Step 1: Drop your EPUB files using the button above or by deposit and leave.
Step 2: Click the 'Convert' button to start the conversion.
Step 3: Receive your converted RTF files.
EPUB to RTF Conversion FAQ
How do I convert EPUB to RTF for editing?
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Upload the EPUB and the converter extracts the full text stream, paragraph structure, and inline formatting into an editable RTF file. Open it in Word / Pages / LibreOffice and the manuscript is ready to revise without any re-typing.
Will the RTF be properly editable?
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Yes — that is the point of converting out of EPUB. The output opens as a real document with live paragraphs, styles and tables rather than a frozen page image, so you can edit it directly instead of retyping. Heavily designed source layouts convert less cleanly than plain prose, so expect to tidy spacing on anything built on a complex grid. RTF opens in essentially every word processor ever written, including WordPad, TextEdit and thirty-year-old software.
Will the converted book keep its cover, chapters and table of contents?
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Yes where both formats can express them. Cover art, chapter divisions and a navigable table of contents are structural metadata, so they carry across rather than being flattened into the text. Footnotes and index entries are the fragile parts — they degrade into inline text on targets with no anchor mechanism.
Why would I use RTF rather than a modern document format?
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Because it opens in essentially everything, including software from the early nineties, and because it is plain readable text underneath so it survives systems that mangle binary attachments. The trade is size and features: an RTF is several times larger than the equivalent XML package and cannot carry tracked changes, comments or complex tables.
Why does my EPUB file refuse to convert?
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DRM, in almost every case. A protected EPUB is encrypted and tied to an account, and no converter can decrypt it — ours included. Files you created yourself, or bought from a DRM-free store, convert without any trouble at all. EPUB has no fixed pagination, so page numbers are meaningless, and complex layout — tables, equations, multi-column — degrades badly.
Does the RTF keep chapter structure from the EPUB?
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Yes — chapter starts in the EPUB (signaled by epub:type="chapter" or h1 / h2 headings) become RTF Heading 1 styles, ready for outline view or automatic TOC regeneration via Word's built-in tools.
Will italics / bold / blockquotes survive going from EPUB to RTF?
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Yes — inline character runs (italic, bold, underline, strikethrough, superscript, subscript) all map to RTF character formatting. Blockquotes become RTF "Quote" style; bullet and numbered lists become real RTF list elements (not just indented text).
Are images from the EPUB embedded in the RTF?
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Yes — every illustration in the EPUB is extracted as PNG / JPG and embedded inline in the RTF at the same anchor point as the original. Word / Pages / LibreOffice render them inline; you can right-click to resize or replace each one.
Can I edit the RTF and reconvert it back to ebook?
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Yes — round-trip RTF → EPUB works via the reverse converter. Save the RTF after editing, then use /docx-to-epub/ (or the format-specific RTF → EPUB path) to rebuild a new ebook with your edits.
Why is my RTF formatting different from how the EPUB looked on Kindle?
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Kindle / Kobo apply their own reader CSS on top of the EPUB's embedded styles. The RTF we produce reflects the EPUB's actual encoded styling, not the reader's overrides. That's usually what you want for editing — it shows what the publisher intended.
Does EPUB to RTF preserve footnotes / endnotes?
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Yes — popup-style footnotes in the EPUB become real Word / RTF footnotes in the RTF (Insert → Footnote round-tripped). Endnotes become endnotes. Cross-references stay linked between the body text and the note.
Will the RTF include the cover image from the EPUB?
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Yes — the cover image is placed on the first page of the RTF. Delete it if you only want the manuscript body; the rest of the document is unaffected.