Whether in the academy or the corporate scene, you have mostly encountered several file formats. There might even be times that you frequently sent and received documents in PDF and RTF file formats. It is not a question, though, as these two emerge as the go-to choices. Despite the obvious, you will likely still ask, “Which is more common on the net PDF or RTF”?
While PDF and RTF are used to share and store documents, they have different purposes. Understanding how they work helps you make a better and more informed decision about which format to use for various tasks.
What is a PDF?
The Portable Document Format, or PDF, is a non-editable format developed by Adobe. Its strengths lie in its ability to preserve the original formatting of documents, whatever device or software you use. PDFs are generally useful for files that must look similar across platforms, like e-books, legal contacts, invoices, and user manuals.
Features of PDFs
Explore the distinct features of PDFs from the list below.
1. It uses the .pdf file extension. You can quickly identify the file format based on this extension.
2. The layout and formatting stay the same. As mentioned, users can trust that the original format will remain the same, regardless of the software or operating system they use.
3. PDFs are easy to open. A PDF is not tied to a single application. You can open the file through Acrobat Reader and other third-party apps and web browsers. Most importantly, PDFs are well-compressed and don’t use much space.
PDF Common Uses
A PDF is among the popular file formats you can use in any of the following documents.
1. Manuals and e-books. You can generally see academic papers, e-books, and instructional manuals in a PDF format. As you know, it’s capable of preserving complex graphics and layouts.
2. Business reports. Companies and organizations usually use PDFs to distribute presentations, financial reports, and marketing infographics.
3. Legal documents. Agreements and contracts can also be in the form of a PDF. This ensures the details of the document are protected from unauthorized changes.
4. Forms. Surveys, online forms, and applications are often distributed as PDFs. This allows recipients to fill them out electronically and submit them securely.
What is an RTF?
Rich Text Format, or RTF, is a file format developed by Microsoft in the 1980s. It is generally text-based and allows basic formatting like font size, color, bold, and italics. This was designed to be a platform-independent file format, which means you can open and edit RTFs on several word processors, such as WordPad, Microsoft Word, and other text-editing software.
Features of RTFs
You can easily identify RTF files by looking into the following elements.
1. It has the .rtf file extension. When looking for a document among the many other files in one folder, you can filter it using this file extension to see all the documents in RTF format.
2. It lets you make simple formatting. You can change the font, add paragraphs, align or justify your texts, and add bulleted lists, to name a few.
3. Documents in the RTF file are accessible. Whether using Windows, Unix, or Macintosh, RFT documents are easy to open. Most operating systems support RTF file formats.
RTF Common Uses
If you prefer RTF, check the use cases below to see which documents you can use .rtf.
1. Academic and personal use. Educators and students use RTFs to create reports, essays, and assignments - thanks to the format’s ease of editing and simplicity.
2. Simple text documents. The RTF file format is often used for documents that need some formatting but do not need the advanced and complex features generally found in PDFs. They may include drafts, simple letters, and notes.
3. File sharing for better collaboration. Some teams adopt RFTs for group document editing as they are easily editable and can be accessed in most word processors.
What is the difference between the PDF and RTF?
You can better understand these two file formats by looking into the essential differences between PDFs and RTFs.
1. Flexibility. An apparent difference between a PDF and an RTF is the format’s complexity level. PDFs are sophisticated formats that allow users to perform delicate layouts and formatting. Meanwhile, RTF is relatively straightforward, focusing mainly on text formatting.
2. File size. While PDF only takes up a little device storage space, RTFs are much smaller. As you know, documents in RTF file formats do not contain advanced layout elements. However, the file size still depends on the content of the document. It can be larger if the content is enormous, regardless of the format.
3. Editing. RTF documents are easy to edit. You can change the structure, text, and formatting. Meanwhile, PDFs could be better for straightforward editing. Altering the content of a PDF file can be taxing for some.
4. Security. PDFs have advanced security policies, such as encryption, password protection, and digital signature, so most users who distribute confidential files use PDFs. This type of security cannot be applied to RTFs.
Which is more common on the net PDF or RTF? What Should I Use?
PDF and RTF are popular on the internet. However, choosing between these file formats highly depends on the purpose of your document. You use PDFs to preserve formatting styles when sending documents across platforms. Official and final documents that must not be edited can be in PDF format. As mentioned, this is ideal for contracts, legal documents, e-books, forms and all other vital records.
Meanwhile, you can choose to use RTFs if you’re dealing with simple documents which require easy editing. Transform your documents into an RTF file if you only want to draft documents, share notes, or work in files that several people will modify.
FAQs
Q: Can I use both PDF and RTF on one document?
A: Yes. You can convert your documents into several file formats. There is several file conversion software to assist you in making RTF and PDF documents.
Q: Is RTF a reliable file format?
A: Yes, RTF (Rich Text Format) is a reliable file format for documents that are not overly complex. It works well for basic text documents, as it retains simple formatting such as font styles, sizes, and paragraph alignment. However, it may struggle with more complex elements like advanced formatting, images, or multimedia.
Q: Do images and other contents on the PDF affect its size?
A: Yes, adding more content to your PDF document will increase its file size. This is especially true when you include high-definition images, graphics, embedded fonts, or multimedia elements. These types of content require more data storage, which results in a larger overall file size.
Conclusion
As you can see, PDF and RTF are common file formats most people use to send documents across various platforms. However, it is also evident that they serve different purposes and needs. Upon understanding their benefits and limitations, you can make the best and most appropriate decision on which of these file formats to use based on specific requirements. Explore PDF Agile Online Converter and see the file format conversion options like PDF and RTF.
