Extract text from KWD files
To convert your KWD file to another format, you need Calligra Suite or other Text software.
To convert other file formats to the "Legacy Document" file type, you need software like Calligra Suite or a similar tool.
A .KWD file is most frequently a KWord Document, a legacy word processing format created by the KOffice suite for the KDE desktop environment. Unlike the stream-based text flow of Microsoft Word, KWord utilized a unique frame-based layout engine similar to desktop publishing tools like Adobe InDesign.
Why is this file a problem?
KOffice was discontinued in 2010, rendering .KWD files effectively obsolete. Modern suites like LibreOffice and Word cannot natively open them due to the complex frame logic. While the file structure is technically a ZIP container holding XML data (a precursor to the OpenDocument standard), users often find themselves locked out of their old academic papers or Linux backups.
Secondary Use Cases:
If your file is not a document, it is likely a data file from the 90s gaming era: either a keyword definition file for the Creatures artificial life simulation series, or a data asset for Heroes of Might and Magic III.
Best Conversion Targets:
For documents, the only reliable way to preserve the complex layout is to open the file in Calligra Words (the successor to KWord) and save it as ODT (OpenDocument Text) or PDF for archiving. If you just need the raw text and images, you can treat the file as a ZIP archive.
Convert.Guru analyzes your KWD file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted KDW, PWP, FOD, RVF, PHP, SAR, EGP and PKR files.
If you want to convert KWD file to PHP, SAR, EGP, PKR, TXT, RTF, DOC, DOCX, ODT, PAGES, TEX or LATEX, you can use Calligra Suite or similar software from the "Legacy Word Processing" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert PDF, DOC, ASC, TODO, NFO, MEMO, README, DOCX, JPG, TXT, NOTE or RTF files to KWD, try Calligra Suite or another comparable tool in the "Legacy Word Processing" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our KWD converter.