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Converter setup

rtflite can convert RTF documents to PDF using LibreOffice. This guide shows how to install and use LibreOffice for PDF conversion.

Install LibreOffice

On macOS (using Homebrew):

brew install --cask libreoffice

On Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt-get install libreoffice

On Windows (using Chocolatey):

choco install libreoffice

Tip

After installation, restart your shell to ensure PATH updates are loaded so that rtflite can find LibreOffice.

Using the converter

Once LibreOffice is installed, convert RTF files to PDF in your code:

import rtflite as rtf

# Create your RTF document
doc = rtf.RTFDocument(df=df, ...)
doc.write_rtf("output.rtf")

# Convert to PDF
try:
    converter = rtf.LibreOfficeConverter()
    converter.convert(
        input_files="output.rtf",
        output_dir=".",
        format="pdf",
        overwrite=True
    )
    print("PDF created successfully!")
except FileNotFoundError:
    print("LibreOffice not found. Please install it for PDF conversion.")

Custom installation paths

If LibreOffice is installed in a non-standard location, you can specify the path:

converter = rtf.LibreOfficeConverter(
    executable_path="/custom/path/to/soffice"
)

Supported output formats

Besides PDF, LibreOffice can convert RTF to:

  • docx - Microsoft Word format
  • html - HTML format
  • odt - OpenDocument Text format

Example: 

converter.convert(input_files="output.rtf", output_dir=".", format="docx")

Batch conversion

Convert multiple RTF files at once:

files = ["file1.rtf", "file2.rtf", "file3.rtf"]
converter = rtf.LibreOfficeConverter()
converter.convert(
    input_files=files,
    output_dir="pdfs/",
    format="pdf",
    overwrite=True
)

CI/CD integration

For automated workflows:

GitHub Actions

- name: Install LibreOffice
  run: |
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install -y libreoffice

Docker

FROM python:3.14
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y libreoffice

Troubleshooting

"Can't find LibreOffice executable" error

  1. Ensure LibreOffice is installed
  2. Restart your terminal/IDE
  3. Check if soffice is in your PATH:
  4. macOS/Linux: which soffice
  5. Windows: where soffice
  6. If not in PATH, specify the full path when creating the converter

Version requirements

Minimum version requirement

rtflite requires LibreOffice version 7.1 or higher. Check your version:

soffice --version

Performance tips

Optimization suggestions

  1. LibreOffice starts a background process for conversions.
  2. For batch conversions, reuse the same converter instance.
  3. The first conversion may be slower as LibreOffice initializes.
  4. Consider using thread-based parallel processing for large batches.