Is it possible to download and read standard ASCII text files on the NXT with RobotC without converting them to a .rdt file?

I don't see any read commands under the Datalog help. I do see some under the file access help, but help is rather limited.

I have gone to the File Management utililty and hit Download, but .txt is not an option, but .rdt is.

If it is not possible to read from a .txt file, how can I convert a text file to a .rdt file?