FormatDrop
How-To Guide

How to Convert PDF to RTF

RTF (Rich Text Format) is a cross-platform text format that supports basic formatting — bold, italic, fonts, paragraphs — without proprietary lock-in. Converting PDF to RTF is useful for legal document workflows, sending editable text across systems, and importing into older word processors that may not handle DOCX cleanly.

Open PDF to RTF Converter

Step-by-step instructions

  1. 1

    Upload your PDF file

    Select your .pdf file. Searchable PDFs convert reliably; scanned PDFs need OCR first.

    Go to converter
  2. 2

    Choose RTF as output format

    Select RTF. The converter extracts text and basic formatting (font sizes, bold/italic, paragraphs) and writes them as RTF control codes. Tables may not convert perfectly.

  3. 3

    Open in any text editor or word processor

    RTF opens in Word, LibreOffice, Pages, TextEdit, and virtually any text editor. Review for formatting issues and fix manually if needed.

Why convert PDF to RTF?

RTF is the cross-platform document format from before DOCX won the world. Converting PDF to RTF gives you editable text without proprietary file format lock-in.

Your files never leave your device

FormatDrop runs the conversion engine entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly. No file upload. No server. Nothing stored. You can verify this by opening DevTools → Network tab and watching: zero upload requests.

Frequently asked questions

Why use RTF instead of DOCX?
RTF is plain text with formatting codes, so it's universally readable and never has font embedding or proprietary feature issues. Use RTF when you need maximum compatibility with unknown software, legal document chains, or systems that strictly accept RTF.
How do I convert PDF to RTF on the command line?
`libreoffice --headless --convert-to rtf input.pdf`. Or use pdftotext + then convert: `pdftotext input.pdf - | unoconv --stdout --format rtf - > output.rtf`. LibreOffice gives the best layout preservation.
Will tables convert from PDF to RTF?
RTF supports tables natively, but PDF-to-RTF converters often don't preserve them well. Tables may become tab-separated text or simple paragraphs. For table-heavy documents, convert to DOCX or XLSX instead.
Convert PDF to RTF Now — Free

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