Editing Rich Text Format (section)

==Implementations==
{{See also|Comparison of word processors}}

Each RTF implementation usually implements only some versions or subsets of the RTF specification.<ref name="e-gov-uk" /> Many of the available RTF converters cannot understand all new features in the latest RTF specifications.<ref name="wordperfect-dos" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tug.org/utilities/texconv/index.html |title=Converters from PC Textprocessors to LaTeX&nbsp;– Overview&nbsp;– Converting from RTF |author=Wilfried Hennings |year=2010 |access-date=2010-03-13}}</ref>

The [[WordPad]] editor in Microsoft Windows creates RTF files by default. It once defaulted to the Microsoft Word 6.0 file format, but write support for Word documents (.doc) was dropped in a security update. Read support was also dropped in Windows 7. WordPad does not support some RTF features, such as headers and footers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.familysearch.org/eng/home/faq/faq_fileviewer.asp#Why_does_RTF_not |title=Why does RTF not work properly in WordPad and NotePad? |website=[[FamilySearch]] |access-date=2010-03-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805114650/http://www.familysearch.org/eng/home/faq/faq_fileviewer.asp#Why_does_RTF_not |archive-date=2009-08-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, WordPad can read and save many RTF features that it cannot create, including tables, strikeout, superscript, subscript, "extra" colors, text background colors, numbered lists, right or left indent, quasi-hypertext and URL linking, and various line spacings. RTF is also the data format for "rich text controls" in MS Windows APIs.<ref name="rtf-pocket-guide" />

The default text editor for [[macOS]], [[TextEdit]], can also view, edit and save RTF files as well as [[Rich Text Format Directory|RTFD]] files, and uses the format as its default.  As of July 2009, TextEdit has limited ability to edit RTF document margins.  Much older Mac word processing application programs such as [[MacWrite]] and [[WriteNow]] had the same RTF abilities as TextEdit has.

The following free and open-source word processors attempt to work with Microsoft's RTF file format, see the criticism paragraph below. [[AbiWord]], [[Apache OpenOffice]], [[Bean (word processor)|Bean]], [[Calligra]], [[Collabora Online]] and [[LibreOffice]].

[[Scrivener (software)|Scrivener]] uses individual RTF files for all the text files that make up a given "project".

[[SIL International]]'s  freeware application for developing and publishing dictionaries uses RTF as its most common form of document output. RTF files produced by Toolbox are designed to be used in [[Microsoft Word]], but can also be used by other RTF-aware word processors.

RTF can be used on some ebook readers because of its interoperability,<ref>{{cite web|title=Handbook on Minimum Information Interoperability Standards (MIOS) |url=http://www.westerncape.gov.za/Text/2004/10/mios_v3_16_april_02.pdf |publisher=Department of Public Service and Administration (South Africa) |access-date=2010-07-11|date=2002-04-16}}</ref> simplicity and low CPU processing requirements.

===Libraries and converters===

The open-source script rtf2xml can partially convert RTF to XML.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sourceforge.net/projects/rtf2xml/ |title=rtf2xml: convert MS RTF to XML |access-date=2010-06-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://rtf2xml.sourceforge.net/docs/man-page.html |title=rtf2xml&nbsp;– The Man Page |access-date=2010-06-05}}</ref>

GNU [https://www.gnu.org/software/unrtf/unrtf.html UnRTF] is an open-source program to convert RTF into HTML, LaTeX, troff macros and other formats. [https://pypi.python.org/pypi/pyth pyth] is a [[Python (programming language)|Python]] library to create and convert documents in RTF, XHTML and PDF format. [https://web.archive.org/web/20061109004757/http://ruby-rtf.rubyforge.org/ Ruby RTF] is a project to create Rich Text content via [[Ruby (programming language)|Ruby]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20071030015907/http://www.flightlab.com/cost/ratfink/ RaTFink] is a library of Tcl routines, free software, to generate RTF output, and a Cost script to convert SGML to RTF. [https://metacpan.org/module/RTF::Writer RTF::Writer] is a [[Perl]] module for generating RTF documents. [http://sourceforge.net/projects/phprtf/ PHPRtfLite] is an API enabling developers to create RTF documents with [[PHP]]. [[Pandoc]] is an open source document converter with multiple output formats, including RTF.  [https://web.archive.org/web/20100726093601/http://www.smartsystems.ro/rtfgen RTFGen] is a project to create RTF documents via pure [[PHP]]. [https://github.com/tbluemel/rtf.js rtf.js] is a [[JavaScript]] based library to render RTF documents in HTML.

The macOS command line tool textutil can convert files between rtf, rtfd, text, doc, docx, wordml, odt and webarchive formats.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/textutil.1.html |title=textutil man page |access-date=2013-06-25}}</ref> The editor Ted can also convert RTF files to HTML and PS format.