It opens and saved .doc files for compatibility with Microsoft Word. But it works best when writing the generic and very portable .rtf file. This stand for Rich Text File. It is a simple file format that allows the use to style the text. It is in the styling that TextEdit excels, it builds on the famous core function of design in the Mac operating system, to provide rich styling function in a easy to use package.

Another benefit of the program is how little computing resources the program uses. This makes it a great choice for older macs where the bigger word processors seems slow or take a long time to load. It is also great, thanks to the super spell checker, for writing for online forms. Just open TextEdit, write your text and paste it into the web form.

If you are looking for speed, simplicity and price you can't beat the value of the built-in word processor on the Mac, TextEdit.