Free online OFT to TXT converter

Outlook templates must sometimes be shared with systems that accept only plain text, or archived without email formatting. Converting an OFT file to TXT preserves the readable message content while removing Outlook-specific layout and template features.

What the OFT format is

OFT is the Microsoft Outlook Template format. Outlook creates OFT files when you save a reusable email, appointment, contact, or task template through File → Save As and select Outlook Template (*.oft). An OFT can contain message fields, formatted HTML or rich-text content, signatures, recipients, subject data, and attachments.

OFT files are commonly found in Outlook template folders, email workflow systems, and shared business archives. They are designed to be opened and reused in Microsoft Outlook rather than read by general-purpose editors.

What the TXT format is

TXT is a plain-text format containing characters without HTML, styling, embedded images, or Outlook template metadata. It is supported by Notepad, text editors, scripts, command-line tools, document-management systems, and virtually any operating system.

TXT is useful when a recipient needs editable message content, searchable archival data, a small file, or input for software that cannot parse Outlook files. Its lack of formatting also makes it unsuitable when visual layout, hyperlinks as formatted elements, images, or attachments must be retained.

How to convert OFT to TXT

With Microsoft Outlook

1. Open Microsoft Outlook on Windows.
2. Select File → Open & Export → Open Outlook Template, or double-click the OFT file in File Explorer.
3. When the template opens as a new message, select File → Save As.
4. Set Save as type to Text Only (*.txt), choose a destination, and save the file.
5. Open the resulting TXT file in Notepad or another editor. If characters display incorrectly, use Save As and select UTF-8 as the encoding.

Using the online converter

You can convert the file on 101convert.com for free without installing software: upload the OFT file, select TXT as the output format, start the conversion, and download the generated file. Avoid uploading templates containing confidential message content unless the handling policy for the service is acceptable.

Quality and compatibility limitations

The conversion extracts readable message content but discards HTML layout, fonts, colors, tables, inline images, signatures with graphics, and Outlook-specific fields. Attachments are not embedded in a TXT file; save them separately from the opened Outlook message if they are required.

Recipients and subject information may not appear in the TXT output consistently across Outlook versions. If those fields matter, copy them into the message body before saving, or preserve the original OFT alongside the TXT copy. Unicode characters should be checked after conversion, especially when the source contains accented characters or non-Latin scripts.