numbers, table cells as tab-separated columns.
- Gone: fonts, sizes, bold and italic, colors, alignment and spacing; pictures; the web addresses behind links (their text stays).
- Left out, as in the editor: headers, footers, footnotes and embedded objects.
To keep the formatting instead, convert the file to Word or to PDF.
Questions
Why does my RTF file show codes like {\rtf1 in Notepad?
Because Notepad shows the file as it is stored. RTF is text with its formatting written as codes, such as \b for bold and \par for a new paragraph, and only a rich-text program turns them back into formatting. This converter reads the codes and keeps just the words, so the .txt file reads cleanly in Notepad.
Which encoding and line endings does the text file use?
UTF-8 without a byte order mark, with Windows line endings (CR LF). Accented letters, Cyrillic, Greek, Chinese and emoji all survive, and the file opens correctly in Notepad, TextEdit and any code editor.
Are bullets and numbered lists kept?
Yes, as characters: a bullet item starts with “•” and a numbered one with its number, such as “2.” or “b.”. Each deeper list level starts with one more tab, so the outline stays readable.
What happens to tables?
Each table row becomes one line with a tab between the cells. Pasted into Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers, those lines fall back into columns.
Can I convert several RTF files at once?
One at a time: drop a file, download the text, then click Convert another file. Each conversion takes a moment because nothing has to be uploaded.
Can I turn the text file back into RTF?
Yes, but the formatting is gone for good. Open the .txt file in the RTF editor, format it again with the ribbon, and save it as Rich Text (.rtf). Open the RTF editor.