You can use the default app, TextEdit, to open, edit and save plaintext (.txt) files.
To make this possible, do the following:
- On TextEdit, go to Settings.
- Under the New Document tab > Format, click the Plain text option.
- Under the Open and Save tab > When Saving a File, tick Add “.txt” extension to plain text files.
- Under Plain Text File Encoding > Saving files, choose Unicode (UTF-8) from the drop-down.
Close Settings now. You’re good to go.
Source: How to Save Files in TXT Format in TextEdit on Mac (techyuga.com)
My new workplace uses the Apple ecosystem. I’m not too much of a power user to start setting up my preferred defaults on a new system (especially since Paint and Notepad on Windows are already nifty, work hard and are lightweight).
It was disconcerting to have to use TextEdit and have it force me to save files in quaint RTF, until I had to start attaching console logs to emails in my day-to-day work. Someone asked me to please attach logs as text files, (you know, like a proper tech worker).
The source article did not solve my problem as it only addressed steps 3 and 4. If you do only those two, TextEdit still forces new documents to open as RTF, thereby still barring you from saving them as .txt. So, here you go.
I wrote this post for my future self, in case I have to set up a Macbook all over again and have to wade through Google search results and wordy preambles. I’d rather not.