RTF File Viewer

Open RTF files online and read Rich Text documents without Word or WordPad - real pages with tables, pictures, lists, footnotes and comments, plus search and PDF, TXT or HTML export. Got a Word file? Use the DOCX Viewer, for LibreOffice files the ODT Viewer, or browse all file viewers.

Drop an RTF file here or browse Any .rtf from Word, WordPad, TextEdit or LibreOffice. Up to about 300 MB, nothing is uploaded.

You can also paste a file with Ctrl + V

Page and reading view Tables and pictures PDF, TXT, HTML No upload

How to open an RTF file online

Open your RTF file. Drop an .rtf file onto the page, browse for it, paste it, or try the sample. Nothing is uploaded.
Pick a view. Page view shows real pages with headers, footers and footnotes. Reading view reflows the text so you can make it bigger. Source view shows the raw RTF code.
Find what you need. Search with highlighted matches, jump through the outline, read the comments and check the document properties.
Save or share. Save as PDF, export TXT, HTML or Markdown, copy all the text, or download the embedded pictures.

Shortcuts: Ctrl + F search, Enter / Shift + Enter next and previous match, Ctrl + P print, Ctrl + O open another file.

RTF viewer features

Real page view

Paper size, margins, headers, footers, page numbers and the page breaks saved in the file.

Reading view

The text reflows to your screen. Make it bigger, switch to sepia or night paper, or go full screen.

Accurate tables

Column widths, borders, shading, merged cells and even tables inside tables, not run-together text.

Faithful formatting

Fonts, sizes, colors, highlights, spacing, indents, headings, bullets and numbered lists, pictures and text boxes.

Every alphabet

Code pages and Unicode are read per font, so Cyrillic, Greek, Polish, Turkish, Japanese and Chinese text is right.

Search and outline

Every match highlighted with next and previous, a clickable outline of the headings and a page jump box.

Source view

The raw RTF code with colored control words, groups and escapes - smooth even for files with millions of lines.

100% private

Everything happens in your browser. The file is never uploaded and links inside it are never fetched.

What opens here

The viewer checks what is really inside the file, so a renamed document is spotted and sent to the right tool.

File	Made with	What you get
.rtf	Word, WordPad, TextEdit, LibreOffice, Google Docs	Full viewer: page, reading and source view, search, notes, exports
Rich text e-mail	Outlook "Save as RTF"	The message text and its formatting
.doc saved as .rtf	Many older apps	Detected and explained - turn it into a PDF with Word to PDF
.docx or .odt	Word, LibreOffice	Detected - opens in the DOCX Viewer or ODT Viewer

Got a plain .txt instead? The TXT Viewer handles huge text files, and finished layouts belong in the PDF Viewer.

About RTF files

RTF (Rich Text Format) is a document format that Microsoft introduced in 1987.

It saves text together with its formatting as plain readable codes such as \b for bold or \par for a new paragraph.

Because the codes are plain text, almost every word processor can read RTF, from WordPad and Apple TextEdit to Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs. Switch to Source view above to see those codes in your own file.

RTF vs DOCX

DOCX is the newer ZIP-and-XML Word format and supports more layout tricks. RTF is simpler and older, but it travels well between apps and operating systems.

Files with lots of pictures are much bigger as RTF, because each picture is stored as hexadecimal text. To read a Word file as it was saved, use the DOCX Viewer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Drop the .rtf file onto this page. It opens in your browser with its fonts, colors, lists, tables, images, headers and footers, so you do not need Word, WordPad or LibreOffice.

It works on Windows, Mac, Chromebooks, Linux, Android and iPhone.

No. The viewer reads the file with JavaScript inside your browser, so it never leaves your device.

That makes it safe for contracts, letters, CVs and school work.

Very close. Page view uses the paper size and margins saved in the file, and rebuilds fonts, sizes, colors, spacing, indents, tables and images.

Fonts that are not on your device are replaced with similar ones, so line and page breaks can differ slightly.

Yes. Tables keep their column widths, borders, shading and merged cells, PNG, JPEG and BMP pictures are shown in place, and footnotes appear at the bottom of their page with links back to the text.

Old Windows metafile drawings (WMF and EMF) get a labelled placeholder with their size.

RTF stores accented, Cyrillic, Greek, Chinese or Japanese letters with code pages, and some apps pick the wrong one.

This viewer reads the code page of every font in the file, so Russian, Polish, Turkish, Greek, Japanese and Chinese text comes out right.

Yes. Save as PDF prints the pages as shown, TXT gives the plain text, HTML gives one self-contained web page with the pictures inside, and Markdown keeps headings, lists and tables.

Embedded pictures can be saved one by one or as a ZIP.

This is a viewer, not an editor. You can read, search, copy, print and export the document, and look at the raw RTF code in Source view.

To edit it, use WordPad, LibreOffice Writer or Microsoft Word.

RTF (Rich Text Format) is a document format Microsoft created in 1987. It stores text plus formatting such as fonts, colors, lists, tables and pictures as readable control codes.

That is why almost every word processor can open it, from WordPad and TextEdit to Word and LibreOffice.