Convert SXW to FB2
Max file size 100mb.
SXW vs FB2 Format Comparison
| Aspect | SXW (Source Format) | FB2 (Target Format) |
|---|---|---|
| Format Overview |
SXW
StarOffice/OpenOffice.org Writer Document
SXW is a legacy word processing document format used by StarOffice and early versions of OpenOffice.org Writer. It is a ZIP archive containing XML files (content.xml, styles.xml, meta.xml) that define the document structure, formatting, and metadata. SXW was the predecessor to the modern ODT format and can still be opened by LibreOffice and OpenOffice. Legacy Format ZIP/XML-Based |
FB2
FictionBook 2.0
FB2 (FictionBook) is an XML-based ebook format that stores the entire book structure, content, metadata, and images in a single XML file. Developed in Russia, it is extremely popular in Russian-speaking countries and CIS nations. FB2 focuses on semantic structure, separating content from presentation, and supports rich bibliographic metadata. Ebook Format XML-Based |
| Technical Specifications |
Structure: ZIP archive containing XML files (content.xml, styles.xml, meta.xml)
Developed By: Sun Microsystems (StarOffice/OpenOffice.org) MIME Type: application/vnd.sun.xml.writer Extension: .sxw Based On: OpenOffice.org XML format (pre-ODF) |
Structure: Single XML file with embedded Base64 images
Developed By: Dmitry Gribov (Russia) MIME Type: application/x-fictionbook+xml Schema: FictionBook 2.0 XML Schema Extension: .fb2 |
| Syntax Examples |
SXW documents contain XML content within a ZIP archive: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<office:document-content>
<office:body>
<office:text>
<text:h text:style-name="Heading_1">
Chapter One
</text:h>
<text:p>The story begins here.</text:p>
</office:text>
</office:body>
</office:document-content>
|
FB2 uses semantic XML elements for ebook structure: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<FictionBook xmlns="http://www.gribuser.ru/xml/
fictionbook/2.0">
<description>
<title-info>
<book-title>My Book</book-title>
<author><first-name>John</first-name>
<last-name>Doe</last-name></author>
</title-info>
</description>
<body>
<section>
<title><p>Chapter One</p></title>
<p>The story begins here.</p>
</section>
</body>
</FictionBook>
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| Version History |
Introduced: 2002 with StarOffice 6.0 / OpenOffice.org 1.0
Developer: Sun Microsystems Superseded By: ODT (ODF 1.0, 2005) Status: Legacy format, read-only support in modern software |
FB2 1.0: 2004 (initial release)
FB2 2.0: 2006 (current stable version) FB3: In development (ZIP-based, extended features) Status: Stable, widely used in Russian ebook ecosystem |
| Software Support |
Office Suites: LibreOffice, Apache OpenOffice
Converters: Pandoc (reads as ODT), unoconv Legacy: StarOffice 6.0+, OpenOffice.org 1.x-2.x Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux |
Readers: FBReader, CoolReader, Moon+ Reader
Editors: FB Editor, Fiction Book Editor Converters: Calibre, fb2converter, Pandoc Libraries: Litres, Flibusta, Lib.rus.ec |
Why Convert SXW to FB2?
Converting SXW to FB2 transforms legacy StarOffice/OpenOffice.org Writer documents into the FictionBook ebook format, which is extremely popular in Russian-speaking countries and the CIS region. If you need to distribute or archive documents as ebooks for readers using FBReader, CoolReader, or other FB2-compatible applications, this conversion is essential.
FB2's single-file XML structure makes it an excellent archival format. Unlike SXW's ZIP-based structure, an FB2 file is a single XML document that includes all content, metadata, and even images (Base64-encoded). This makes FB2 files easy to manage, catalog, and search through with standard XML tools.
The FB2 format excels at rich bibliographic metadata. When converting from SXW, the converter can populate FB2's detailed metadata fields including title, author information, genre classification, annotation, and publishing details. This makes the converted ebooks easy to organize and discover in digital libraries.
The conversion process reads the SXW ZIP archive, extracts document content and structure from content.xml, and maps it to FB2's semantic XML elements. Headings become section titles, paragraphs are preserved as FB2 paragraph elements, and any embedded images are Base64-encoded within the FB2 XML structure.
Key Benefits of Converting SXW to FB2:
- Popular Format: Widely used in Russian-speaking ebook ecosystem
- Rich Metadata: Detailed author, genre, and bibliographic information
- Single File: All content and images in one XML file
- Easy Cataloging: XML structure enables automated library management
- Reader Compatible: Works with FBReader, CoolReader, and Moon+ Reader
- Compact Size: Efficient for text-heavy ebooks
Practical Examples
Example 1: Novel Conversion
Input SXW file (novel.sxw):
A novel manuscript from StarOffice Writer with chapter headings, prose paragraphs, and author information.
Output FB2 file (novel.fb2):
<FictionBook xmlns="http://www.gribuser.ru/xml/fictionbook/2.0">
<description>
<title-info>
<book-title>The Journey Home</book-title>
<author>
<first-name>Maria</first-name>
<last-name>Ivanova</last-name>
</author>
<annotation><p>A compelling story...</p></annotation>
</title-info>
</description>
<body>
<section>
<title><p>Chapter One</p></title>
<p>The morning sun rose over the village...</p>
</section>
</body>
</FictionBook>
Example 2: Short Story Collection
Input SXW file (stories.sxw):
A collection of short stories from OpenOffice.org Writer, each with its own heading and author attribution.
Output FB2 file (stories.fb2):
An FB2 ebook with each story as a separate section, proper title tags, and rich metadata describing the collection. The file can be read on any FB2-compatible reader and added to digital library catalogs with full metadata indexing.
Example 3: Educational Material
Input SXW file (textbook.sxw):
An educational textbook from StarOffice with chapters, bullet-point summaries, and key terminology sections.
Output FB2 file (textbook.fb2):
A structured FB2 ebook with chapters as sections, emphasis tags for key terms, and a table of contents generated from the section titles. The compact XML format makes it easy to distribute to students via mobile reading applications.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is the FB2 format?
A: FB2 (FictionBook 2.0) is an XML-based ebook format developed in Russia. It stores the entire book including content, structure, metadata, and images in a single XML file. FB2 is the most popular ebook format in Russian-speaking countries and is supported by readers like FBReader, CoolReader, and Moon+ Reader.
Q: Can I read FB2 files outside of Russia?
A: Yes, FB2 readers are available worldwide. FBReader is available on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux. CoolReader and Moon+ Reader are also popular cross-platform options. Additionally, Calibre can convert FB2 to EPUB or other formats for use with any e-reader.
Q: Does FB2 support tables from SXW documents?
A: No, the FB2 format does not have native table support. Tables from SXW documents are converted to formatted text representations. If preserving table structure is important, consider converting to EPUB or HTML instead.
Q: How are images handled in FB2?
A: Images embedded in the SXW document are extracted and encoded as Base64 data within the FB2 XML file. This means the FB2 file is completely self-contained with no external image dependencies. The trade-off is that Base64 encoding increases the data size of images by about 33%.
Q: Can I convert the FB2 output to other ebook formats?
A: Yes, Calibre can convert FB2 to EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, PDF, and many other formats. FB2's structured XML makes it an excellent intermediate format for ebook format conversions.
Q: What metadata is included in the FB2 output?
A: The converter populates FB2 metadata fields including book title, author name, annotation (description), and document information. You can edit the metadata after conversion using an FB2 editor or Calibre's metadata editor to add genre, keywords, and publishing details.
Q: Is FB2 being replaced by FB3?
A: FB3 has been in development for several years but has not yet achieved widespread adoption. FB2 remains the dominant FictionBook format with extensive reader and library support. FB3 introduces a ZIP-based structure similar to EPUB but maintains FB2's focus on structured metadata.
Q: How large are FB2 files compared to SXW?
A: For text-heavy documents without many images, FB2 files are similar in size to SXW since both are XML-based. However, since FB2 uses Base64-encoded images in a single XML file (not ZIP-compressed), image-heavy documents will be larger in FB2 format.