WD97: Difference Between RTF and RFT File Formats (194487)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
This article was previously published under Q194487

SUMMARY

Two file formats with similar abbreviations (RFT and RTF) are commonly confused.

The difference between these two formats is as follows:

  • RFT-DCA (commonly referred to as RFT) represents IBM Corporation's Revisable-Form Text Document Content Architecture format. This format was developed by IBM for transfer of documents between its word- processing systems and other systems.
  • RTF represents Microsoft Corporation's Rich Text Format. The Rich Text Format standard is a method of encoding formatted text and graphics for easy transfer between MS-DOS, Windows, OS/2, and Apple Macintosh applications.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about RFT-DCA, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

96119 History of WinWord File Converters Categorized by Word Release

119889 Word for the Macintosh: History of External File Converters

125219 RFT-DCA Converter Enhancements in Word 6.0c for Windows

119461 Supported Foreign File Formats in Word 6 for the Macintosh

174813 WD: Third-Party Conversion Solutions

For more information about how to obtain the RTF specification, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

86999 WD: Rich Text Format (RTF) Specification 1.6

111716 How to Obtain the WinWord Converter SDK (GC1039)

164472 WD97: GC1282: Rich Text Format Addendum (Spec. for Word 97)



NOTE: The RTF Specification version 1.6 is available in the MSDN library at the following URL:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/

Click Specifications, click Applications, and then click Rich Text Format (RTF) Specification, version 1.6.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:9/1/2006
Keywords:kbinfo KB194487
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