Plain Text Conversions
Plain text (TXT) files contain unformatted content that works everywhere but lacks styling options. Convert TXT to DOCX to add formatting, headings, and structure in Microsoft Word. Transform to RTF for compatibility with various word processors while adding basic formatting. These conversions help you turn simple notes, logs, or exported data into properly formatted documents ready for editing, sharing, or printing.
The Universal Plain Text Format
Plain text (TXT) is the most fundamental document format—pure characters without any formatting information. Every computing platform since the 1960s can read and write plain text files. This universality makes TXT the ultimate fallback format when compatibility is essential and formatting is not needed.
TXT files contain only text characters and basic whitespace (spaces, tabs, line breaks). They cannot store fonts, colors, images, or any visual formatting. This simplicity is both a limitation and a strength—plain text works everywhere, takes minimal storage space, and remains readable indefinitely.
Use Cases for Plain Text Conversion
Convert documents to TXT for data extraction and processing. Plain text works with any text editor, programming language, or search tool. Content migration between systems often requires TXT as an intermediate format. Accessibility tools and screen readers work most reliably with plain text.
Full-text indexing and search systems often prefer plain text input. Converting documents to TXT enables content analysis, word counting, and text mining. Developers use TXT extraction to pull content from formatted documents for processing with scripts and automated tools.
Converting Plain Text to Formatted Documents
Convert TXT to DOCX or RTF when you need to add formatting to plain text content. The conversion process wraps your text in a proper document structure, enabling you to add fonts, styles, headings, and other formatting in your word processor. Paragraph breaks in the source text are preserved.
Plain text files using different character encodings (UTF-8, ASCII, Latin-1) convert cleanly to modern document formats. If special characters display incorrectly, try specifying the source encoding during conversion. Most TXT files today use UTF-8, supporting all international characters.
Plain Text in Technical Workflows
Developers and technical users rely heavily on plain text. Source code, configuration files, logs, and documentation often use TXT or related formats (MD, JSON, YAML). Converting formatted documents to TXT enables integration with version control, text processing tools, and scripting workflows.
README files, changelogs, and technical documentation frequently start as plain text. Converting TXT to DOCX or RTF adds formatting for non-technical audiences while maintaining the original TXT for developers. This dual-format approach serves both technical and business stakeholders.
Character Encoding and Text Conversion
TXT files can use different character encodings. UTF-8 is the modern standard, supporting all languages and special characters. Older files may use ASCII (English only), Latin-1 (Western European), or other encodings. When converting, correct encoding ensures special characters display properly.
If converted text shows garbled characters, the wrong encoding was assumed. Try different encoding options or use encoding detection tools. Modern systems default to UTF-8, but legacy documents from older systems may require specific encoding settings during conversion.
Line Endings and Cross-Platform Text
Different operating systems use different line ending conventions: Windows uses CRLF (carriage return plus line feed), while Unix/Linux/macOS use LF only. When transferring text files between platforms, line endings may appear incorrectly—Windows files may show ^M characters on Linux, or Unix files may appear as one long line in Notepad.
Modern text editors handle both line ending styles automatically. When converting TXT to formatted documents, line ending differences are normalized. If you need specific line endings for scripts or configuration files, most editors can convert between CRLF and LF on save.
Plain Text for Data Exchange
Plain text remains the foundation of data exchange. CSV files (comma-separated values) are just TXT with structure. JSON, XML, and YAML are plain text formats with defined syntax. Log files, configuration files, and code are all plain text. Converting documents to TXT extracts content for use in these text-based workflows.
When preparing text for data import, ensure consistent formatting: uniform delimiters, standardized date formats, and clean character encoding. Converting formatted documents to TXT is often the first step in data migration or content extraction pipelines.