Skip to content
RTF to PDF

Free online WordPad to PDF converter

Convert WordPad documents to PDF

Windows 11 removed WordPad, but every document it ever saved is an ordinary .rtf file — and this converter turns those into PDFs right in your browser. Formatting, colours, pictures and page setup are kept, nothing is uploaded, and there is nothing to install. Up to 20 files at a time, 25 MB each.

  • Reads WordPad's .rtf format
  • No WordPad needed
  • No upload
  • 100% free
  • Keeps formatting
Options — page size, combine into one PDF

Several WordPad files that belong together? The merge variant combines them into a single PDF.

How to convert a WordPad document to PDF

Three steps, all of them local. The document never leaves your browser tab.

  1. Find your WordPad document

    WordPad saved its documents as .rtf files unless you chose otherwise, so look for the .rtf extension — typically in Documents. If Windows shows 'Rich Text Document' as the file type, that is a WordPad file.

  2. Drop it onto the converter

    Drag the file onto the drop zone above, or click to pick it. Conversion starts immediately and finishes in well under a second for a typical document. You can drop up to 20 files at once, each up to 25 MB.

  3. Download the PDF

    Press the green Download PDF button on the file's row. The PDF was generated on your own device — the document was never uploaded — and it opens identically in any PDF reader, on any machine.

WordPad is gone. Your documents aren't.

WordPad shipped with every version of Windows from 95 onward, and for nearly three decades it was where quick letters, notes and forms got written on machines without Office. Microsoft deprecated it in September 2023 and removed it from Windows 11 with version 24H2 — no replacement, no migration step. Double-click an old .rtf file on a current PC and Windows just asks what app you would like to use.

The good news is that WordPad never had a proprietary format. Its documents are Rich Text Format — a plain-text markup Microsoft published in 1987 — so nothing about your files is locked away. This page reads that format directly: it parses the RTF, typesets it with the fonts, colours, alignment and page setup WordPad recorded, and writes a PDF with selectable, searchable text. The result opens everywhere, attaches to anything, and no longer depends on any particular app being installed.

Since the conversion runs entirely in your browser, it works the same on the Windows machine that lost WordPad, on a Mac that never had it, and on a Chromebook — and a private document stays private, because it is never uploaded.

What are the alternatives?

If WordPad is still on your machine, opening the file and printing with Microsoft Print to PDF remains a fine one-at-a-time answer. Word and LibreOffice both open .rtf and export PDF, if you have them installed and don't mind each app's re-interpretation of the layout. Google Docs works too, but it means uploading the document to Google first.

  • Nothing to install: this converter runs in the browser you already have, including on locked-down work machines where installing LibreOffice is not an option.
  • Nothing uploaded: unlike Google Docs or server-side converter sites, the file never leaves your device.
  • Batches, not one-by-one: a folder of old WordPad letters converts in one drop — up to 20 files, downloadable together as a zip.

Curious what is actually inside those files? What is an RTF file walks through the format. And for .rtf files that didn't come from WordPad, the main RTF to PDF converter is the same tool without the WordPad framing.

WordPad to PDF — frequently asked questions

How do I convert a WordPad document to PDF?

Drop the file onto the converter at the top of this page. WordPad's native format is RTF, which is exactly what this tool reads, so there is nothing to configure — the PDF is ready to download moments after the file lands. Free, no signup, no watermark.

Why can't I open my WordPad files anymore?

Microsoft deprecated WordPad in September 2023 and removed it from Windows 11 starting with version 24H2, so on an up-to-date PC the app is simply gone and .rtf files may have no program associated with them. The files themselves are fine — RTF is a plain-text format that this converter, Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs can all still read.

What format are WordPad documents actually in?

Rich Text Format (.rtf) by default — it was WordPad's native format from the beginning. WordPad could also save .docx, .odt and plain .txt if you picked those explicitly, but the overwhelming majority of WordPad documents on any disk are .rtf.

My WordPad file is .docx or .txt — will this work?

No, this converter reads .rtf files only. A .txt file has no formatting to preserve, so any print-to-PDF option handles it; for a .docx, open it in Word, LibreOffice or Google Docs and export to PDF from there.

Will the PDF look like it did in WordPad?

Yes. Everything WordPad could produce — bold, italics, underline, font sizes, colours, highlighting, alignment, indents, tab stops, bullet lists and embedded pictures — is read from the RTF and carried into the PDF, along with the page size and margins you set in WordPad's Page setup.

Is my document uploaded somewhere?

No. The RTF is parsed and the PDF is generated entirely in JavaScript inside your browser tab. Nothing is transmitted — the converter keeps working if you disconnect from the internet after the page loads.

Couldn't I just print to PDF from WordPad?

If WordPad is still on your machine — older Windows 10 and 11 installs — then yes, Microsoft Print to PDF from inside WordPad works. This page is for everyone else: machines where the app is gone, Macs and Chromebooks that never had it, or anyone who wants to convert a batch of files instead of printing them one at a time.

Do I need to install anything or make an account?

No. It runs in any modern browser — Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, or a phone — with no install, no signup, no watermark and no file-count paywall.