# RTF differences **URL:** \ **Category:** macOS\ **Created:** [July 8, 2026, 1:47pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/rtf-differences/88554 "2026-07-08T13:47:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eric\_R](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/eric_r/32/2371_2.png) [@Eric\_R](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Eric_R)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 1:47pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/rtf-differences/88554/1 "2026-07-08T13:47:36Z")
I’m experimenting with RTF in one of my apps, that takes an image and turns into ascii text. In Xojo it looks good. However if I save the results to rtf file or just copy and past into Textedit the color and what not is a bit off from what it looks like in my XOJO app. Is this a XOJO issue or TextEdit issue or something else? Thanks Xojo App: ![Screenshot 2026-07-08 at 7.32.00 AM](https://forum.xojo.com/uploads/default/original/3X/c/6/c6909ad104bab1172fd3edd28cb4b38535490bd2.jpeg) in TextEdit: ![Screenshot 2026-07-08 at 7.32.17 AM](https://forum.xojo.com/uploads/default/original/3X/e/f/ef55b004945c23687484ff1b5b544393b97d48d6.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_Parnell](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/tim_parnell/32/161_2.png) [@Tim\_Parnell](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Tim_Parnell)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 1:54pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/rtf-differences/88554/2 "2026-07-08T13:54:56Z")
Apps trying to automatically determine color are making changes. That’s just coloring letters as pixels. Ascii art uses negative space and character shape to create an image. Not color. Funny. Color being inconsistently available is why we have ascii art to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Eric\_R](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/eric_r/32/2371_2.png) [@Eric\_R](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Eric_R)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 2:18pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/rtf-differences/88554/3 "2026-07-08T14:18:50Z")
I’m not an RTF expert but I would think the colors should be the same in Xojo’s text area and TextEdit, I am using StyledText.RTFData. The HTML version matches whats displayed in XOJO and a web browser as for plain text… well its just plain text. 😆 Colorizing “ascii art” isn’t new, there are other apps out there that do it. Anyway I’m just experimenting with RTF. 😎 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_Parnell](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/tim_parnell/32/161_2.png) [@Tim\_Parnell](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Tim_Parnell)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 2:57pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/rtf-differences/88554/4 "2026-07-08T14:57:22Z")
> [@Eric\_R](#): > > The HTML version matches whats displayed in XOJO and a web browser as for plain text… well its just plain text. 😆 This makes it sound even more like TextEdit is trying to compensate for dark mode. What happens if you switch to light mode _before_ you open the document in TextEdit? ---
**Author:** ![Christian\_Wheel](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/christian_wheel/32/20536_2.png) [@Christian\_Wheel](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Christian_Wheel)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 3:09pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/rtf-differences/88554/5 "2026-07-08T15:09:59Z")
Cool idea for an app! If you share the RTF I could take a look at it on Windows and see what it looks like. ---
**Author:** ![Beatrix\_Willius](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/beatrix_willius/32/282_2.png) [@Beatrix\_Willius](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Beatrix_Willius)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 3:26pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/rtf-differences/88554/6 "2026-07-08T15:26:18Z")
The usual trick to circumvent macOS being clever is to use off-white or off-black as color. ---
**Author:** ![Eric\_R](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/eric_r/32/2371_2.png) [@Eric\_R](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Eric_R)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 6:36pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/rtf-differences/88554/7 "2026-07-08T18:36:36Z")
After some testing it does appear to be an issue TextEdit and darkmode. I might be missing something from rtf as well.. perhaps highlight command. Not a big deal being this is experimental . thanks ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_Parnell](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/tim_parnell/32/161_2.png) [@Tim\_Parnell](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Tim_Parnell)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 6:47pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/rtf-differences/88554/8 "2026-07-08T18:47:04Z")
The Xojo RTF classes do not have highlight capabilities, if that’s what you were seeking. As custom Xojo-code implementations in the framework, RTF support is rather limited. In theory though, AI could be able to help you extend RTF capabilities since it really is just long-standing, well documented text/string manipulation. ---
**Author:** ![Eric\_R](https://forum.xojo.com/user_avatar/forum.xojo.com/eric_r/32/2371_2.png) [@Eric\_R](https://forum.xojo.com/u/Eric_R)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 7:15pm UTC](https://forum.xojo.com/t/rtf-differences/88554/9 "2026-07-08T19:15:43Z")
Ah, I see. Too bad about limited support of rtf in xojo. I think I read somewhere the some rtf viewers/editors might not support all rtf features as well. Oh well, no big deal. Was fun experiment, though in the end, might not be worth it. Thanks.