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PDFBase

RTF to PDF Converter

Local

Convert Rich Text Format documents to PDF in your browser

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RTF to PDF
Local

    Add up to 20 files. Each one is converted separately, so a file that cannot be read does not stop the rest, and every conversion comes with a note of anything the PDF could not reproduce.

    Tool Details
    Input formatsRTF
    Output formatPDF
    Max file size25 MB
    Max files20
    Max batch size100 MB
    ProcessingLocal
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    Privacy First

    Your files are processed entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded to any server.

    How do I convert an RTF file to PDF?

    Drop your .rtf files in, run the queue, and download each finished PDF or all of them as a ZIP. The converter reads the Rich Text Format markup directly — fonts, colours, indents, alignment, tables, list markers and embedded pictures — and lays it out on pages sized by the document's own page setup. Every file gets a note listing anything the PDF could not reproduce.

    About the RTF to PDF Converter

    Convert RTF documents to PDF by reading the Rich Text Format markup itself — font and colour tables, paragraph indents and alignment, bold, italic, underline, tables, list markers, and embedded PNG and JPEG pictures — and laying the result out on pages sized by the document's own page setup. Text is drawn with the standard PDF fonts rather than the typefaces the file names, so line breaks follow the substituted metrics; every conversion lists what changed. Metafile pictures, embedded objects, headers, footers and footnotes are reported rather than silently dropped.

    • Turn a Rich Text Format document written in WordPad, TextEdit or an old word processor into a PDF anyone can open, without installing an office suite.
    • Convert a folder of RTF files in one pass, with each file converted separately so one unreadable document does not stop the other nineteen.
    • See before you send it exactly what the PDF could not reproduce: substituted typefaces, metafile pictures, headers and footers are each listed per file.
    • Keep a document with commercial or personal content on your own machine — the RTF is parsed by this browser tab and no copy is uploaded.
    • Get a real text layer rather than a picture of the page, so the PDF stays searchable and its text can still be copied.

    How to use the RTF to PDF tool

    1. 1

      Upload RTF files

      Select RTF files from your device or drag files into the upload area.

    2. 2

      Review files

      Review the selected files and continue when they are ready.

    3. 3

      Convert to PDF

      Run the RTF to PDF tool to create the PDF output.

    4. 4

      Download the result

      Download the finished file. The original file stays on your device and is not uploaded.

    What is an RTF file, and why does it still turn up?

    Rich Text Format is a plain-text markup language Microsoft published in 1987 as a way to move formatted documents between programs that could not read each other's native files. It survives because it is simple and unencumbered: WordPad wrote it, macOS TextEdit still writes it, and a great many legal, medical and government systems export it because every word processor ever made can open one. That longevity is also why an RTF file will occasionally land in your inbox from a system nobody has updated since the nineties.

    Which parts of an RTF document survive the conversion?

    Paragraph text with its bold, italic, underline and strikethrough runs; font sizes; text colours from the document's colour table; left, centre, right and justified alignment; left, right and first-line indents including hanging indents; paragraph spacing; tables built from row and cell definitions; bullet and number markers; explicit page breaks; page size and margins; and pictures stored as PNG or JPEG. Superscript and subscript are placed on a raised or lowered baseline. Hidden text is left out, as the document asks.

    What does the converter change, and how would you know?

    Two things, and it tells you both. Typefaces are substituted: PDFBase draws with the standard PDF fonts, so a document set in Cambria comes out in Times, and because line breaking follows the substituted metrics, text can wrap at different points. Pictures stored as Windows metafiles are left out, because a metafile is a stream of drawing commands rather than an image. Headers, footers, footnotes and embedded objects are also reported. Each file in the queue carries its own list, and the same list goes into the ZIP manifest.

    Can it convert RTF files that are not in English?

    Latin-script documents convert cleanly, including French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Nordic and Central European accents, and the converter reads the document's declared code page so those characters decode correctly rather than turning into mojibake. Scripts the standard PDF fonts cannot draw at all — Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and emoji — are a real limit: a stray character is replaced and reported, and a document written mostly in one of those scripts is refused outright rather than converted into a page of question marks.

    Are my files uploaded when converting RTF to PDF?

    No. The .rtf bytes are read by JavaScript running in this tab, and the PDF is assembled in memory by the same code. Nothing is sent anywhere, which matters more than usual for this format: RTF is what a lot of case-management, HR and medical systems export, so the file on your desk is often somebody's personal record rather than a memo.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Does the PDF keep the formatting from my RTF file?
    Most of it. Bold, italic, underline and strikethrough, font sizes, text colours, paragraph alignment and indents, tables, bullet and number markers, page size and margins all carry over, and PNG and JPEG pictures are embedded. The typeface itself is substituted with a standard PDF font, which the per-file report tells you about.
    Why does my text wrap differently than it did in WordPad?
    Because the PDF is drawn with the standard PDF fonts rather than the typeface your document names, and different fonts have different letter widths. Line breaks are recalculated against the substituted font, so a line that just fitted before may wrap one word earlier or later.
    How many RTF files can I convert at once?
    Up to 20 files, or 100 MB in total, whichever you reach first. They are converted one at a time, which keeps memory bounded and lets the page stay responsive, and you can pause the queue or cancel and retry individual files while it runs.
    What happens to images that will not convert?
    PNG and JPEG pictures are embedded in the PDF. Pictures stored as Windows metafiles (WMF or EMF) are left out, because those hold vector drawing instructions rather than image data. Any file affected says so in its compatibility notes rather than quietly losing the picture.
    Can it convert an RTF file written in Russian or Chinese?
    No, and it will say so rather than produce nonsense. The standard PDF fonts cover Latin text, Western and Central European accents and common punctuation. A document written mostly in Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic or a CJK script is refused with an explanation instead of being converted into a page of question marks.
    Is my document uploaded to convert it?
    No. The file is read from disk by this browser tab, parsed there, and turned into a PDF by the same code. There is no upload step and no conversion server involved at any point.

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