Convert RTF to ODT

Convert RTF to ODT when the file you received is going to be worked on in LibreOffice Writer. ODT is that editor's own format, and editing in it is easier than in the universal RTF.

What happens when you convert RTF to ODT

Text, paragraphs, lists, tables, and embedded pictures move into an ODT document and are edited as usual. What changes is not the content but the way it is stored: instead of markup inside one text file you get a document with an internal structure.

Section headings may arrive as ordinary paragraphs: RTF does not always keep the heading level, and there is nothing in the result to restore it from. Check that first if the document is meant to produce a table of contents.

• Content and basic formatting move into ODT.
• The document opens in LibreOffice Writer and can be edited.
• Headings and elaborate layout may sit differently.

How to convert RTF to ODT

1. Upload your document in RTF.
2. Select ODT as the result format.
3. Start the conversion.
4. Open the file in Writer and check its headings and tables.

Why change the storage format

• Rework a received file in the editor you use every day.
• Bring the documents of a department to one storage format.
• Apply heading styles and build a table of contents from them, which RTF never carries.
• Attach styles to the text so that edits stop breaking the layout.
• Put a contract into an archive in an open format.

Other options for RTF files

• For work in Word, use the RTF to Word (DOCX) converter.
• When the document is only sent out and printed, use the RTF to PDF converter.
• The way back comes from the ODT to RTF converter.

FAQ

Will the ODT open in Word?

Current Word versions read ODT. If the recipient runs an older program, send them RTF or DOCX.

Do pictures and tables survive?

Yes, they travel with the text. Wrapping around images and merged cells are worth a check.

Why do the headings look like plain text?

That happens when a heading in the source RTF was formatted by hand rather than with a style. Apply a heading style in Writer and the table of contents will build.