How to Open, View or Create XPS Documents in Windows XP and Windows 2003
XPS (XML Paper Specification) which previously codenamed “Metro”, is a document storage and viewing specification developed by Microsoft which defined formats and rules for distributing, archiving, rendering, and processing XPS documents. XPS format intends to compete with Adobe PDF format as both is displaying paginated, fixed-layout format electronic paper documents in page-by-page view of the document’s content as it would be printed. Windows Vista has built-in integrated Microsoft XPS Document Writer and XPS Document Writer, and if you’re using Microsoft Office 2007, there is Save as XPS plugin that allows users to create XPS files within Office application. However, if you’re using Windows XP or Windows 2003, you to download and install the free XPS Viewer and XPS Writer.
In Windows XP and Windows 2003, to add in the capability to open to view and create XPS documents, you can either download Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 or Microsoft XPS Essentials Pack. XPS document viewing and generation capabilities are included in Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0. With .NET Framework 3.0, the XPS files will open within Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher.
Meanwhile Microsoft XPS Essentials Pack contains the XML Paper Specification (XPS) Viewer to read and index XPS Documents, and the Microsoft XPS Document Writer to output files to the XPS Document format, plus providers to enable the iPreview and iFilter capabilities found in many Windows applications. Windows shell handlers are also included to enable thumbnail views and file properties for XPS Documents. When you select this Essentials Pack option, XPS documents will open in standalone viewer.
Microsoft XPS Document Writer is a print-to-file converter that allows you to create or generate a XPS documents from virtually any Windows applications by printing a file, page, webpage, documents, text and etc to the XPS Document Writer as how you print to a printer. It comes by default with both download package.
Other than Windows XP and Windows 2003 with latest service pack, Windows 2000 with latest service pack is also supported by Microsoft XPS Essential Pack 1.0 to enable the viewing and creation ability of XPS documents. Beside, Microsoft XPS Document Writer requires Microsoft Core XML Services 6.0 (if you download .NET 3.0 Framework, this is not needed) to be installed on your system and Windows Media Photo support in the Microsoft Essentials Viewer requires that the Windows Imaging Codecs update package be installed on your system, which is part of .NET Framework 3.0.
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Entries (RSS)
October 25th, 2009 17:56
I think the best XPS Viewer for now is XPS Annotator. XPS Viewer for XP or Vista is not satisfactory even XPS Viewer EP.
September 6th, 2009 10:06
“Olav, thanks for posting. It is working in IE browser!!!”
Hmmm … M$ proprietary format (XPS) for M$ proprietary applications (M$ Office) can only be opened by M$ proprietary viewer (XPSViewer) when using M$ proprietary browser (IE). Okay. What is the question? Seems pretty normal to me. Why would anyone expect this to work from Firefox or any other non-M$ browser? Did something freeze over when I wasn’t looking??
August 7th, 2009 15:08
[...] collected fr0m http://www.mydigitallife.info. thanks to mydigitallife [...]
April 26th, 2009 00:20
Olav, thanks for posting. It is working in IE browser!!!
Thank you!!!
January 21st, 2009 01:54
Olav, your solution worked for me, “once I selected Internet Explorer to open it with, the saved file was readable”….
Thank You very much….CHeeeeeeeeeeeers..
Sasank
December 27th, 2008 06:24
It still wasn’t obvious to me how to open the .xps document once I’d saved it with Vista. My primary browser is Firefox, and it wouldn’t open there. But once I selected Internet Explorer to open it with, the saved file was readable. Hope this helps someone.
June 9th, 2008 12:31
[...] How to Open, View or Create XPS Documents in Windows XP and Windows 2003
November 7th, 2007 21:59
It Helps A lot, SM.
October 23rd, 2007 20:09
This is the link for the XPS Essential Pack
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b8dcffdd-e3a5-44cc-8021-7649fd37ffee&DisplayLang=en
October 14th, 2007 00:17
dejar de hablar asi. ser comico.
ja ja ja ja
ademas, no entender para que servir convertir xps a xml.
ademas, tu ser care tonto, ser care wea. ja ja ja
ser weonados mermelá’s
September 3rd, 2007 00:32
Any other XPS viewer other than the XPS viewer from MS.
March 15th, 2007 19:26
how to convert the xaml into xps
March 5th, 2007 14:49
Hello,
I want to convert the xaml window into the xps format.
Help me plz…
Thank in advance
Senthil.