HTML RTF Swap
HTML to RTF
Converting on this device…
The file is not uploaded.
1 · Choose a HTML file
.html, .htm, .xhtml · stays in this tab
2 · Convert
3 · Download
Choose a file to convert. It is not uploaded.
HTML pivot preview
FAQ and format details
Why convert HTML to RTF?
Choose RTF when the destination software's file picker offers .rtf but not .docx, or when you must avoid Office Open XML for policy reasons. It is also a decent 'formatted but not Word' export for pasting into some Windows dialogs that accept RTF on the clipboard after you open the file.
How this conversion runs
After sanitizing HTML, the writer emits RTF 1.x with a Times/Courier font table. Paragraphs become \par, emphasis maps to \b \i \ul \strike \sub \super, lists are indented bullets or numbers, tables use \trowd/\cell, and PNG/JPEG data URLs become \pict hex. Unicode uses \uN escapes. WordPad can still open the file.
Keep in mind for HTML → RTF
RTF is a 1980s-era idea of rich text. You will not get modern style sets, themes, content controls, or Word list tables. WMF/EMF pictures are not written. If the recipient has Word, HTML→DOCX is the better default.
After you have a RTF file
Open the .rtf in WordPad to confirm the subset survived, then in Word if you need styles. Saving again from Word as DOCX is a common cleanup step. If the file looks like raw {\rtf1, the destination app is treating it as plain text — rename or use Open With.
Is RTF safer than DOCX?
It has a smaller attack surface than macro-enabled Word files, and this converter never emits macros. It is not a security boundary: treat untrusted RTF like any other document.
Why does TextEdit ask to convert?
macOS TextEdit can open RTF natively. If it offers to convert, it may be seeing characters or control words it wants to normalize. Saving as RTF again from TextEdit is fine.
This pair at a glance
- Accepts
- .html, .htm, .xhtml
- Writes
- .rtf · application/rtf
- Read fidelity
- exact (HTML → HTML)
- Write fidelity
- medium (HTML → RTF)
- Source size
- Plan for files under 7.6 MB
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About HTML and Rich Text Format
Source file
HTML
The web’s native document format: structured markup for headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, links, and media.
HTML is the pivot format for this converter. Incoming files are turned into a sanitized HTML document, and outgoing files are generated from that document. Browsers, email clients, and most rich-text editors already speak it, which is why it is the most flexible interchange point.
- Extensions
- .html, .htm, .xhtml
- MIME types
- text/html, application/xhtml+xml
- Kind
- text · utf-8
- Category
- markup
- Standard
- Open format · since 1993
- Spec
- HTML Living Standard
- Comfortable size
- Up to about 7.6 MB in this browser converter
- Read into HTML
- exact fidelity · implemented — Identity transform after sanitizing script/style that cannot round-trip into other document types.
What this format can hold
- headings
- paragraphs
- lists
- tables
- links
- images
- inline formatting
- semantic structure
Apps that consume HTML
- Chrome (Google) — opens on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
- Firefox (Mozilla) — opens on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android
- Safari (Apple) — opens on macOS, iOS
- Edge (Microsoft) — opens on Windows, macOS
- VS Code (Microsoft) — creates on Windows, macOS, Linux
- WordPress — creates and opens on Web
Catalog notes
Destination file
Rich Text Format
A text-based interchange format from Microsoft for basic rich text: fonts, colors, bold/italic, and simple pictures.
RTF was designed so Word, WordPad, TextEdit, and mail clients could exchange formatted text without the full Word binary. It is verbose (control words like \b, \i, \par) but human-inspectable. Fidelity is lower than DOCX: no modern styles, limited tables, and vendor-specific extensions.
- Extensions
- .rtf
- MIME types
- application/rtf, text/rtf
- Kind
- text · mixed
- Category
- word processing
- Standard
- Open format · since 1987
- Comfortable size
- Up to about 7.6 MB in this browser converter
- Written from HTML
- medium fidelity · implemented — Emits RTF 1.x with ANSI/Unicode mixed encoding, nested list indents, Word-style tables, and PNG/JPEG picts.
What this format can hold
- paragraphs
- lists
- inline formatting
- images
- tables
Usually dropped on the way out
- css layout
- semantic html5
- responsive images
Apps that consume RTF
- Microsoft Word (Microsoft) — creates and opens on Windows, macOS
- WordPad (Microsoft) — creates and opens on Windows
- TextEdit (Apple) — creates and opens on macOS
- LibreOffice Writer (The Document Foundation) — creates and opens on Windows, macOS, Linux
- Apple Notes (Apple) — creates and opens on macOS, iOS
Catalog notes
Other conversions
Other conversions from HTML: MarkdownWordOpenDocumentPDFEPUB
Other ways to get RTF: MarkdownWordOpenDocumentPDFEPUB