SXW to XPS Converter

Convert SXW to XPS online — fixed-layout document output

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Fixed-Layout Fidelity

XPS locks your SXW document layout in place — every page prints and displays exactly as the original was formatted.

No Software Needed

The entire conversion runs in your web browser. No plugins, no desktop applications — just upload, convert, and download.

Quick Turnaround

Server-side processing delivers your converted XPS file in seconds, even for multi-page SXW documents with complex content.

How to convert SXW to XPS

1

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

2

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

3

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

About formats

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 While SXW was superseded by ODT with OpenOffice.org 2.0 in 2005, existing SXW documents can be opened by LibreOffice, Apache OpenOffice, and document conversion tools.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
XPS (XML Paper Specification) is a fixed-layout document format developed by Microsoft, first released with Windows Vista and .NET Framework 3.0 in November 2006. Conceived as Microsoft's alternative to Adobe's PDF, XPS uses XML-based page description markup within a ZIP-based Open Packaging Conventions container. Each page is described as a FixedPage element containing paths (vector shapes with fill and stroke), glyphs (text positioned at precise coordinates), images, and canvas groupings — all specified with exact coordinates for pixel-precise rendering. The format embeds all required resources: fonts are subset and included, images are stored within the package, and the complete rendering specification travels with the document. Windows includes the XPS Document Writer as a virtual printer, allowing any application to generate XPS output through the standard print dialog. One advantage is exact visual fidelity — XPS documents render identically on any compliant viewer because every element is positioned absolutely, with no interpretation variance. Native Windows integration is another strength: XPS viewing, creation, and printing are built into Windows without additional software, and the .NET Framework provides APIs for programmatic XPS generation. While XPS did not achieve the ubiquity of PDF as a universal document format, it remains used in Windows printing infrastructure, enterprise document workflows, and scenarios where the Windows platform provides native end-to-end support.
Developer: Microsoft
Initial release: November 2006

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert SXW to XPS?

XPS is a fixed-layout format that preserves your document exactly as designed — useful for archiving or printing old SXW files.

What programs open XPS files?

XPS Viewer on Windows, Okular on Linux, and various third-party document readers handle XPS files across different platforms.

Is the conversion free?

Yes — standard SXW to XPS conversions are free on Convertio. Premium plans cover larger files and higher volume needs.

Does XPS preserve my document layout?

XPS captures fonts, images, and page structure faithfully, producing a pixel-accurate representation of your SXW document.

Can I run this on macOS?

Absolutely. The converter works in any browser on any operating system — macOS, Windows, Linux, or mobile devices.

How long does conversion take?

Most SXW to XPS conversions complete within seconds. Cloud servers do the heavy lifting so your device stays responsive.