How to open .SXW files on Linux
To open .SXW files on Linux, if your desktop environment supports it, double-click the .sxw file; otherwise use your file manager’s Open With option and select a compatible Writer application.
Step-by-step instructions
- If your desktop environment supports it, double-click the .sxw file; otherwise use your file manager’s Open With option and select a compatible Writer application.
- If it doesn’t open, start the Writer app directly and use File → Open to select the .sxw file.
- Save As .odt to avoid future compatibility problems.
Common issues
The .sxw file won’t open or shows an “unknown format” error
This usually happens when the app you’re using doesn’t support the older OpenOffice.org 1.x Writer format.
- Open the file using a suite known to support OpenOffice.org 1.x text documents (Apache OpenOffice Writer is commonly used for this).
- If it opens, immediately Save As to a newer format like .odt to prevent future compatibility issues.
Layout or fonts look different after opening
Older documents may rely on fonts or formatting behavior that isn’t available or identical on your current system/application.
- Try opening the file in a compatible Writer app and check font substitutions in the document.
- If exact appearance matters, export/print to a fixed layout format after opening, or keep the file in a modern editable format after verifying the layout.
File opens but parts of the document are missing or corrupted
The file may be incomplete (bad download/copy) or damaged, and older formats can be less forgiving with corruption.
- Re-copy or re-download the .sxw from the original source and try again.
- Try opening the file on another machine with a compatible Writer application to rule out a local installation issue.
Security note
.sxw is a legacy office document format; open files from untrusted sources cautiously because document parsers can have vulnerabilities, especially with older formats.