Document format
What is a .txt file?
TXT is a plain text file: characters and line breaks, with no fonts, images or formatting. Any device and any program can read it.
It has no header saying how the text is encoded, which is why accents sometimes come out wrong. UTF-8 is the safe choice today.
fileclay writes TXT, but doesn’t open it
TXT vs Markdown vs DOCX
| TXT | Markdown | DOCX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formatting | None | Simple marks | Full |
| Images | No | Links | Yes |
| Opens in | Anything | Anything, as text | Word processors |
| Best for | Notes, logs | Docs, READMEs | Formatted documents |
When to use TXT
Good for
- Quick notes
- Logs and configuration
- Text that must open anywhere, for decades
Not a good fit
- Documents with headings, tables or images
- Printing with a designed layout
- Tabular data: CSV is better
How to open .txt files
| Platform | App | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Notepad | Built in |
| macOS | TextEdit | Built in |
| Browsers | Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge | Drag the file into a tab |
| iPhone, Android | Files | Built in |
Convert TXT files
To TXT
Not as an input: .txt is a destination format here.
Conversions run in your browser. Files aren’t uploaded.
Questions about TXT
Why do accents look wrong in my TXT?
The file was saved in one encoding and opened in another. Saving as UTF-8 solves it.
Does a TXT keep bold or fonts?
No. It stores only the characters.
Why do line breaks disappear in some apps?
Windows uses CRLF and other systems LF, and some old apps read only one.
Is a TXT file safe to open?
Yes. It’s only text and doesn’t run anything.