You need to share Word documents with someone who does not have Microsoft Word, or your legacy system only accepts RTF. Opening each file in Word and clicking "Save As" works for two or three documents, but not for fifty or five hundred. Total Doc Converter converts DOC and DOCX files to RTF in batch — select a folder, pick RTF, click Start.
(includes 30 day FREE trial)
(only $49.90)
DOC is a proprietary binary format Microsoft introduced in 1983. DOCX replaced it in 2007 as a ZIP-compressed XML package. Both formats store text, images, tables, macros, and advanced formatting. Full rendering requires Microsoft Word or a compatible editor — other applications may misinterpret complex layouts, embedded objects, or macro-dependent features.
Microsoft published the RTF specification in 1987 as a cross-platform document interchange format. RTF files are plain-text markup that encodes formatting with control words. Nearly every word processor on Windows, macOS, and Linux reads RTF correctly. RTF does not support macros, which makes it safer for email attachments and document exchange in regulated industries.
RTF files are typically larger than DOCX because RTF does not use ZIP compression, but they open everywhere — WordPad, LibreOffice, Google Docs, TextEdit on Mac, and dozens of other editors. When universal compatibility matters more than file size, RTF is the practical choice.
The entire batch takes seconds, even for hundreds of files. Your original Word documents remain untouched.
Total Doc Converter includes a command-line interface for unattended processing. Convert a single file:
DocConverter.exe C:\Data\report.docx C:\Output\report.rtf -c RTF
Convert an entire folder with wildcards:
DocConverter.exe C:\Data\*.doc C:\Output\ -c RTF
Save this command in a .bat file and schedule it with Windows Task Scheduler. New Word files that appear in the source folder get converted to RTF automatically on a daily, weekly, or on-demand basis.

Batch processing. Select a folder with 10 or 10,000 Word files and convert them all to RTF in one run. No need to open each file in Word and re-save manually.
Formatting accuracy. Fonts, tables, images, headers, footers, page breaks, columns, and paragraph styles survive the conversion. RTF output matches the Word original.
Folder structure. Converting files across multiple subfolders? The converter recreates the original directory tree in the output location. No manual sorting afterward.
Headers and footers. Add custom headers, footers, or page numbers to the RTF output during conversion — useful for stamping documents with a date or reference number.
No cloud uploads. All processing happens locally on your PC. Contracts, legal documents, and internal reports never leave your machine.
20+ output formats. Besides RTF, convert Word to PDF, HTML, TXT, ODT, XHTML, JPEG, TIFF, and more — all from the same tool.
| Feature | Online Tools | Total Doc Converter |
|---|---|---|
| File size limit | 10–50 MB | No limit |
| Batch conversion | 1–5 files at a time | Unlimited |
| Privacy | Files uploaded to cloud | 100% offline |
| Speed | Depends on connection | Instant (local CPU) |
| Automation | None or paid API | Built-in command line |
| Formatting quality | Basic — complex tables often break | Full preservation |
| Folder structure | Not supported | Recreated automatically |
| Pricing | Subscription or per-file fee | One-time $49.90 |
(includes 30 day FREE trial)
(only $49.90)
"Our attorneys draft everything in Word, but the court filing system requires RTF. I used to open each document and Save As, one by one. With Total Doc Converter I select the entire case folder and get all RTF files in under a minute. The formatting comes through perfectly — tables, numbered lists, footnotes, everything."
Margaret Holloway Legal Secretary, Peterson & Clark LLP
"Our ERP system only imports RTF documents. Every week I receive 40-60 Word reports from branch offices. I wrote a one-line batch script with the command-line converter and scheduled it to run every Monday morning. The whole process is fully automatic now — no manual work at all."
Ravi Shankar IT Administrator, Manufacturing Company
"We maintain a library of RTF templates for our help system. Writers submit drafts in DOCX and I batch-convert them to RTF before importing. Total Doc Converter keeps the styles and images intact. The folder structure feature is great — I drop in 200 files from 15 product folders and the output mirrors the layout exactly."
Christine Dupont Technical Writer, Software Company
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