Why would you want to use TextEdit instead of a full-blown word processor? Think of it as a great way to enhance your productivity by getting rid of as many distractions (extraneous features) as possible. Since we want to save the document for people using the current version of Word, we’ll save this in. You have a number of different choices, including Rich Text Document (.rtf, both with and without attachments), Web Page (.html), Web Archive Document, Open Document Text (.odt), Word 2007 (.docx), Word 2003 (.xml), and Word 97 (.doc).

Select Save… from the File menu, and in the Save dialog that appears (see image above), you’ll see a pop-up menu for File Format.

TextEdit documents can be saved in a number of different formats, one of which is the popular. Let’s say you have written an important screed in TextEdit’s rich text mode and you want to save it in Word format. Likewise, if you need to share a TextEdit document with someone who uses Word as their sole word and text processor, you’re in luck. However, if all you need to do is see what text is contained in a Word document, TextEdit is up to the task. The other way? Right-click the file, then select Open With… and select TextEdit.Ĭomplex Word documents - like those with embedded images and many different text styles - aren’t going to look exactly like they do when opened in Word or Pages. docx file to the TextEdit app and drop it. Fortunately, you can open Word documents in TextEdit. Well, you could open in in Pages, but if you want a truly minimalist Mac installation for an older Mac, you might not even have that app installed.

So what do you do if you get a Word (.doc or. As a result - and because Apple’s Pages app is free - many Mac users don’t have Word installed. While it’s considered the “gold standard” of word processing applications, it has many more features than most people ever use. Today we’ll look at some of TextEdit’s hidden talents, which may increase your use of this often-overlooked tool. TextEdit is one of the apps included with each copy of macOS, but it is overshadowed by word processing apps like Pages and Microsoft Word as well as dedicated text editors like Ulysses and Bear.

App like notepad for mac