What is the SXW file format?
.sxw is a text document file originally generated by StarOffice Writer. .sxw files store text data along with charts, images, and other elements. They can also hold information regarding text formatting, font style and size, and page layout.
The .sxw format is a ZIP archive packaging several XML files: content.xml (document body), styles.xml (formatting), meta.xml (metadata), and settings.xml. The XML data is UTF-8 encoded and follows the OpenOffice.org 1.x XML schema - an older, DTD-based format that is the direct predecessor of the later OASIS .odt standard. Renaming any .sxw to .zip lets you inspect its internals directly.
.sxw was introduced in 2002 with OpenOffice.org 1.0 and StarOffice 6.0. It is the Writer member of the legacy "SX" family, alongside .sxc (spreadsheets) and .sxi (presentations). .sxw files were later used by Apache OpenOffice Writer, which replaced the original StarOffice Writer. When OpenOffice.org 2.0 arrived in 2005, it adopted .odt as the default save format. Today, LibreOffice still opens .sxw files; saving to .odt or .docx is recommended for broad compatibility.
Security & safety
RISK: LOW.sxw files are ordinary documents and low risk. The one caveat shared by all office formats: they can contain macros (StarBasic), which LibreOffice/OpenOffice block or prompt about by default - never enable macros in an unexpected document. As ZIP packages they can in principle hold embedded objects with malicious links; opening with macros disabled is safe. Being a legacy format, most .sxw files are old, benign archives. Use a local app (LibreOffice) rather than an online converter for sensitive content.
Format details
in a nutshellPrograms that open SXW files
Windows2 apps
LibreOffice Writer
Open-source Open the .sxw directly (it opens legacy OpenOffice.org formats). Then File → Save As .odt or .docx to modernize. The recommended, actively developed choice. 
Apache OpenOffice Writer
Open-source Opens .sxw natively as the direct descendant of OpenOffice.org. Note the project is only lightly maintained - LibreOffice is preferred. 
macOS1 app
LibreOffice Writer
Open-source Free download (Apple silicon/Intel); opens .sxw natively and resaves to .odt/.docx. 
Linux1 app
LibreOffice Writer
Open-source Preinstalled on most desktop distributions; double-click the .sxw to open. Batch: 'soffice --headless --convert-to odt *.sxw'. 
Android1 app
Collabora Office
Open-source LibreOffice-based mobile app; opens legacy .sxw and lets you save as .odt/.docx.
CloudConvert / online ODF converters
Freemium Upload the .sxw to convert it to .odt/.docx/.pdf in a browser. Use only for non-sensitive documents (files are uploaded to a third party). Technical details
deep spec| Container | ZIP archive (magic bytes PK 03 04 at offset 0); rename to .zip to inspect internal files |
| MIME type | application/vnd.sun.xml.writer |
| XML schema | OpenOffice.org 1.x DTD-based XML; distinct from and predecessor of the OASIS ODF Relax-NG schema used by .odt |
| First archive entry | Uncompressed file named mimetype containing the literal MIME string, making it readable in raw bytes just after the ZIP header |
| Key internal files | content.xml (body text), styles.xml (formatting rules), meta.xml (document metadata), settings.xml, Pictures/ folder |
| Text encoding | UTF-8 inside all XML files |
| Compression | DEFLATE per ZIP entry; the mimetype entry is stored uncompressed to enable MIME sniffing |
| Integrity | CRC-32 checksum per ZIP entry; no document-level digital signature in the legacy format |
| Encryption | None by default; optional ZIP-level password protection encrypts individual entries |
| Typical file size | 5 KB to a few MB, depending on text volume and embedded images |
| Format family | Member of the OpenOffice.org 1.x SX family: .sxc (Calc), .sxi (Impress), .sxd (Draw), .stw (Writer template) |
| Superseded by | ODT (OpenDocument Text, ODF) - adopted as default in OpenOffice.org 2.0 (2005) |
| Developer | Sun Microsystems (StarOffice / OpenOffice.org project) |
| Platform support | Windows, macOS, Linux, Solaris (original StarOffice target platform) |
| Released | 2002 (OpenOffice.org 1.0 / StarOffice 6.0) |
| Latest version | OpenOffice.org 1.x XML format; superseded by ODF/ODT from OpenOffice.org 2.0 (2005) |
| Open standard | Yes · royalty-free |
| Specification | www.openoffice.org |
SXW conversions
Community Q&A
asked by usersNo questions yet - be the first to ask about SXW files.
