MOBI to SXW Converter

Convert MOBI ebooks to SXW OpenOffice — free online

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OpenOffice Compatible

MOBI to SXW creates documents in the original OpenOffice Writer format — ensuring compatibility with legacy OpenOffice installations and archives.

Cloud Conversion

The entire process runs on Convertio servers. Your device stays free from processing — just upload and download when the result is ready.

Secure File Handling

MOBI uploads are deleted immediately after the conversion completes. SXW files are removed from servers within 24 hours automatically.

How to convert MOBI 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

MOBI is an ebook format originally developed by Mobipocket SA, a French company founded in 2000 that was later acquired by Amazon in 2005. The format builds on the PalmDOC/PDB container structure, adding support for HTML-based content markup, embedded images, a DRM layer, and a JavaScript subset for limited interactivity. MOBI files use a record-based database architecture inherited from Palm OS, with a header structure containing metadata like title, author, publisher, and language followed by compressed HTML content records. The format became the foundation of Amazon's early Kindle ecosystem — the original AZW format used on first-generation Kindles was essentially MOBI with Amazon's own DRM wrapper. MOBI supports reflowable text with basic formatting including bold, italic, headings, lists, and tables, as well as internal hyperlinks and a built-in table of contents. One advantage is broad device compatibility: MOBI files are recognized by Kindle devices and apps spanning over a decade of hardware, as well as numerous third-party readers on desktop and mobile platforms. The format's lightweight structure is another strength — even long novels produce compact files that load quickly on modest hardware. While Amazon has since moved to the more capable AZW3/KF8 format for new publishing, MOBI remains widely circulated in existing ebook libraries and continues to be produced by conversion tools like Calibre for maximum Kindle compatibility.
Developer: Mobipocket SA
Initial release: 2000
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 MOBI to SXW?

SXW is the original OpenOffice Writer format — useful for legacy OpenOffice compatibility or when working with older document archives.

What opens SXW files?

LibreOffice Writer, Apache OpenOffice Writer, and NeoOffice all open SXW documents. Microsoft Word can also import SXW with basic compatibility.

Is SXW still relevant?

SXW was replaced by ODT in later OpenOffice versions. It remains useful for compatibility with older OpenOffice installations and document archives.

Will the text be editable?

Yes. SXW documents are fully editable — you can change text, formatting, and layout in any compatible word processor after conversion.

Is this service provided for free?

Yes, Convertio offers free MOBI to SXW conversion. Premium accounts unlock larger uploads and faster processing for professional users.