Conversion of RTF format to HTML is a common need for web publishers and all people who want to transfer data from Word RTF to HTML file including all contents, layout and appearance. Most RTF to HTML conversion tools give far more accurate results than Microsoft Word's integrated "Save As HTML" function.

RTF is a common format for interchanging documents between Microsoft Word and other word-processing software. This means, conversion of RTF format to HTML can be the final step of transferring data from any text editor to HTML file. RTF files consist of unformatted text, control words, control symbols, and groups. During the conversion of RTF format to HTML internal RTF commands are transformed into proper HTML tags that provide the best document appearance.

If you compare RTF format to HTML, both files appear human-readable and show relatively legible text. However, there are many differences. HTML format doesn't support embedded objects (e.g. pictures), so they are converted from RTF format to HTML linked pictures. HTML systemizes data through denoting certain text as headings, paragraphs, lists and so on. This allows RTF to HTML converters to preserve the appearance and semantics of documents. Converting RTF format to HTML also allows transferring hypertext, links, tables, tabs, etc.

HTML language syntax is quite strict; however, even if the pages converted from Word RTF to HTML are far from valid, web browsers commonly make assumptions about intents of the code and proceeded with rendering. On the one hand, this eases the process of converting RTF format to HTML, but on the other hand it creates possible difficulties regarding correct appearance in different browsers. However, in most cases documents converted from RTF format to HTML are processed correctly and don't require any additional manual editing.

All above noted, we can list the features of RTF to HTML conversion:

  • Documents converted from Word RTF to HTML preserve all text formatting, i.e.: font, size, style (bold, italic, underlined), color, alignment, line spacing, etc.
  • Page formatting can be managed in two ways: text imported from RTF format to HTML can be split in accordance with the original pages, or only when page break symbols are met.
  • Embedded objects, such as pictures, backgrounds and videos are transferred from RTF format to HTML as linked files.
  • RTF to HTML conversion supports exact and unrestricted reproduction of links and hyperlinks, tables, tabs, lists, and other common document items.

Software that converts RTF format to HTML usually performs the processing absolutely standalone, not requiring MS Word or Adobe Acrobat for the task.

Follow the links to learn how to convert RTF to XML, RTF to SVG, or to study how RTF to TXT converter works.