RTFD-format in NO

Frieder2008 · Agent Joined: May 03, 2008 Posts: 19

I have to deal a lot with files in RTFD-format. Up to now only in Textedit or XCODE I could open them, which is completely unsatisfactory for further formatting and modifications. I hoped that NO 3.0 could deal with this format, but I have not been able to figure out how.

Searching in the WEB the only information I found was: â€œRich Text Format Directory, also known as RTFD (due to its extension), is the primary document format of TextEdit, an application native to NeXTSTEP and Mac OS X which has also been ported to other versions of Unix. The file format is based on the Rich Text Format, but can also include "attachments" such as images. One big advantage with RTFD is that it supports scalable high quality image formats like PDF, so an RTFD file can print with no information loss at large paper sizes. RTF does support a number of scalable image meta file formats.â€

This is part of the explanation given in wikipedia. As the leading open source package for the Mac NO should be able to handle this format or not, or am I in such a special situation and no one else cares about this? Anyway, what must I do to open RTFD's in NO or how can I convert them to a file format NO can handle? Are there special converters in some place, maybe as third party tools? I wonder if Apples own iWORK can deal with it.

Frieder

aussie149 · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:33 am Post subject: Options

Hi Frieder

Amongst commercial programs, Pages from iWork can certainly open and edit .rtfd files. Currently .rtfd files are not opened by NeoOffice, unlike.rtf files. It has been suggested from time to time, but IIRC this is not likely to happen because OpenOffice.org is unlikely to produce an .rtfd filter.

However, there is a free, opensource workaround if you wish to try it: open your .rtfd files in Bean 2.0 beta* and from the File menu, select Export > either Doc (with pictures) or RTF (with pictures). You should then be able to open these files in NeoOffice. You won't be able to save them as .rtfd files: if that is critical to you, I suggest you use Pages.

Peter

* This may also work in Bean 1.3.3, but I find Bean 2.0 quite stable, so why not use it?

Frieder2008 · Agent Joined: May 03, 2008 Posts: 19

Hi Peter,

Thanks for your very helpful comment. I tried it and it works (around) as indicated.

Wouldn't it be very nice to have this export option Been offers directly in NO?

Been is open source and maybe it could become integrated into NO via an extension or ad-on, the way we got the media browser from Karelia?

Regards

Frieder

ovvldc · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 9:57 am Post subject:

Actually, I wonder if the OOo people might be interested in doing this as a Google SoC project.

From the wikipedia description, it would require parsing most of the internal txt.rtf file in RTF conversion filter, and including the media in the resulting ODF file from the remaining unparsed commands..

Best wishes,
Oscar

pluby · The Architect Joined: Jun 16, 2003 Posts: 11949

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ovvldc · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 2:24 pm Post subject:

aussie149 · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 4:33 pm Post subject: Option 2

Hi Frieder

I had a feeling that what you were asking was beyond the scope of NeoOffice - and it clearly is. The workaround will have to suffice if you want to do this without cost. Also, given that rtfd sems to be Mac only, I wonder how much interest OOo would have in it.

Another option [not open source or free, but at least cheap if you go the Express route] is to use Nisus Writer or Nisus Writer Express, which both open and save rtfd. It calls RTFD Rich Text Format Directory, and it seems to work.
Peter