What Is a TXT Transcript File?

A TXT (Plain Text) file is one of the simplest digital document formats. When you export a transcription from Konthora as a TXT file, you receive a clean, highly readable document containing the spoken words extracted from your media.

Unlike specialized subtitle formats, a TXT transcript strips away all structural metadata, leaving only the continuous flow of text.

When you export your transcription to TXT, the output preserves the exact words recognized by the speech-to-text engine. Based on the selected pacing mode (e.g., sentence or paragraph groupings) used during the transcription, the text is structured into readable blocks.

This is an example of a plain text transcript export.
Notice how the words flow naturally without any timecodes or structural tags interrupting the sentences.

This makes the document incredibly easy to read, copy, and paste into other applications. It is perfect for reading long conversations or generating meeting notes.

What TXT does not preserve: A TXT export does not include structural subtitle cues, timing information, or the complex nested data structure required for programmatic processing.

Because it is completely unformatted, the TXT format is universally supported across virtually all operating systems and word processors. You should choose the TXT format when your primary goal is readability rather than synchronization.

• Review and Archiving: Reading a plain text document is much easier than reading a subtitle file filled with timecodes.
• Content Repurposing: If you are converting a podcast or video into a blog post, a TXT file gives you a clean foundation to start editing.
• Searchability: TXT files are easily indexed and searched by your local computer or document management system.

While a TXT file is perfect for reading, it is missing the metadata required for specific workflows. Here is how it compares to the other formats available in Konthora:

• SRT and VTT:These are timed subtitle formats. Unlike TXT, they include exact start and end timestamps (e.g., 00:01:15.500) for every block of text, which is strictly required if you want text to appear on a video screen in sync with the audio.
• JSON:This is a structured data format containing deep technical data, including word-level timestamps and confidence scores. It is used exclusively by developers to build applications, whereas TXT is designed for human readers.