XLSX to SXW Converter

Convert XLSX to SXW format — free online tool

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Legacy Compatibility

SXW supports older OpenOffice environments — convert XLSX to ensure your data is accessible in legacy office installations.

Browser-Based Tool

No downloads, no plugins, no sign-ups. Convert XLSX to SXW directly in your web browser on any operating system.

Secure Conversion

Uploaded files are removed right after conversion, and output SXW files are deleted within 24 hours from Convertio servers.

How to convert XLSX to SXW

1

Select files from Computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, URL or by dragging it on the page.

2

Choose sxw or any other format you need as a result (more than 200 formats supported)

3

Let the file convert and you can download your sxw file right afterwards

About formats

XLSX is the default spreadsheet format for Microsoft Excel since Office 2007, based on the Office Open XML (OOXML) standard published as ECMA-376 and adopted as ISO/IEC 29500. An XLSX file is a ZIP archive containing XML documents that describe workbook structure, sheet data, styles, shared strings, formulas, charts, pivot tables, and relationships between components. Each worksheet is stored as a separate XML part where cells are organized by row and column references with typed values and style indices. The XML foundation enables programmatic spreadsheet creation and manipulation using libraries like openpyxl (Python), Apache POI (Java), and ClosedXML (.NET) without requiring Excel. XLSX dramatically expanded capacity compared to XLS: over 1 million rows and 16,384 columns per sheet, enabling use cases previously impossible in the binary format. One advantage is openness and cross-platform support — the documented OOXML specification enables implementation by LibreOffice Calc, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers, and numerous specialized tools. Built-in ZIP compression is another practical strength: XLSX files are typically 50-75% smaller than equivalent XLS files, and the modular XML structure improves data recovery when files are partially corrupted. The format supports modern Excel features including structured tables, slicers, sparklines, Power Query connections, and real-time co-authoring. XLSX has become the standard format for spreadsheet data interchange across business, scientific, and government domains.
Developer: Microsoft
Initial release: January 30, 2007
SXW is the word processing document format used by StarOffice 6.0 and OpenOffice.org 1.0, developed by Sun Microsystems and released in 2002. The format was one of the first mainstream office document formats to adopt an XML-based architecture, packaging document content, styles, metadata, and embedded media in a ZIP archive — a structural approach that directly influenced the later OpenDocument Format (ODF). The content.xml file describes the document body using XML elements for paragraphs, headings, lists, tables, footnotes, and inline formatting, while styles.xml defines the styling rules and meta.xml carries document properties. SXW represented a significant milestone in open-source office software, demonstrating that a non-proprietary XML format could handle the full range of word processing features including change tracking, indexes, cross-references, and complex page layouts. One advantage was transparency and openness — the XML structure made document content inspectable, transformable, and processable using standard tools, a sharp contrast to the opaque binary formats dominant at the time. The format's role as a technological precursor to the ODF standard is another historical significance: the OASIS OpenDocument Technical Committee used the OpenOffice.org XML format (including SXW) as the starting point for developing ODF 1.0. While SXW was superseded by ODT with OpenOffice.org 2.0 in 2005, existing SXW documents can be opened by LibreOffice, Apache OpenOffice, and document conversion tools.
Developer: Sun Microsystems
Initial release: 2002

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert XLSX to SXW?

SXW is the legacy OpenOffice.org Writer format — needed when working with older OpenOffice installations that predate the ODF era.

What applications open SXW?

Apache OpenOffice, LibreOffice Writer, and older StarOffice versions all support SXW files. Modern suites can import them too.

Is SXW still widely used?

SXW is largely superseded by ODT, but some legacy systems and archived documents still rely on it. Convertio bridges the gap.

Is the conversion free?

Yes — Convertio provides free XLSX to SXW conversion. Premium plans offer higher volume for demanding users.

Can I convert multiple spreadsheets?

Upload several XLSX files at once and Convertio will batch-convert them all to SXW in a single efficient session.

Does it work on mobile?

Fully. Convertio is a web app — open it in any mobile browser, upload your XLSX, and get the SXW file delivered to your device.

XLSX to SXW Quality Rating

3.9 (8 votes)
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