RB to RTF Converter

RB to RTF conversion — free, cross-platform output

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Dead Ebook to Rich Text

Rescue RB ebook text and deliver it as RTF — a format every word processor on every operating system can open and edit.

True Cross-Platform

RTF works on Windows, macOS, Linux, and mobile. The RB to RTF converter itself runs from any device with a browser.

Privacy Assured

Uploaded RB files are deleted after conversion. RTF results are purged from Convertio servers automatically within 24 hours.

How to convert RB to RTF

1

Select files from Computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, URL or by dragging it on the page.

2

Choose rtf or any other format you need as a result (more than 200 formats supported)

3

Let the file convert and you can download your rtf file right afterwards

About formats

RB is the native ebook format of the Rocket eBook, one of the first commercially available dedicated e-reading devices, developed by NuvoMedia and released in October 1998. Founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning — who later co-founded Tesla Motors — NuvoMedia designed the Rocket eBook as a handheld device with a reflective LCD screen, capable of storing approximately ten books in its internal memory. The RB format packages HTML-based content along with embedded images, metadata, and a table of contents into a single binary container optimized for the device's limited hardware. Content was purchased and downloaded through NuvoMedia's RocketLibrarian desktop software. A notable advantage of the format was its early support for bookmarking, annotation, dictionary lookups, and adjustable font sizing — features now standard on modern e-readers but revolutionary in the late 1990s. The Rocket eBook demonstrated viable commercial demand for dedicated reading devices, paving the way for subsequent platforms from Sony, Amazon, and others. NuvoMedia was acquired by Gemstar-TV Guide International in 2000, which discontinued the device line in 2003. While RB files are largely a historical curiosity today, they can be converted to modern formats using ebook management tools, and the format remains significant as a pioneering chapter in the evolution of digital reading.
Developer: NuvoMedia
Initial release: 1998
RTF (Rich Text Format) is a document interchange format developed by Microsoft and first published in 1987 with Word 3.0. The format encodes document content and formatting as plain ASCII text using control words (backslash-prefixed commands) and groups (curly-brace-delimited sections) that describe fonts, character formatting, paragraph layout, tables, images, and page setup. Because RTF is fundamentally a text format with no binary components, documents pass cleanly through any text channel — email systems, clipboard operations, and cross-platform transfers — without corruption. Microsoft designed RTF explicitly as a cross-application and cross-platform exchange format, and it achieved broad adoption: virtually every word processor, text editor, and document tool on every operating system has supported RTF reading and writing for decades. One advantage is exceptional cross-platform compatibility — an RTF document created on any application renders with consistent formatting on any other, making it the most reliable format for text exchange between incompatible systems. The text-based structure provides another benefit: RTF files resist corruption, are trivially generated by programs (requiring only string concatenation), and can be debugged by reading the raw markup in a text editor. While RTF lacks modern features like tracked changes and advanced layout controls, and Microsoft declared the specification frozen at version 1.9.1 in 2008, the format persists as a dependable interchange option where DOCX compatibility cannot be assumed.
Developer: Microsoft
Initial release: 1987

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert RB to RTF?

RB is a dead 1998 format nothing reads anymore. RTF is universally supported — open it in any word processor on any operating system.

What software reads RTF?

Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, Google Docs, Apple TextEdit, WordPad, and virtually every text editor with formatting support.

Does RTF preserve rich formatting?

Yes — RTF supports fonts, styles, colors, and paragraph formatting. Your ebook text will carry over with clean basic formatting.

Is RTF an old format?

RTF has been around since 1987, but its universal compatibility is precisely why it remains useful for cross-platform document exchange.

Is there a fee?

No — RB to RTF conversion on Convertio is free. Premium plans exist for batch conversion and increased file handling capacity.