Rich Text Format (RTF) Specification,version 1.6

Microsoft Corporation

May 1999

Summary: The Rich Text Format (RTF) Specification provides a format for text and graphics interchange that can be used with different output devices, operating environments, and operating systems. RTF uses the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), PC-8, Macintosh, or IBM PC character set to control the representation and formatting of a document, both on the screen and in print. With the RTF Specification, documents created under different operating systems and with different software applications can be transferred between those operating systems and applications. (248 printed pages)

Contents

• Introduction
• RTF Syntax
• Conventions of an RTF Reader
• Formal Syntax
• Contents of an RTF File
  • Header
    • RTF Version
    • Character Set
    • Unicode RTF
    • Font Table
    • File Table
    • Color Table
    • Style Sheet
    • List Table
    • Track Changes (Revision Marks)
  • Document Area
    • Information Group
    • Document Formatting Properties
    • Section Text
    • Paragraph Text
    • Character Text
    • Document Variables
    • Bookmarks
    • Pictures
    • Objects
    • Drawing Objects
    • Word 97-2000 RTF for Drawing Objects (Shapes)
    • Footnotes
    • Comments (Annotations)
    • Fields
    • Form Fields
    • Index Entries
    • Table of Contents Entries
    • Bidirectional Language Support
• Far East Support
• Appendix A: Sample RTF Reader Application
  • How to Write an RTF Reader
  • A Sample RTF Reader Implementation
  • Notes on Implementing Other RTF Features
  • Other Problem Areas in RTF
• Appendix B: Index of RTF Control Words
• Appendix C: Control Words Introduced by Other Microsoft Products
  • Pocket Word
  • Exchange (Used in RTF<->HTML Conversions)