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MAP to SXW Converter

Convert palette-based MAP images to SXW format online

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Any Device Works

Run the MAP to SXW converter from any device — desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone. All you need is a web browser to get started.

Bulk Conversion

Handle many MAP to SXW conversions at once. Upload a batch, start the process, and download all results — no repeated uploading.

Format Flexibility

MAP to SXW conversion opens new possibilities. Use your color maps in contexts where SXW is the expected or required format.

How to convert MAP 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

MAP is an internal raster image format used by ImageMagick, the open-source image processing suite first released by John Cristy at DuPont on August 1, 1990. MAP files store indexed-color (color-mapped) images in ImageMagick's native representation: a color palette (the map) followed by pixel data where each pixel is an index into that palette rather than a direct RGB value. The format provides a compact representation for images with a limited number of distinct colors — each pixel requires only enough bits to index the palette (typically 8 bits for up to 256 colors), compared to the 24 or 32 bits per pixel required by full-color formats. MAP serves primarily as an intermediate format within ImageMagick's processing pipeline, useful when performing operations that benefit from or require palettized representation: color quantization (reducing an image to a specific number of colors), palette manipulation, GIF preparation, and indexed-color analysis. The format is invoked through ImageMagick's standard I/O syntax and can be piped between processing stages without disk overhead. One advantage is direct access to ImageMagick's color quantization and palette management capabilities: MAP format output makes the palette structure explicit and manipulable, enabling workflows where specific palette operations (reordering, remapping, merging) need to be performed between processing steps. The format's integration into the ImageMagick processing ecosystem is another practical strength — any of ImageMagick's extensive image manipulation operations can consume or produce MAP format data, making it a natural intermediate for color-reduction pipelines that ultimately target GIF, PNG with palette, or other indexed-color formats.
Initial release: 1990
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 MAP to SXW?

Legacy openoffice.org writer format — converting MAP to SXW gives your color maps broader reach and easier sharing across standard platforms.

What programs open SXW?

Open SXW with Microsoft Word, LibreOffice Writer, Google Docs, or any modern office application — supported across platforms.

What platforms are supported?

The converter works on any device with a browser — Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android. No platform-specific software needed.

What is the MAP format?

MAP is used in image processing and color palette management. It stores color lookup tables and image processing pipelines — converting to SXW makes this data universally accessible.

Is the conversion instant?

Near-instant for typical images — the cloud-based processing handles MAP to SXW conversion quickly. Very large data may take a moment.

Can I convert multiple MAP images at once?

Yes — upload several MAP images in one session and convert them all to SXW simultaneously. Batch processing saves significant time.