Document Area

Once the RTF header is defined, the RTF reader has enough information to correctly read the actual document text. The document area has the following syntax.

Information Group

The \info control word introduces the information group, which contains information about the document. This can include the title, author, keywords, comments, and other information specific to the file. This information is for use by a document-management utility, if available.

This group has the following syntax:

Some applications, such as Word, ask the user to type this information when saving the document in its native format. If the document is then saved as an RTF file or translated into RTF, the RTF writer specifies this information using the following control words. These control words are destinations and both the control words and the text should be enclosed in braces ({ }).

The \userprops control word introduces the user-defined document properties. Unique \propname control words define each user-defined property in the document. The group has the following syntax:

The RTF writer may automatically enter other control words, including the following:

Any control word described in the previous table that does not have a numeric parameter specifies a date; all dates are specified with the \yr \mo \dy \hr \min \sec controls. An example of an information group follows:

{\info{\title Template}{\author John Doe}{\operator JOHN DOE}
{\creatim\yr1999\mo4\dy27\min1}{\revtim\yr1999\mo4\dy27\min1}
{\printim\yr1999\mo3\dy17\hr23\min5}{\version2}{\edmins2}{\nofpages183}
{\nofwords53170}{\nofchars303071}{\*\company Microsoft}
{\nofcharsws372192}{\vern8247}}

Document Formatting Properties

After the information group (if there are any), there may be some document formatting control words (described as <docfmt> in the document area syntax description). These control words specify the attributes of the document, such as margins and footnote placement. These attributes must precede the first plain-text character in the document.

The control words that specify document formatting are listed in the following table (measurements are in twips; a twip is one-twentieth of a point). For omitted control words, RTF uses the default values.

Note that the three document-protection control words (\formprot, \revprot, and \annotprot) are mutually exclusive; only one of the three can apply to any given document. Also, there is currently no method for storing passwords in RTF, so any document that associates a password with a protection level will lose the password protection in RTF.

For more information about bidirectional controls, see the section on Bidirectional Language Support in this RTF Specification.

The color, width, border style, and border spacing keywords for page borders are the same as the keywords defined for paragraph borders.

Section Text

Each section in the RTF file has the following syntax:

Section Formatting Properties

At the beginning of each section, there may be some section-formatting control words (described as <secfmt> in the section text syntax description). These control words specify section-formatting properties, which apply to the text following the control word, with the exception of the section-break control words (those beginning with \sbk). Section-break control words describe the break preceding the text. These control words can appear anywhere in the section, not just at the start.

Note   If the \sectd control word is not present, the current section inherits all section properties defined in the previous section.

The section-formatting control words are listed in the following table.

The color, width, border style, and border spacing keywords for page borders are the same as the keywords defined for paragraph borders.

Headers and Footers

Headers and footers are RTF destinations. Each section in the document can have its own set of headers and footers. If no headers or footers are defined for a given section, the headers and footers from the previous section (if any) are used. Headers and footers have the following syntax:

Note   Each separate <hdrftr> group must have a distinct <hdrctl> introducing it.

The \headerl, \headerr, \footerl, and \footerr control words are used in conjunction with the \facingp control word, and the \headerf and \footerf control words are used in conjunction with the \titlepg control word. Many RTF readers will not function correctly if the appropriate document properties are not set. In particular, if \facingp is not set, then only \header and \footer should be used; if \facingp is set, then only \headerl, \headerr, \footerl, and \footerr should be used. Combining both \facingp and \titlepg is allowed. You should not use \header to set the headers for both pages when \facingp is set. You can use \headerf if \titlepg is not set, but no header will appear. For more information, see Document Formatting Properties and Section Formatting Properties in this RTF Specification.

If the previous section had a first page header or footer and had \titlepg set, and the current section does not, then the previous section's first page header or footer is disabled. However, it is not destroyed; if subsequent sections have \titlepg set, then the first page header or footer is restored.

Paragraph Text

There are two kinds of paragraphs: plain and table. A table is a collection of paragraphs, and a table row is a continuous sequence of paragraphs partitioned into cells. The \intbl paragraph-formatting control word identifies the paragraph as part of a table. For more information, see the Table Definitions section of this RTF Specification. This control is inherited between paragraphs that do not have paragraph properties reset with \pard.

Paragraph Formatting Properties

These control words (described as <parfmt> in the paragraph-text syntax description) specify generic paragraph formatting properties. These control words can appear anywhere in the body of the paragraph, not just at the beginning.

Note   If the \pard control word is not present, the current paragraph inherits all paragraph properties defined in the previous paragraph.

The paragraph-formatting control words are listed in the following table.

Tabs

Any paragraph may have its own set of tabs. Tabs must follow this syntax:

Bullets and Numbering

Word 6.0/95 RTF

To provide compatibility with existing RTF readers, all applications that can automatically format paragraphs with bullets or numbers will also emit the generated text as plain text in the \pntext group. This will allow existing RTF readers to capture the plain text and safely ignore the autonumber instructions. This group precedes all bulleted or numbered paragraphs, and will contain all the text and formatting that would be auto-generated. It should precede the '{'\*\pn ... '}' destination, and it is the responsibility of RTF readers that understand the '{'\*\pn ... '}' destination to ignore the \pntext group.

Settings below marked with an asterisk can be turned off by appending 0 to the control word.

Note   The limit is 32 characters total for the sum of text before and text after for simple numbering. Multilevel numbering has a limit of 64 characters total for the sum of all levels.

Word 97-2000 RTF

Each paragraph that is part of a list must contain some keyword to indicate which list it is in, and which level of the list it belongs to. Word 97-2000 also provides the flat-text representation of each number (in the \listtext destination); so, RTF readers that don't understand Word 97 numbering will get the paragraph number, together with appropriate character properties, inserted into their document at the beginning of the paragraph. Any RTF reader that does understand Word 97-2000 numbering should ignore the entire \listtext destination.

Revision Marks for Paragraph Numbers

Paragraph numbers and ListNum fields track revision information with special properties applied to the paragraph mark and ListNum field, respectively. The special properties hold the "old" value of the number—the value it held when revision-mark tracking began. At display time, Word checks the number's current value and compares it with this "old" value to tell if it has changed. If the numbers are different, the old value shows up as deleted and the new value as inserted; if the numbers are the same, Word displays the new value normally, with no revision information. If there was no old value, the new value shows up as inserted. The following table lists the RTF specifications for these special properties.

Example:

Take an example of the number "3-4b," which represents the third level of the list. The following table lists the values of each array.

Here is the RTF for this number:

\pnrstart0
\pnrxst0\pnrxst5\pnrxst0\pnrxst1\pnrxst0\pnrxst45
\pnrxst0\pnrxst2\pnrxst0\pnrxst3\pnrxst0\pnrxst46
\pnrstop12

\pnrstart1
\pnrrgb1\pnrrgb3\pnrrgb4
\pnrrgb0\pnrrgb0\pnrrgb0
\pnrrgb0\pnrrgb0\pnrrgb0
\pnrstop9

\pnrstart2
\pnrnfc0\pnrnfc0\pnrnfc0\pnrnfc0\pnrnfc0\pnrnfc4
\pnrnfc0\pnrnfc0\pnrnfc0\pnrnfc0\pnrnfc0\pnrnfc0
\pnrnfc0\pnrnfc0\pnrnfc0\pnrnfc0\pnrnfc0\pnrnfc0
\pnrstop18

\pnrstart3
\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr3
\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr4
\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr2
\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0 
\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0
\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0
\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0
\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0
\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0\pnrpnbr0
\pnrstop36

Example:

Take the sample example from above. The deleted value is "3-4b." The RTF would then be

\dfrstart0\dfrxst0\dfrxst5\dfrxst0\dfrxst51\dfrxst0\dfrxst45\dfrxst0\dfrxst52
\dfrxst0\dfrxst66\dfrxst0\dfrxst46\dfrstop10

where 5 is the length byte, 51 is Unicode for "3", 45 is Unicode for "-", 52 is Unicode for "4", and so on.

Paragraph Borders

Paragraph borders have the following syntax:

Paragraph Shading

Paragraph shading has the following syntax:

Positioned Objects and Frames

The following paragraph-formatting control words specify the location of a paragraph on the page. Consecutive paragraphs with the same frame formatting are considered part of the same frame. For two framed paragraphs to appear at the same position on a page, they must be separated by a paragraph with different or no frame information.

Note that if any paragraph in a table row has any of these control words specified, then all paragraphs in the table row must have the same control words specified, either by inheriting the properties from the previous paragraph or by re-specifying the controls.

Paragraph positioning has the following syntax:

The following is an example of absolute-positioned text in a document:

\par \pard \pvpg\phpg\posxc\posyt\absw5040\dxfrtest173 First APO para
\par \pard \phmrg\posxo\posyc\dxfrtext1152 Second APO para

Table Definitions

There is no RTF table group; instead, tables are specified as paragraph properties. A table is represented as a sequence of table rows. A table row is a continuous sequence of paragraphs partitioned into cells. The table row begins with the \trowd control word and ends with the \row control word. Every paragraph that is contained in a table row must have the \intbl control word specified or inherited from the previous paragraph. A cell may have more than one paragraph in it; the cell is terminated by a cell mark (the \cell control word), and the row is terminated by a row mark (the \row control word). Table rows can also be positioned. In this case, every paragraph in a table row must have the same positioning controls (see the <apoctl> controls in the Positioned Objects and Frames sub-section of this RTF Specification). Table properties may be inherited from the previous row; therefore, a series of table rows may be introduced by a single <tbldef>.

An RTF table row has the following syntax, as shown in the general paragraph-text syntax shown in the Paragraph Text section of this RTF Specification.

Note that while Word 97 emitted the row properties (<tbldef>) at the beginning of the row, a reader should not assume that this is the case. Properties can be emitted at the end and in fact Word 2000 does this. To avoid breaking readers that might make the aforementioned assumption Word 2000 will write a copy at the beginning as well, so the properties of a typical row in a Word 2000 document are repeated at the beginning and at the end of the row. Note that for nested cells Word 2000 only writes the properties at the end.

A table definition has the following syntax:

Note   For <tbldef>, the number of \cellxs must match the number of \cells in the \row.

The following control words further define options for each row of the table.

The following is a thorough example of Word 2000 table RTF:

This is an example of what a complex table looks in RTF. The BMP showing the table's look and position is followed by the corresponding RTF, followed by a piece-by-piece analysis of the RTF.

The illustration in Figure 1 shows a freely positioned Word table, with two cells at an offset. Inside the topmost cell there is a nested table. The table has green borders, yellow shading, a small amount of spacing between cells, and also inner cell margins or padding.

Figure 1. Freely positioned Word table, nested with two cells at offset

Table RTF—This is the RTF for this table as emitted by Word 2000. Word 2000 also emits RTF that older readers (such as previous versions of Word) can understand, so new features degrade nicely.

\trowd \trgaph115\trleft388\trbrdrt\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrb\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrh\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrv
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \tphmrg\tposxc\tposyc\tdfrmtxtLeft187
\tdfrmtxtRight187\trftsWidth1\trftsWidthB3\trwWidthB504\trftsWidthA3
\trautofit1\trspdl14\trspdt14\trspdb14\trspdr14\trspdfl3\trspdft3\trspdfb3
\trspdfr3\trpaddl115\trpaddr115\trpaddfl3\trpaddfr3 \clvertalc\clbrdrt
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrl\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clcbpat17
\cltxlrtb\clftsWidth3\clwWidth4644 \cellx5074\pard\plain 

\qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\intbl\phmrg\posxc\posyc\dxfrtext187\dfrmtxtx187
\dfrmtxty0\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0 \fs24
\lang1033\langfe2052\loch\af0\hich\af0\dbch\af17\cgrid
\langnp1033\langfenp2052 {\hich\af0\dbch\af17\loch\f0 CELL ONE

\par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\intbl\phmrg\posxc\posyc\dxfrtext187\dfrmtxtx187
\dfrmtxty0\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap2 
{\hich\af0\dbch\af17\loch\f0 NESTED TABLE\nestcell{\nonesttables

\par }}\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\intbl\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto
\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap2 {{\*\nesttableprops\trowd 
\trgaph108\trleft8\trbrdrt
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrl\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrb\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrr

\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrh
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrv
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trftsWidth1\trautofit1\trpaddl108
\trpaddr108\trpaddfl3\trpaddfr3 \clvertalt\clbrdrt
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrl\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrb

\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \cltxlrtb\clftsWidth3\clwWidth2340 \cellx2348\nestrow}
{\nonesttables

\par }}\trowd \trgaph115\trleft388\trbrdrt
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrh
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrv\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 

\tphmrg\tposxc\tposyc\tdfrmtxtLeft187\tdfrmtxtRight187
\trftsWidth1\trftsWidthB3\trwWidthB504\trftsWidthA3
\trautofit1\trspdl14\trspdt14\trspdb14\trspdr14\trspdfl3\trspdft3
\trspdfb3\trspdfr3\trpaddl115\trpaddr115\trpaddfl3\trpaddfr3 
\clvertalc\clbrdrt

\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clcbpat17\cltxlrtb
\clftsWidth3\clwWidth4644 \cellx5074\pard 
\qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\intbl\phmrg\posxc\posyc\dxfrtext187\dfrmtxtx187
\dfrmtxty0\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0 
{\cell }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\intbl\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto
\adjustright\rin0\lin0 {\trowd \trgaph115\trleft388\trbrdrt

\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrh
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrv
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 

\tphmrg\tposxc\tposyc\tdfrmtxtLeft187\tdfrmtxtRight187
\trftsWidth1\trftsWidthB3\trwWidthB504\trftsWidthA3
\trautofit1\trspdl14\trspdt14\trspdb14\trspdr14\trspdfl3\trspdft3
\trspdfb3\trspdfr3\trpaddl115\trpaddr115\trpaddfl3\trpaddfr3 
\clvertalc\clbrdrt

\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clcbpat17\cltxlrtb
\clftsWidth3\clwWidth4644 \cellx5074\row }
\trowd \trgaph115\trleft-158\trbrdrt\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrl

\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrh
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrv\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 

\tphmrg\tposxc\tposyc\tdfrmtxtLeft187\tdfrmtxtRight187
\trftsWidth1\trftsWidthB3\trftsWidthA3\trwWidthA900
\trautofit1\trspdl14\trspdt14\trspdb14\trspdr14\trspdfl3
\trspdft3\trspdfb3\trspdfr3\trpaddl115\trpaddr115\trpaddfl3
\trpaddfr3 \clvertalt\clbrdrt

\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clcbpat17\cltxlrtb
\clftsWidth3\clwWidth4248 \cellx4132\pard 

\ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\intbl\phmrg\posxc\posyc
\dxfrtext187\dfrmtxtx187\dfrmtxty0\aspalpha\aspnum
\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0 {\hich\af0\dbch\af17\loch\f0 CELL TWO\cell }\pard 
\ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\intbl\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0 {

\trowd \trgaph115\trleft-158\trbrdrt\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrh
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrv\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 

\tphmrg\tposxc\tposyc\tdfrmtxtLeft187\tdfrmtxtRight187
\trftsWidth1\trftsWidthB3\trftsWidthA3\trwWidthA900
\trautofit1\trspdl14\trspdt14\trspdb14\trspdr14
\trspdfl3\trspdft3\trspdfb3\trspdfr3
\trpaddl115\trpaddr115\trpaddfl3\trpaddfr3 \clvertalt\clbrdrt

\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clcbpat17\cltxlrtb
\clftsWidth3\clwWidth4248 \cellx4132\row }

Table RTF Explained. This is an analysis of the above RTF. It has been restructured for ease of explanation. All text in red are comments. The topmost cell is cell 1 (inside row 1). The bottom cell is cell 2 (inside row 2).

Begin table row defaults for row 1
\trowd

\trgaph115
\trleft388

Row borders
\trbrdrt\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrl\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 
\trbrdrb\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrr\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 
\trbrdrh\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrv\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 

Absolute positioning of the table.  
All rows should have the same positioning.
\tphmrg\tposxc\tposyc\tdfrmtxtLeft187\tdfrmtxtRight187

Width of invisible cell before cell one (to simulate offset)
\trftsWidth1\trftsWidthB3\trwWidthB504\trftsWidthA3

Autofit is on
\trautofit1

Default cell spacing for the row
\trspdl14\trspdt14\trspdb14\trspdr14\trspdfl3\trspdft3\trspdfb3\trspdfr3\
trpaddl115\trpaddr115\trpaddfl3\trpaddfr3 

Cell 1 definition begins

Vertical alignment of contents
\clvertalc

Cell Borders
\clbrdrt\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrl\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 
\clbrdrb\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrr\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 

Cell shading
\clcbpat17

Cell text flow
\cltxlrtb

Cell width, using new properties and old ones
\clftsWidth3\clwWidth4644 \cellx5074

Text for cell 1 begins here.  
Includes paragraph absolute positioning equivalent to the table absolute positioning above 
so that old readers get it right.
\pard\plain \qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\intbl\phmrg\posxc\posyc
\dxfrtext187\dfrmtxtx187\dfrmtxty0\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto
\adjustright\rin0\lin0 \fs24\lang1033\langfe2052\loch\af0\hich
\af0\dbch\af17\cgrid\langnp1033\langfenp2052 
{\hich\af0\dbch\af17\loch\f0 CELL ONE
\par }

Begin definition of nested table inside cell 1
\pard \qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\intbl\phmrg\posxc\posyc
\dxfrtext187\dfrmtxtx187\dfrmtxty0\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto
\adjustright\rin0\lin0

Notice itap is set to 2, indicating second nesting level.
\itap2 

Nested cell ends with a \nestcell 
and is followed by a paragraph mark inside a \nonesttables destination 
which is only read by readers that do not understand nested tables.  
This way the text in the nested table is in its own paragraph.
{\hich\af0\dbch\af17\loch\f0 NESTED TABLE\nestcell{\nonesttables
\par }}\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\intbl
\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap2 

Nested table properties occur after the text for the nested cell.
{{\*\nesttableprops\trowd \trgaph108\trleft8\trbrdrt
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrh
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrv
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trftsWidth1\trautofit1
\trpaddl108\trpaddr108\trpaddfl3\trpaddfr3 \clvertalt\clbrdrt
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \cltxlrtb\clftsWidth3\clwWidth2340 \cellx2348\nestrow}
{\nonesttables
\par }}
End of nested table properties.

Set the default for the row again after nested table!  
We're still in the first row
 and this repeats what was written in the beginning of the row.  
Defaults of the table are reset and the cell is closed with a \cell.
\trowd \trgaph115\trleft388\trbrdrt
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrh
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrv
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 
\tphmrg\tposxc\tposyc\tdfrmtxtLeft187\tdfrmtxtRight187
\trftsWidth1\trftsWidthB3\trwWidthB504\trftsWidthA3
\trautofit1\trspdl14\trspdt14\trspdb14\trspdr14\trspdfl3\trspdft3
\trspdfb3\trspdfr3\trpaddl115\trpaddr115\trpaddfl3\trpaddfr3 
\clvertalc\clbrdrt
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clcbpat17\cltxlrtb
\clftsWidth3\clwWidth4644 \cellx5074\pard 
\qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\intbl\phmrg\posxc\posyc
\dxfrtext187\dfrmtxtx187\dfrmtxty0\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright
\rin0\lin0 {\cell }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar
\intbl\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0
This is the end of the table cell.

Now the row ends repeating the defaults of the row at the end of it!
{\trowd \trgaph115\trleft388\trbrdrt
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrr\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrh\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrv
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 
\tphmrg\tposxc\tposyc\tdfrmtxtLeft187\tdfrmtxtRight187
\trftsWidth1\trftsWidthB3\trwWidthB504\trftsWidthA3
\trautofit1\trspdl14\trspdt14\trspdb14\trspdr14\trspdfl3
\trspdft3\trspdfb3\trspdfr3\trpaddl115\trpaddr115\trpaddfl3
\trpaddfr3 \clvertalc\clbrdrt
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clcbpat17\cltxlrtb
\clftsWidth3\clwWidth4644 \cellx5074\row }
END OF ROW 1

Row 2 begins here and is structured similarly.

Row defaults
\trowd \trgaph115\trleft-158\trbrdrt\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrh
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrv\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11

Absolute positioning for the table row, matching the previous one.
\tphmrg\tposxc\tposyc\tdfrmtxtLeft187\tdfrmtxtRight187
\trftsWidth1\trftsWidthB3\trftsWidthA3\trwWidthA900
\trautofit1\trspdl14\trspdt14\trspdb14\trspdr14\trspdfl3\trspdft3
\trspdfb3\trspdfr3\trpaddl115\trpaddr115\trpaddfl3\trpaddfr3 

Cell 2 properties
\clvertalt\clbrdrt
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clcbpat17\cltxlrtb
\clftsWidth3\clwWidth4248 \cellx4132

Cell 2 text
\pard 
\ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\intbl\phmrg\posxc\posyc
\dxfrtext187\dfrmtxtx187\dfrmtxty0\aspalpha\aspnum
\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0 
{\hich\af0\dbch\af17\loch\f0 CELL TWO\cell }
\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\intbl\aspalpha\aspnum
\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0 
End cell 2 text

Now the row ends repeating the defaults of the row at the end of it!
{\trowd \trgaph115\trleft-158\trbrdrt
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrr\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrh\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \trbrdrv
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 
\tphmrg\tposxc\tposyc\tdfrmtxtLeft187\tdfrmtxtRight187
\trftsWidth1\trftsWidthB3\trftsWidthA3\trwWidthA900
\trautofit1\trspdl14\trspdt14\trspdb14\trspdr14\trspdfl3
\trspdft3\trspdfb3\trspdfr3\trpaddl115\trpaddr115\trpaddfl3
\trpaddfr3 \clvertalt\clbrdrt
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrl
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrb
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clbrdrr
\brdrs\brdrw15\brdrcf11 \clcbpat17\cltxlrtb
\clftsWidth3\clwWidth4248 \cellx4132\row }
END OF ROW TWO

Character Text

Character text has the following syntax:

Font (Character) Formatting Properties

These control words (described as <chrfmt> in the syntax description) change font (character) formatting properties. A control word preceding plain text turns on the specified attribute. Some control words (indicated in the following table by an asterisk following the description) can be turned off by the control word followed by 0 . For example, \b turns on bold, while \b0 turns off bold.

The font (character)-formatting control words are listed in the following table:

The following table defines the standard languages used by Microsoft. This table was generated by the Unicode group for use with TrueType and Unicode.

To read negative \expnd values from Word for the Macintosh, an RTF reader should use only the low-order 6 bits of the value read. Word for the Macintosh does not emit negative values for \expnd. Instead, it treats values from 57 through 63 as –7 through –1, respectively (the low-order 6 bits of 57 through 63 are the same as –7 through –1).

Character Borders and Shading

Character shading has the following syntax.

The color, width, and border style keywords for character borders are the same as the keywords for paragraph borders.

Associated Character Properties

Bidirectional-aware text processors often need to associate a Latin (or other left-to-right) font with an Arabic or Hebrew (or other right-to-left) font. The association is needed to match commonly used pairs of fonts in name, size, and other attributes. Although RTF defines a broad variety of associated character properties, any implementation may choose not to implement a particular associated character property and share the property between the Latin and Arabic fonts.

Property association uses the following syntax:

Here are some examples of property association:

\ltrch\af2\ab\au\rtlch\u Sample Text

This is a right-to-left run. Text will use the default bidirectional font, and will be underlined. The left-to-right font associated with this run is font 2 (in the font table) with bolding and underlining.

\plain\rtlch\ltrch Sample Text 

This is a left-to-right run. The right-to-left font and the left-to-right font use the default font (specified by \deff).

\rtlch\af5\ab\ai\ltrch\u Sample Text

This is a left-to-right run. The right-to-left font is font 5, bold and italicized. The left-to-right font is the default font, underlined. If the reader does not support underlining in the associated font, both fonts will be underlined.

The property association control words (described as <aprops> in the syntax description) are listed in the following table. Some control words (indicated in the following table by an asterisk following the description) can be turned off by the control word followed by 0.

Highlighting

This property applies highlighting to text. The formatting is not a character format, so it cannot be part of a style definition.

Special Characters

The RTF Specification includes control words for special characters (described as <spec> in the character-text syntax description). If a special-character control word is not recognized by the RTF reader, it is ignored, and the text following it is considered plain text. The RTF Specification is flexible enough to allow new special characters to be added for interchange with other software.

The special RTF characters are listed in the following table.

A carriage return (character value 13) or linefeed (character value 10) will be treated as a \par control if the character is preceded by a backslash. You must include the backslash; otherwise, RTF ignores the control word. (You may also want to insert a carriage-return/linefeed pair without backslashes at least every 255 characters for better text transmission over communication lines.)

A tab (character value 9) should be treated as a \tab control word. Not all RTF readers understand this; therefore, an RTF writer should always emit the control word for tabs.

The following are the code values for the special characters listed.

Document Variables

Document variables are definable and accessed through macros. The group has the following syntax:

Bookmarks

This destination may specify one of two control words: \*\bkmkstart, which indicates the start of the specified bookmark, and \*\bkmkend, which indicates the end of the specified bookmark.

Bookmarks have the following syntax:

A bookmark is shown in the following example:

\pard\plain \fs20 Kuhn believes that science, rather than 
discovering in experience certain structured 
relationships, actually creates (or already participates in) 
a presupposed structure to which it fits the data. 
{\bkmkstart paradigm} Kuhn calls such a presupposed 
structure a paradigm.{\bkmkend paradigm}

The bookmark start and the bookmark end are matched with the bookmark tag. In the example, the bookmark tag is "paradigm." Each bookmark start should have a matching bookmark end; however, the bookmark start and the bookmark end may be in any order.

\bkmkcolfN is used to denote the first column of a table covered by a bookmark. If it is not included, the first column is assumed. \bkmkcollN is used to denote the last column. If it is not used, the last column is assumed. These controls are used within the \*\bkmkstart destination following the \bkmkstart control. For example, {\*\bkmkstart\bkmkcolf2\bkmkcoll5 Table1} places the bookmark "Table1" on columns 2 through 5 of a table.

Pictures

An RTF file can include pictures created with other applications. These pictures can be in hexadecimal (the default) or binary format. Pictures are destinations, and begin with the \pict control word. The \pict keyword is preceded by \*\shppict destination control keyword as described in the following example. A picture destination has the following syntax:

These control words are described in the following table. Some measurements in this table are in twips; a twip is one-twentieth of a point.

Example:

{\*\shppict {\pict \emfblip ….. }}{\nonshppict {\pict ….}}

For more information on the GetDIBits and GetBitmapBits functions and the structure of Windows device-independent and device-dependent bitmaps, see Volume 1 and Volume 2 of the Programmer's Reference in the Microsoft Windows 3.1 Software Development Kit. For best device-independence and interoperability with Microsoft products, however, use of the \wbitmap and \dibitmap control words is discouraged. Rather, bitmaps should be embedded within Windows metafiles and the \wmetafile control word used. For more information on embedding bitmaps within metafiles, see Volume 1 and Volume 2 of the Programmer's Reference in the Microsoft Windows 3.1 Software Development Kit.

The \wbitmap control word is optional. If no other picture type is specified, the picture is assumed to be a Windows bitmap. If \wmetafile is specified, the N argument can be one of the following types.

For more information about these types, see volume 1 of the Programmer's Reference in the Microsoft Windows 3.1 Software Development Kit.

If \pmmetafile is specified, the N argument can be one of the following types.

For more information about these types, see volume 2 of the OS/2 Programmer's Reference.

Be careful with spaces following control words when dealing with pictures in binary format. When reading files, RTF considers the first space after a control word the delimiter and subsequent spaces part of the document text. Therefore, any extra spaces are attached to the picture, with unpredictable results.

RTF writers should not use the carriage-return/linefeed (CR/LF) combination to break up pictures in binary format. If they do, the CR/LF combination is treated as literal text and considered part of the picture data.

The picture in hexadecimal or binary format follows the picture-destination control words. The following example illustrates the destination format:

{\pict\wbitmap0\picw170\pich77\wbmbitspixel1\wbmplanes1\wbmwidthbytes22
\picwgoal505
\pichgoal221
\picscalex172
\picscaley172
49f2000000000273023d1101a030
3901000a000000000273023d98
0048000200000275
02040000200010275023e000000000
273023d000002b90002b90002
b90002b90002b9
0002b90002b90002b90002b90002b90002
b92222b90002b90002b90
002b90002b9
0002b90002b90002b90002b9000

Objects

Microsoft OLE links, Microsoft OLE embedded objects, and Macintosh Edition Manager subscriber objects are represented in RTF as objects. Objects are destinations that contain a data part and a result part. The data part is generally hidden to the application that produced the document. A separate application uses the data and supplies the appearance of the data. This appearance is the result part of the object.

The representation of objects in RTF is designed to allow RTF readers that don't understand objects or don't use a particular type of object to use the current result in place of the object. This allows the appearance of the object to be maintained through the conversion even though the object functionality is lost. Each object comes with optional information about the object, a required destination that contains the object data, and an optional result that contains the current appearance of the object. This result contains standard RTF. It is an important responsibility of the RTF writer to provide the result, so that existing RTF readers that either do not support objects or do not support the particular type of object will be able to display the object.

When the object is an OLE embedded or linked object, the data part of the object is the structure produced by the OLESaveToStream function. Some OLE clients rely on the OLE system to render the object and a copy of the result is not available to the RTF writer for that application. For these cases, the object result can be extracted from the structure produced by the OLESaveToStream function. For information about the OLESaveToStream function, see the Microsoft Object Linking and Embedding Software Development Kit.

The syntax for this destination is:

When Word is used as an editor for Mail, the following control word can be emitted. It is not seen in other situations.

Macintosh Edition Manager Publisher Objects

Word for the Macintosh writes publisher objects for the Macintosh Edition Manager in terms of bookmarks (see the Bookmarks section of this RTF Specification). The range of publisher objects are marked as bookmarks, so these controls are all used within the \bkmkstart destination. The RTF syntax for a publisher object is:

Drawing Objects

Word 6.0/95 RTF

Drawing objects and the drawing primitives enumerated within drawing object groups use the syntax described by the following tables.

Note   In <dpgroup>, the number of <dpinfo>s is equal to the argument of \dpcount, whereas in <dppolyline> the number of <dppt>s is equal to the argument of \dppolycount.

The following elements of the drawing-object syntax pertain specifically to callout objects:

The remaining elements of the drawing object syntax are properties applied to individual drawn primitives:

The following table describes the control words for the drawing object group in detail. All color values are RGB values between 0-255. All distances are in twips. All other values are as indicated.