Rich Text Format (*.rtf)

Rich Text Format (or 'RTF' as it is called) is a special type of file format that helps everyone in a couple of important ways:

• RTF files cannot transmit a computer virus from one computer to another.
• RTF files can be read by just about every word processing program that exists.

In their own ways, each of these is a very important piece of information. The number of computer viruses is expanding daily and it is very poor etiquette to send someone else a computer virus, even accidentally. Some of the newer viruses cannot be seen by anti-virus software and some of these viruses can do really nasty things to a computer. As a student, you would not be making a good impression on your instructor if you send them an assignment that causes their computer to break down! And you would not be happy to receive an assignment back that has been infected by your instructor.

File formats is just as important. While Microsoft Word XP is the college's standard software, not all faculty have this installed on their home computer and not all students have access to any version of Word. Using the RTF format allows any word processing program to read the document without having to worry about 'translating' it into the proper format. When in doubt, send your file as a RTF file to make sure it can be read.

To save a file in Rich Text Format, the steps generally are as follows:

• save your file locally for yourself (ALWAYS save a copy for yourself!)
• save your file again, using the File -> Save As... option
• when the dialog box comes up, look for the drop down box that allows you to change the file format to RTF
• save your file