Extract text from StarOffice documents (SWX)
To convert SWX documents to another format, you need Apache OpenOffice Writer or other Text software.
To convert other file formats to the "Legacy XML Document" file type, you need software like Apache OpenOffice Writer or a similar tool.
A .SWX file is primarily known as a legacy XML-based text document used by early versions of Apache OpenOffice Writer (originally developed as StarOffice by Sun Microsystems). Under the hood, this document is actually a compressed ZIP archive containing raw XML data, styling instructions, and embedded media. Alternatively, the .SWX extension is also actively used for proprietary access control device firmware (specifically for ZKTeco FaceGate systems), or as an ODB++ viewer session file for Siemens Valor PCB software.
To open a document-based .SWX file, you can use Apache OpenOffice Writer or modern variants like LibreOffice. If the file is a firmware update or an ODB++ session file, it requires the respective proprietary hardware terminal or Siemens Valor software to process the data.
Users often need to convert .SWX documents because the format is entirely obsolete. It was officially superseded by the standardized ODT (OpenDocument Text) format. Because it is a legacy file, modern word processors like Microsoft Word often struggle to render the formatting correctly, making collaboration and sharing difficult. In the case of ZKTeco firmware, the file is a closed binary format that cannot be edited or accessed conventionally.
For document sharing, the best conversion targets are DOCX to maximize compatibility with the Microsoft ecosystem, or PDF to ensure the layout remains frozen. Converting to ODT is ideal if you wish to stick to open-source editors. Be aware that complex legacy formatting or archaic macros might be lost during conversion.
The overlapping use of the .SWX extension makes handling these files extremely frustrating. Standard online converters will fail completely if you accidentally upload a firmware or PCB session file instead of a text document. Just drag and drop your file into convert.guru to identify the format, view its internal structure, and convert it when possible. If our analysis detects the supported ZIP/XML underlying format, secure document conversion is just one click away.
Convert.Guru analyzes your SWX file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted SXW, WPS, SX and OTT files.
If you want to convert SWX file to HTML, HTM, CSS, JS, PHP, ASP, ASPX, JSP, JSPX, PY, RB or PL, you can use Apache OpenOffice Writer or similar software from the "Word Processing Document & Firmware" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert RSS, CSS, CGI, SITEMAP, PL, WEBMANIFEST, JSON, JS, XML, HTML, ICO or HTM files to SWX, try Apache OpenOffice Writer or another comparable tool in the "Word Processing Document & Firmware" 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 SWX converter.