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Any time I received an RTF document in email, it could never be opened in Word no matter how I tried. Never
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No, in fact the 'modern' version of RTF is Not the old word processing format but HTML. &nbsp;Microsoft changed their mind some years ago. &nbsp;LibreOffice and OpenOffice will read and write all three formats. &nbsp;I believe WordPerfect does too.
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I guess the real question to skbohler is why make a website unusable to most of us.
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@skbohler - Thank you and I dearly hope I was not overly harsh on a subject that has bitten me so many times.
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Thank you all. I was under the impression that RTF was the MOST usable format, assuming complex formatting wasn't necessary and being editable was. Sounds like DOC has taken over as the new standard.
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<b>I've never seen an RTF file that Word or WordPad could not open.</b> Some software companies distribute their Release Notes and EULAs as RTF files, although not their User Guides/Manuals typically. That said, I still think PDF is the way to go (if the users are just viewing the files, not modifying them). Regards, Joe
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Is .docx or .doc preferable in terms of having the widest usability?
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Hi Joe,<br />
<br />
The users intend to modify the files.<br />
<br />
Thanks,<br />
<br />
Steve
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DOCX, if using DOC is now preferable. The vast majority of users have now progressed to DOCX, XLSX formats.
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DOC, because some folks might have older versions of Office. The DOCX format came out in Office 2007 and has been in everything ever since — 2010, 2013, 2016. But users on Office 2000 and 2003 (yes, some still are!) won't be able to open a DOCX. That's another reason for going with PDF. I doubt that there are any folks using a computer today without the ability to view a PDF file.
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You can add a patch for Office 2003 and the number earlier than that is diminishing rapidly. <br />
<br />
I finally converted to the new format with Office 2016 (that I have been using for nearly a year now).
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&gt; The users intend to modify the files.<br />
<br />
Our messages crossed. That's a horse of a different color. For that, you may want to stick with RTF. WordPad is built into Windows and can open, modify, and save RTF files just fine. Of course, so can any version of Word, as well as LibreOffice, OpenOffice, etc. Unless you need the fancier formatting that DOC offers, I think RTF is fine.
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Those who say you've had problems with RTF - I think you're mixing things up. &nbsp;I've never seen a problem with any version of Word opening any RTF files - Rich Text Format. &nbsp;WPD (I believe Word Perfect) sure, even Microsoft's own WKS (Works) extensions have had issues, but not RTF.
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To follow up on John's excellent comment, Microsoft provides at no charge a product called the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats:<br />
<a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=3" rel="ugc">https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=3</a><br />
<br />
It allows DOCX, PPTX, and XLSX files to be opened in Office 2000 and 2003. Problem is, not everyone has the compatibility pack installed and I don't think you want to require your users to install it. So there's a big downside (users who can't open DOCX files) and little upside, imo. I'm guessing you can do everything you want to do in DOC files, and probably even in RTF files.
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Wordpad on XP and Win 7 open *.rtf files as does Word 2007 along with LibreOffice and OpenOffice. &nbsp;A lot of Microsoft license and help files are in *.rtf format including ones from this year. &nbsp;All of the 'Office' programs also open DOC and DOCX files although I've found that DOCX files aren't always rendered well in the non-Microsoft programs.
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<div class="content wysiwyg-content">
Hello,<br />
<br />
Our business website has linked to document files in RTF format since 1999. The original reason was that it was a standard format that non-Office word processing software could open (our users are corporate environment users).<br />
<br />
However, today, I'm wondering if it's still the case. Most of our users don't know what a .rtf document, so there is some &quot;open anxiety&quot; there. <br />
<br />
I'm under the impression that any word processing client today can open .doc or .docx files.<br />
<br />
If true, any reason to offer our RTF instead of moving to DOC?<br />
<br />
Thanks in advance,<br />
<br />
Steve
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</div>


Hello,

Our business website has linked to document files in RTF format since 1999. The original reason was that it was a standard format that non-Office word processing software could open (our users are corporate environment users).

However, today, I'm wondering if it's still the case. Most of our users don't know what a .rtf document, so there is some "open anxiety" there. 

I'm under the impression that any word processing client today can open .doc or .docx files.

If true, any reason to offer our RTF instead of moving to DOC?

Thanks in advance,

Steve

RTF vs DOC

A word processor is an electronic device or computer software application that performs the task of composition, editing, formatting, and sometimes printing of documents. Most modern word processors use a graphical user interface, and most are powerful systems consisting of one or more programs that can produce any arbitrary combination of images, graphics and text, the latter handled with type-setting capability. Typical features of a modern word processor include font application, spell checking, grammar checking, a built-in thesaurus, automatic text correction, Web integration, and HTML exporting, among others.

Word Processors

A Document Management System (DMS) is a system (both hardware and software) used to track, manage and store documents and reduce paper. Most are capable of keeping a record of the various versions created and modified by different users (history tracking). It is often viewed as a component of enterprise content management (ECM) systems and related to digital asset management, document imaging, workflow systems and records management systems.

Document Management

Microsoft Office is an integrated suite of applications that includes Outlook, Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Visio and InfoPath, along with a number of tools to assist in making the individual components work together. Coding within and between the projects is done in Visual Basic for Applications, known as VBA.