What is a .abw file?
AbiWord Document · Document · AbiSource community · 1998
An .abw file is a document from AbiWord, the lightweight open-source word processor. The format is plain XML, so even without AbiWord the text inside is recoverable with any text editor.
What is a .abw file used for?
AbiWord was for years the go-to word processor for older or low-powered machines: small, fast and free. Its .abw format stores the document as readable XML; .zabw is the same thing gzip-compressed.
Development has slowed and Windows builds stopped being current long ago, so .abw today is mostly a legacy format. AbiWord on Linux still opens them, and LibreOffice Writer imports them for conversion to ODT or DOCX.
How to open a .abw file
The .abw format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see how to open a .abw file.
Windows
- LibreOffice Writer (import)
- any text editor (raw XML)
macOS
- LibreOffice Writer (import)
- any text editor (raw XML)
Linux
- AbiWord
- LibreOffice Writer (import)
How to convert a .abw file
You can convert a .abw file to odt, docx, rtf, txt using a conversion tool or the export menu of an app that opens it.
.abw file signature (magic bytes)
Programs recognise a .abw file by the bytes at the start of the file, not by its name. These are the signatures for AbiWord.
| Hex signature | Offset | Note |
|---|---|---|
| (no fixed signature) | 0 | XML text; no fixed magic bytes |
See the full magic-numbers reference for every format.
Frequently asked questions
What is a .abw file?
An .abw file is a document from AbiWord, the lightweight open-source word processor. The format is plain XML, so even without AbiWord the text inside is recoverable with any text editor.
How do I open an .abw file without AbiWord?
LibreOffice Writer imports .abw documents; open and save as ODT or DOCX. In a pinch, open the file in a text editor: the content is readable XML.
What is a .zabw file?
A gzip-compressed AbiWord document. Decompress it (it is a normal gzip stream) and you get the same XML an .abw file contains.
Is AbiWord still maintained?
Development continues slowly on Linux, but current Windows builds stopped years ago, so most people treat .abw as a format to convert out of.
Related formats
Sources
Details on this page were checked against authoritative references: