By default TextEdit shows rich text formatting options and saves file in RTF format. If you are looking for no-frills plain text editor, go to Format > Make Plain Text or press command + shift + T
. The menu and key are essentially a toggle which switch between rich text and plain text. To make the plain text permanent go to TextEdit > Preferences… and select Plain text under the Format section.
![](https://i0.wp.com/naveegator.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/TextEditPlaintTextPref.png?resize=439%2C153&ssl=1)