TXT and RTF: Another Endorsement of the Durable Formats

December 18, 2007 by Tom Colvin
Filed under: 1-For General Writers, 2-Quick Start Advice

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

Our loyal blog reader Jeremy Osborne has just posted a very important post for ALL writers. He addresses the question of word processor formats, prompted by an unwelcome email attachment he received in the new Microsoft Word xdoc format.

He endorses TXT especially, for drafts — and RTF when some formatting is essential to meaning. Even if you use Word, you can easily save your documents in these durable formats that can so easily be passed around from computer to computer. It’s a good habit to get into.

For Jeremy’s full discourse, go to his blog discover fire. Read the comments too, as I suspect he’ll answer there my questions about his preferred writing software, which will be interesting to read.

By the way, it was Michael Downend who first notified me about Jeremy’s post, a sign that we are beginning to build a writer’s community here, with communications going on behind the scenes, as well as in the comments sections of our posts. Join in — the more the merrier.

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245Comments2007-12-18+16%3A11%3A05Tom+Colvin on TXT and RTF: Another Endorsement of the Durable Formats

Debra on Wed, 19th Dec 2007 10:30 pm

What on earth possessed microsoft to invent a new proprietary file format anyway? Word processors are becoming more and more complex, full of features that most of us don’t even understand, and from what I see in my work and writing life, the needs of most people who use them are modest.

Granted, there are some who would write a novel in presentation format (don’t get me started on the powerpoint plague please), but most of us need simple layout and minimal formatting. That way the text you write stands a better chance of looking the way you intended it, now and in the future.

1,000 words a day

Tom Colvin on Thu, 20th Dec 2007 12:57 am

Debra, that having been said, what word processor do YOU use? I’m curious.

I personally have several at hand, depending on the kind of writing I’m doing.

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