FB2 → TXT
Converting a novel from FictionBook (.fb2) to Plain text (.txt) is a routine step in practice — a TXT file is plain text, opens in far more software, and is smaller. Going from FictionBook to Plain text does raise extra questions worth thinking about: you lose every illustration, cover and diagram; metadata such as title, author and language. Below we explain in detail how FictionBook becomes Plain text and what to watch out for, and the page ends with a converter that does the job right in your browser — nothing is uploaded, the file never leaves your machine.
What is FB2?
FB2 (FictionBook) is an open e-book format based on XML. Text, metadata and illustrations all live in a single file, with images embedded as Base64, so one file distributes completely and you never end up with the text present but the images missing. Its structure is simpler than EPUB and therefore easier for readers to implement, and it is most popular in Russian-speaking regions. The drawback is that it supports almost no complex CSS, so it suits text-plus-illustration books rather than titles that depend on fine layout. Read the FB2 format guide
| Extensions | .fb2 |
|---|---|
| Typical use | Russian-language e-books; single-file distribution where embedded illustrations and full metadata matter. |
What is TXT?
TXT is plain text: nothing but characters and line breaks, with no presentation information at all. That makes it the smallest and most compatible option — from the most basic feature phone to any operating system, there is almost no software that cannot open it. Most Chinese web novels circulate as TXT, and it is the easiest format to copy, search, batch-process and convert further. The cost is that it stores no images, colours, tables or table of contents, and there is nowhere to keep the title and author, so it behaves more like a clean body of text than a complete book. Read the TXT format guide
| Extensions | .txt |
|---|---|
| Typical use | Chinese web novels, logs, and any text-only content that needs maximum compatibility. |
How to convert FB2 to TXT
FB2 is a single XML file with Base64-embedded images. Parsing must handle the XML namespace and <binary> nodes; ignoring them silently drops every image. Base64 also makes the file roughly a third larger than an equivalent EPUB.
Because TXT stores characters only, every font, size, colour, table, footnote and hyperlink is gone, and headings degrade to ordinary lines. You must also choose an encoding (UTF-8 for Chinese, GBK if targeting older devices).
Illustrations, covers and diagrams inside FB2 files are images, and the TXT format stores none, so they are all lost. A comic FB2, for example, keeps everything in pictures — converting it to TXT throws away most of the content.
Metadata in the FB2 source — title, author, publisher, language, table of contents, cover — has nowhere to live in the target, so converting to TXT loses all of it.
If you still want chapter navigation inside the TXT file, a novel reader such as Tide Reader can split it automatically by recognising explicit chapter-heading lines in the text.
Convert FB2 to TXT
FB2 → TXT
The conversion runs entirely in your browser — your file is never uploaded.
A novel reader that syncs your progress across every platform
Tide Reader opens TXT and EPUB, detects chapters on import, lays the text out the way you like it, and syncs your reading position across Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. Drop the converted file in and start reading.
Download Tide ReaderTXT and EPUB; local-first reading, with optional cloud sync and WebDAV.