XPS File Format

Introduction of XPS File Extension

XPS stands for Open XML Paper Specification. It is a document file which contains fixed layout information written in the XPS page description language. Basically, XPS file is Microsoft’s attempt at the .pdf format. XPS file represents the layout, appearance and printing information for a document. These files are similar to PDF files but saved in Microsoft proprietary XPS format. It can be used to view, save, share, and protect the content. Using Windows program you can create an XPS file. XPS viewer is installed by default in Window-7,8 and Windows Vista. Windows-8 has better support for XPS than it does for PDF and XPS file has fixes layout.

MIME Type

• application/vnd.ms-xpsdocument
• application/oxps

Identifying Characters of XPS File Format

Hexadecimal: 50 4B 03 04, ASCII: PK

Create an XPS Document in Notepad or Wordpad

• Go to file menu and then click on print.
• From the dialog box select Microsoft XPS Document Writer and click on Print.
• Name the XPS document and click on Save.