How to Convert RTF to HTML Using Python

If you've ever worked with Rich Text Format (RTF) files and needed to convert them to HTML for web display or further processing, Python offers a simple and efficient solution. In this guide, we'll explore how to convert RTF to HTML using one of the most popular Python modules—pyth—along with a few additional tools for better formatting.

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Why Convert RTF to HTML?

RTF is a legacy document format that supports basic text formatting, but it's not ideal for web applications. Converting RTF to HTML allows you to:

• Display formatted text on websites.
• Process content in a more structured way.
• Integrate with modern web frameworks.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure you have Python installed. You'll also need the following module:

• pyth – A Python library for parsing RTF files.

Install it using pip:

pip install pyth

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Step-by-Step Conversion Process

1. Reading the RTF File

First, we need to read the RTF file. Python's built-in open() function works fine for this.

with open('document.rtf', 'r', encoding='utf-8') as file:
    rtf_content = file.read()

2. Parsing RTF with Pyth

The pyth library helps parse RTF content into a structured format.

from pyth.plugins.rtf15.reader import Rtf15Reader
document = Rtf15Reader.read(rtf_content)

3. Converting to HTML

Once parsed, we can convert the document to HTML using another plugin from pyth.

from pyth.plugins.plaintext.writer import PlaintextWriter
html_content = PlaintextWriter.write(document).getvalue()

Note: For more advanced HTML conversion, consider using BeautifulSoup or html5lib to refine the output.

4. Saving the HTML File

Finally, save the converted HTML to a file:

with open('output.html', 'w', encoding='utf-8') as file:
    file.write(html_content)

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Alternative Method: Using Pandoc

If pyth doesn’t meet your needs, Pandoc is a powerful document converter that supports RTF-to-HTML conversion. You can call it from Python using subprocess:

import subprocess
subprocess.run(['pandoc', 'document.rtf', '-o', 'output.html'])

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Summary: Converting RTF to HTML in Python is straightforward with libraries like pyth or external tools like Pandoc. This guide covers the essential steps to parse and transform RTF content into web-friendly HTML.

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