WD: Difference Between RTF and RFT File Formats

ID: Q22137

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition
Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 1.1, 1.1a, 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c, 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 3.0, 3.01, 3.02, 4.0, 5.0, 5.1, 5.1a, 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1a
Microsoft Word for MS-DOS, versions 3.x, 4.x, 5.x, 6.0

SUMMARY

The following article discusses the differences between Rich Text Format (RTF) and Revisable-Form Text Document Content Architecture (RFT-DCA).

MORE INFORMATION

Two file formats with similar abbreviations (RFT and RTF) are commonly confused. The difference between these two formats is described 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.

REFERENCES

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

Q96119 History of WinWord File Converters Categorized by Word Release

Q119889 Word for the Macintosh: History of External File Converters

Q136385 Supported Foreign File Formats in Word and Office 95

Q125219 RFT-DCA Converter Enhancements in Word 6.0c for Windows

Q119461 Supported Foreign File Formats in Word 6 for the Macintosh

Q104949 Supported Foreign File Formats in WinWord 6.0 / 6.0a / 6.0c

Q78039 Word: Works and DCA-RTF Converters Not Installed in Word 5.0

Q36443 Installing the RFT-DCA Converter in MacWord 5.0, 5.1, and 5.1a

Q174813 WD: Third-Party Conversion Solutions

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

Q86999 WD: Rich Text Format (RTF) Specification 1.5 Appnote (GC0165)

Q111716 How to Obtain the WinWord Converter SDK (GC1039)

Q164472 WD97: GC1282: Rich Text Format Addendum (Spec. for Word 97)

Additional query words: rftdca dcarft rft/dca dca/rft dca-rft rft dca rich-text

Keywords : kbinterop
Version : MACINTOSH:3.0,3.01,3.02,4.0,5.0,5.1,5.1a,6.0,6.0.1,6.0.1a,98; MS-DOS:3.x,4.x,5.x,6.0; WINDOWS:1.1,1.1a,2.0,2.0a,2.0a-CD,2.0b,2.0c,6.0,6.0a,6.0c
Platform : MACINTOSH MS-DOS WINDOWS
Issue type : kbinfo