RTF 1.9.1 Specification
Microsoft Downloads - Word 2007: Rich Text Format (RTF) Specification, version 1.9.1
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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. Version 1.9.1 of the specification contains the latest updates introduced by Microsoft Office Word 2007. 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.
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Why? Because I know I'll need this one day (I'm in RTF hell right now and well... it's not fun... :/ )
As an interesting side note look at the file sizes for the Doc and DocX. The DocX is 1/10th the size of the Doc (1 MB vs 11.9 MB). Why move to the new format? Fighting file size bloating could be one reason [insert joke about bloated feeling here]. How many Doc's are there on your machine and network? About a zillion? hum....
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RTF 1.9 Specification (Word 2007)
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3 comments:
RTF & OOXML serve different purposes. In particular, OOXML retains *lots* of information (about macros, etc.) that are not present in RTF. RTF is an interchange representation, not a storage representation.
Very true...
As for macro's there is a difference between DocX and DocM. DocX's do not contain macro's. DocM's is the format that can contain macro's. But you're right in that, that's based on convention.
And the point of the side note, which I apologize that I didn't make clear, was the size difference between the DOC and DOCX of the spec download. Not between RTF and DOCX.
The primary point of the side note above was to look at the download sizes of the two files containing the specification.
One file was a DOC and the other DOCX. And to note the size differences between those two downloads, based on their format.
And we all know (I hope) that the DOC file format is not RTF. That it's a binary format (a OLE/structured storage file format, that I previously blogged about, and MS has very coolly released the spec to too).
It wasn't to compare RTF to DOC/DOCX. Just DOC to DOCX in their final file size.
But again, you're very right in the differences between the two formats. Apples and oranges.
Thanks for helping make that clear,
Greg
AFAIK, OOXML is both, a storage AND interchange format. Btw, I converted that DOCX file into an RTF and it grew to 55.6 MB ;)
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