In computing, “plain text” can mean a few different things. Here, we’ll focus on plain text as a type of file.
A plain text file contains only text (that is, words, numerals, and a range of symbols — for example, punctuation marks).
Plain text files contain no formatting — no bold or italic text, for example — and no graphics.
Sound boring? Keep in mind that while plain text documents contain no formatted text or graphics, they can nevertheless be used to produce documents that are visually rich and dramatic.
The most beautiful pages you see on the web are all written in plain text. A website’s plain text files contain instructions to a browser — Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, for example — and the browser follow these instructions to produce the formatting, graphics, and animations displayed in your browser window.