Convert RTF to Textile

Why Convert RTF to Textile?

Textile is a lightweight markup language designed for web writers who want simple, readable formatting without writing HTML. Converting RTF documents to Textile format enables you to create content for Redmine project management, Textpattern CMS, wikis, and forums while maintaining text formatting in a human-readable plain-text format that converts cleanly to HTML.

When you have documentation, articles, or formatted text in RTF format, converting to Textile allows you to leverage its intuitive syntax: *bold*, _italic_, +underline+, and simple tables. Textile is particularly popular in Redmine, where it's used for issues, wiki pages, and documentation, and in Textpattern CMS for blog posts and articles. The format strikes a balance between simplicity and formatting power.

This conversion is valuable for Redmine users, Textpattern content creators, wiki editors, and web writers who prefer lightweight markup over HTML. Textile's syntax is more expressive than Markdown in some areas (like tables and text styling) while remaining readable as plain text. The format was designed to be "as easy to read as it is to write," making it ideal for collaborative editing and version control.

The resulting Textile file contains plain text with markup that converts to clean, semantic HTML. Textile supports features like footnotes, acronyms, block quotes, definition lists, and complex tables with colspan/rowspan. While less popular than Markdown, Textile offers more formatting options and is the standard markup language for Redmine and Textpattern ecosystems.

Key Advantages of Textile Format:

• Redmine Standard: Default markup for Redmine project management
• Intuitive Syntax: *bold*, _italic_, +underline+, @code@
• Rich Tables: Support for headers, colspan, rowspan, alignment
• Readable: Plain text that's easy to read and edit
• Web-Friendly: Converts to clean, semantic HTML
• Footnotes: Built-in footnote support with [1] syntax
• Acronyms: Automatic acronym expansion
• Version Control: Plain text works perfectly with Git

Practical Examples

Example 1: Converting Documentation

Input RTF file (documentation.rtf):

User Guide
Introduction
This is an introduction to the software.

Installation Steps:
1. Download the installer
2. Run setup.exe
3. Follow the wizard

Note: Requires Windows 10 or higher.

Output Textile file (documentation.textile):

h1. User Guide

h2. Introduction

This is an introduction to the software.

h2. Installation Steps

# Download the installer
# Run setup.exe
# Follow the wizard

p(note). *Note:* Requires Windows 10 or higher.

Example 2: Converting Redmine Issue

Input RTF file (issue.rtf):

Bug Report: Login Fails
Description:
Users cannot login when using special characters in password.

Steps to Reproduce:
- Create account with password: Test@123!
- Try to login
- Error message appears

Expected: Login succeeds
Actual: Error "Invalid credentials"

Code snippet:
if (password.contains("@")) {
    return false;
}

Output Textile file (issue.textile):

h1. Bug Report: Login Fails

h2. Description

Users cannot login when using special characters in password.

h2. Steps to Reproduce

* Create account with password: @Test@123!@
* Try to login
* Error message appears

*Expected:* Login succeeds
*Actual:* Error "Invalid credentials"

h2. Code snippet

if (password.contains("@")) {
    return false;
}

Example 3: Converting Table Document

Input RTF file (table.rtf):

Product Comparison
Feature    Basic    Pro    Enterprise
Users      10       50     Unlimited
Storage    1GB      10GB   100GB
Support    Email    Phone  24/7

Output Textile file (table.textile):

h1. Product Comparison

|_. Feature |_. Basic |_. Pro |_. Enterprise |
| Users | 10 | 50 | Unlimited |
| Storage | 1GB | 10GB | 100GB |
| Support | Email | Phone | 24/7 |

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Textile and where is it used?

Textile is a lightweight markup language designed for web writers, created in 2002. It's used primarily in Redmine (project management and issue tracking), Textpattern CMS (content management), and some wikis. Syntax: *bold*, _italic_, +underline+, @code@, "link text":url, h1. headers. While less popular than Markdown, Textile offers more formatting options (underline, strikethrough, definition lists, footnotes) and is the standard for Redmine ecosystems.

Q: How do I format text in Textile?

Bold: *text*, Italic: _text_, Underline: +text+, Strikethrough: -text-, Superscript: ^text^, Subscript: ~text~, Code: @code@, Strong: **text**, Emphasis: __text__, Citation: ??text??. Combine: *_bold italic_*. Headers: h1. through h6. followed by text. Paragraph styles: p. normal, p(class). with CSS class. Textile is more expressive than Markdown for text styling.

Q: How do I create tables in Textile?

Basic table: |Cell 1|Cell 2| for each row. Headers: |_. Header 1|_. Header 2|. Alignment: |<. left|>. right|=. center|. Colspan: |\2. spans 2 columns|. Rowspan: |/2. spans 2 rows|. Cell classes: |(class). Cell 1|. Table classes: table(class). Row classes: (class)|Cell|. Textile tables are more powerful than Markdown's, supporting spanning and classes. Example: |_. Name|_. Age| followed by data rows.

Q: Can I create links in Textile?

Yes. External links: "link text":url or "link text (title)":url. Auto-linking: http://example.com becomes clickable. Anchors: "link text":#anchor. Email: "email":mailto:[email protected]. Images: !imageurl! or !imageurl(alt text)!. Images with links: !"imageurl"!:linkurl. Links can have classes: "link"(class):url. Textile's link syntax is concise and readable.

Q: How do I create lists in Textile?

Unordered lists: * item or ** for nested items (indent with more *). Ordered lists: # item or ## for nested. Mixed nesting works: * unordered, ## nested ordered. Definition lists: - term := definition. List items can span multiple lines. Textile automatically handles nesting depth based on number of * or # characters. No blank lines needed between items. Example: *** creates third-level nesting.

Q: What are Textile's advanced features?

Footnotes: text[1] and fn1. footnote content. Acronyms: ABC(Always Be Coding) expands with tooltip. Block quotes: bq. quoted text. Block code: bc. code block or

code

Q: How does Textile compare to Markdown?

Textile offers more formatting: underline (+text+), strikethrough (-text-), subscript/superscript, definition lists, footnotes, acronyms, CSS classes/IDs. Tables are more powerful with colspan/rowspan. Markdown is simpler, more popular, widely supported (GitHub, Stack Overflow). Textile is more expressive but less standardized. Choose Markdown for wide compatibility and simplicity. Choose Textile for Redmine, Textpattern, or when you need advanced formatting like underline or complex tables.

Q: What processors can parse Textile?

Ruby: RedCloth (reference implementation). PHP: Textile-PHP, Netcarver\Textile. Python: python-textile. JavaScript: textile-js. Perl: Text::Textile. Java: textile-j. Online: Textile Editor (textism.com/tools/textile). Redmine and Textpattern have built-in Textile support. While not as universally supported as Markdown, Textile has mature parsers in major languages. RedCloth is the most feature-complete and widely used.