Rich Text Format (RTF) is a proprietary document file format developed by Microsoft in 1987 for cross-platform document interchange. It\'s designed to be a relatively simple and universal format that can be opened and edited by a wide range of word processors and text editors, regardless of the operating system. RTF files contain formatted text, including information about fonts, styles, colors, and images. The format uses ASCII characters for text and special control words (prefixed with a backslash) to represent formatting instructions. This makes it more readable than binary document formats, although it\'s less efficient in terms of file size. RTF is often used for exchanging documents between different word processing programs, creating help files, and storing formatted text in databases. While it supports basic formatting, it lacks the advanced features of more modern document formats like DOCX, such as complex layouts, embedded objects, and advanced scripting capabilities. RTF\'s primary advantage lies in its widespread compatibility and relative simplicity, making it a reliable choice for basic document sharing.