XPS File: What Is It and How to Open?

By Tata Rossi 15 days ago, File Formats

xps file logo
An XPS format file represents a document with clearly defined page layout data encoded using XPS page description language. Inside, you’ll find information on the file’s layout, visual design, and printing data. XPS documents somewhat resemble PDFs, but have Microsoft’s first-party XPS extension.

How to Open?

Advanced: Adobe Acrobat, TunesBro (Mac)

Free: muPDF, Nitro Reader, Google Drive, Google Docs, XPS Viewer (Windows), STDU Viewer (Windows)

Online: Xodo

How to Convert?

Desktop: MiniTool PDF Editor, Able2Extract, XPS Viewer

Online: Adobe Acrobat Online, xpstopdf.com, Zamzar

What Is the XPS File Format?

what is xps file

Often referred to as OpenXPS or OXPS, the XPS file format is short for XML Paper Specification (or Open XML Paper Specification). This file type is used for saving documents containing pages with prefixed page layouts. Regardless of what software you use to open the XPS file format, the document will preserve its format.

If that resembles another format you know, you’re not wrong. XPS serves the same purpose as Portable Document Files, which we refer to as PDFs. Moreover, XPS was created because Microsoft wanted to compete against Adobe’s popular format. Even though Microsoft is exceedingly popular, PDF remains the industry standard format for documents.

Pros
  • Fixed layout
  • Allows adding annotations
  • Highly efficient compression
Cons
  • Small range of editing functionality
  • Less supported than PDF
  • Unknown to many users

What Is an XPS File Used For:

XPS format provides a convenient method for creating, saving, sharing, and printing documents. Here are its most popular applications:

Making digital documents. XPS lets you make a wide range of digital files, which can be work, leisure, or education-related.

Sharing documents digitally. XPS documents are very convenient to share, and all you need to view them is XPS Viewer.

Saving digital documents. By exporting a document in XPS, you can ensure its formatting is fully preserved.

Printing digital documents. XPS files are created to deliver optimized printing parameters, which come in handy whenever you want to print a hard copy of a document or share it with a user who can’t access a printer.

How To Open an XPS File

how to open xps file

Since this format never became as popular as PDF, learning how to open an XPS file as if it's in PDF format can be a difficult task.

Professional Alternatives

  • Adobe Acrobat Reader is a popular PDF editor that is also compatible with XPS files. It comes with a variety of features that provide an optimal XPS viewing experience. Acrobat Reader is pleasantly intuitive and offers convenient navigation. Meanwhile, the provided annotation and markup tools are well-developed and simplify the process of commenting on, highlighting, and stamping XPS documents.

Compatible platforms: Windows, macOS

Pricing: Free

  • TunesBro XPS Reader is a lightweight and straightforward Mac XPS file format viewer and PDF editor for Mac computers that delivers great performance and intuitive controls while being compatible with a long list of other formats as well. It allows you to bookmark and annotate your documents for your convenience, while the zoom and rotate tools make it easier to read and interact with XPS files, enabling you to examine their contents as you see fit.

Compatible platforms: macOS

Pricing: Upon request

Free Alternatives

  • MuPDF is a simplistic and open-source XPS viewer that offers great speed and intuitive functionality. It has a straightforward UI that focuses on providing only essential viewing tools. This solution is compatible with XPS documents along with other popular formats such as PDF and EPUB. Even though it lacks any advanced tools, the user-friendliness and performance of MuPDF make it the perfect option for anyone interested in a simple document viewer.

Compatible platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux

Pricing: Free

  • Nitro Reader is a robust free PDF reader that can also open XPS documents. It has an expansive feature set for opening and annotating XPS documents. It’s also known for its minimalist UI and beginner-friendly layout and tools.

Compatible platforms: Windows, macOS

Pricing: Free

  • Microsoft XPS Viewer. You can find this solution installed on most Windows computers by default, which makes it rather easy to open XPS documents. It has a very basic UI and viewing tools. Sadly, it doesn’t allow you to annotate, edit, or convert XPS files, so it’s only a good option if you simply want to view your documents without performing any manipulations.

Compatible platforms: Windows

Pricing: Free

Online Alternatives

  • Xodo sports a minimalist and user-friendly UI packed with a diverse selection of annotation and markup features. It also provides collaborative functionality, representing a great option for team projects. You can access Xodo on most popular desktop, mobile, and web platforms to open XPS documents on any device you want.

Compatible platforms: Web, iOS, Android

Pricing: Free plan, from $9.99/month

How to Convert an XPS File?

how to convert xps file

Most software that is compatible with XPS documents lets you convert them into PDFs.

Windows XPS Viewer has a “print to PDF” feature, which can conveniently tackle all basic XPS to PDF conversions. You simply need to do the following:

  1. Once you’ve opened the Windows XPS Viewer, press File and choose Print from the appeared menu.
  2. Pick Microsoft Print to PDF from the options list.
  3. Click on Print.
  4. Choose the required destination for the created PDF.

Alternatively, you can view an XPS file in Google Drive and then export it in PDF format:

  1. Import your XPS document into Google Drive by pressing New > File Upload and choosing the needed file.
  2. Press Print.
  3. Choose Save as PDF.
  4. Determine the required destination for storing the newly made PDF.

Another way to convert the Microsoft XPS file format to PDF is to use one of the available web-based tools. I like to employ Adobe Acrobat Online, as it offers a user-friendly interface and a long range of formats to pick from. Alternatively, consider checking out Zamzar or xpstopdf.com.

If you’d like to have file converter software installed on your device, you can pick between Able2Extract, Cisdem PDF Converter, and MiniTool PDF Editor.

XPS vs PDF

PDF and XPS formats have a similar purpose, enabling you to store documents with fixed formatting to avoid page layout problems when printing or sharing files with other users. Both file types can be easily converted, viewed, annotated, printed, and e-signed.

The key distinction between the two lies in their editing support. You can conveniently edit PDF files in Adobe Acrobat Pro, while XPS files can’t be similarly adjusted using Microsoft’s proprietary software, forcing you to edit them in a different format.

Even though both formats are great at preserving formatting integrity, PDF is a lot more popular, making it more suitable for collaborating with other users. Whenever someone who doesn’t know what the XPS file format is encounters it, they often have security concerns, struggle to view it, and ask you to provide the document in PDF instead.

Characteristic XPS PDF

Developed by

Microsoft

Adobe

Main purpose

Viewing and printing files in high-quality and consistent formatting Viewing and editing documents on all types of devices

Easy to edit

✔️

Content compatibility

Text, pictures, illustrations

Text, pictures, multimedia, forms

Support for forms

✔️

Compression

ZIP compression

Varies (lossless and lossy methods)

Popularity

✔️

Availability

Integrated Windows, not as popular on other platforms

Widely used on all platforms

XPS File: FAQ

  • • What are the advantages of the Microsoft XPS file format?

XPS makes it simple to create, share, print, and store digital documents as long as you own appropriate software. Additionally, you can conveniently convert such documents to other file types, like PDF, which is essential if you want to edit them in Adobe Acrobat.

  • • Are XPS documents compatible with earlier Windows editions?

No, Windows 7 and all prior versions are incompatible with XPS files.

  • • What is the best substitution for the XPS format?

Microsoft has been gradually abandoning the XPS file type and moving onto OXPS, but PDF is still more popular and is supported by a wider range of platforms and applications.

  • • How are PDFs different from XPS documents?

Even though both formats are perfect for printing and sharing, XPS is supported by a significantly smaller range of platforms and software. Another drawback of Microsoft's proprietary format is that it can't be edited, meaning you need to convert it to a different file type before making any changes.

  • • Is Adobe Acrobat compatible with XPS documents?

No, XPS files can't be viewed in Adobe Acrobat. Thankfully, you can convert an XPS document to a format that is compatible with Adobe Acrobat, like PDF. This way, you'll be able to view and edit your file while enjoying all the benefits of Adobe's industry-leading format.

  • • Is XPS identical to DOCX?

No, they are very different formats despite being created by the same company – Microsoft. DOCX is used for files made in Microsoft Word. It's also perfect for viewing, writing, and formatting documents in Microsoft Word and other software, while XPS files are Windows-exclusive.

  • • Does Word allow viewing XPS documents?

XPS documents have fixed formatting, meaning they can't be edited in a text editing application like Microsoft Word. Thankfully, there's an array of third-party free PDF to Word converters that can also be used for converting XPS documents to the desired format.

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