Open XML Paper Specification (also referred to as OpenXPS) is an open specification for a

page description language In digital printing, a page description language (PDL) is a computer language that describes the appearance of a printed page in a higher level than an actual output bitmap (or generally raster graphics). An overlapping term is printer control ...

and a fixed-document format.

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

developed it as the XML Paper Specification (XPS). In June 2009,

Ecma International Ecma International () is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit standards organization for information and communication systems. It acquired its current name in 1994, when the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) changed its name to ...

adopted it as international standard ECMA-388. It is an

XML Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing data. It defines a set of rules for encoding electronic document, documents in a format that is both human-readable and Machine-r ...

-based (more precisely

XAML Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML ) is a declarative XML-based language developed by Microsoft for initializing structured values and objects. It is available under Microsoft's Open Specification Promise. XAML is used extensively i ...

-based) specification, based on a new print path (print processing data representation and data flow) and a color-managed vector document format that supports device independence and

resolution independence Resolution independence is where elements on a computer screen are rendered at sizes independent from the pixel grid, resulting in a graphical user interface that is displayed at a consistent physical size, regardless of the resolution of the sc ...

. In

Windows 8 Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012, made available for download via Microsoft ...

.xps was replaced with the ECMA standard .oxps format which is not natively supported in older Windows versions. OpenXPS was introduced by Microsoft as an alternative to

Portable Document Format Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating syste ...

(PDF). However, PDF remained the standard choice, and support for and user familiarity with XPS files is limited. It has been described as neglected technology, which may cause difficulties to recipients of documents in a format they are not familiar with.

Format

The XPS document format consists of structured XML markup that defines the layout of a document and the visual appearance of each page, along with rendering rules for distributing, archiving, rendering, processing and printing the documents. Notably, the markup language for XPS is a subset of

, allowing it to incorporate vector elements in documents. An XPS file is a ZIP archive using the Open Packaging Conventions, containing the files which make up the document. These include an XML markup file for each page, text, embedded fonts, raster images, 2D

vector graphics Vector graphics are a form of computer graphics in which visual images are created directly from geometric shapes defined on a Cartesian plane, such as points, lines, curves and polygons. The associated mechanisms may include vector displ ...

, as well as the

digital rights management Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures, such as access control technologies, can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. DRM ...

information. The contents of an XPS file can be examined by opening it in an application which supports ZIP files. There are two incompatible XPS formats available. The original document writer printed to .xps in

Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, ...

and

Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, released five years earlier, which was then the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft W ...

. Beginning with

, the document writer defaults to the .oxps format. Microsoft provides two free converters. XpsConverter converts documents between .xps and .oxps format, while OxpsConverter converts documents from .oxps to .xps format.

Features

XPS specifies a set of document layout functionality for paged, printable documents. It also has support for features such as

color gradient In color science, a color gradient (also known as a color ramp or a color progression) specifies a range of position-dependent colors, usually used to fill a region. In assigning colors to a set of values, a gradient is a continuous colormap, ...

transparencies A transparency, also known variously as a viewfoil or foil (from the French word "feuille" or sheet), or viewgraph, is a thin sheet of transparent flexible material, typically polyester (historically cellulose acetate), onto which figures can be ...

CMYK The CMYK color model (also known as process color, or four color) is a subtractive color model, based on the CMY color model, used in color printing, and is also used to describe the printing process itself. The abbreviation ''CMYK'' refers ...

color space A color space is a specific organization of colors. In combination with color profiling supported by various physical devices, it supports reproducible representations of colorwhether such representation entails an analog or a digital represe ...

s, printer calibration, multiple-ink systems and print schemas. XPS supports the

Windows Color System Windows Color System (WCS) is a platform for color management, first included with Windows Vista, that aims to achieve color consistency across various software and hardware, including cameras, monitors, printers and scanners. System Different de ...

color management Color management is the process of ensuring consistent and accurate colors across various devices, such as monitors, printers, and cameras. It involves the use of color profiles, which are standardized descriptions of how colors should be disp ...

technology for color conversion precision across devices and higher dynamic range. It includes a software raster image processor (RIP) (downloadable separately). The print subsystem supports named colors, simplifying color definition for images transmitted to printers supporting those colors. XPS supports

HD Photo JPEG XR (JPEG extended range) is an image compression standard for continuous tone photographic images, based on the HD Photo (formerly Windows Media Photo) specifications that Microsoft originally developed and patented. It supports both lossy ...

images natively for raster images. The XPS format used in the spool file represents advanced graphics effects such as 3D images, glow effects, and gradients as Windows Presentation Foundation primitives, which printer drivers could offload their

rasterization In computer graphics, rasterisation (British English) or rasterization (American English) is the task of taking an image described in a vector graphics format (shapes) and converting it into a raster image (a series of pixels, dots or lines, whic ...

to the printer in order to reduce computational load if the printer is capable of rasterizing those primitives.

Comparison with PDF

PDF Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, computer hardware, ...

, XPS is a page description language using fixed-layout document format designed to preserve document fidelity, providing device-independent document appearance. PDF uses Carousel Object Syntax (COS syntax) to form a random access database of objects that may be created from

PostScript PostScript (PS) is a page description language and dynamically typed, stack-based programming language. It is most commonly used in the electronic publishing and desktop publishing realm, but as a Turing complete programming language, it c ...

or generated directly from applications, whereas XPS is based on XML. Both formats are compressed, albeit using different methods. The filter

pipeline A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...

architecture of XPS is also similar to the one used in printers supporting the PostScript page description language. PDF includes dynamic capabilities purposely not supported by the XPS format. There are many resources for converting from XPS to PDF and some for converting from PDF to XPS. A method often suggested is to open an XPS file in a program with printing capability, and then "print" to a virtual PDF printer such as Microsoft Print to PDF, with a similar procedure to convert from PDF to XPS.

Viewing and creating XPS documents

and later supports both creating and viewing XPS. In addition, the printing architecture of Windows Vista uses XPS as the spooler format. Apps can create XPS documents by printing to XPS Document Writer, a virtual printer that comes bundled with Windows. These files open in XPS Viewer, an optional component that comes with Windows Vista and later. In Windows Vista, XPS is hosted within

Internet Explorer Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, commonly abbreviated as IE or MSIE) is a deprecation, retired series of graphical user interface, graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft that were u ...

, but in subsequent versions, it is a standalone app. Both versions support

and digital signatures.

also comes with an app called "Reader", which reads XPS and PDF files. The .NET Framework 3.0 installer for

Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct successor to Windows 2000 for high-end and business users a ...

also adds the IE-hosted XPS Viewer, as well as XPS Document Writer. Since then, Microsoft released the XPS Essentials Pack for Windows XP, Server 2003, and Vista, which includes the standalone viewer, an

IFilter An IFilter is a plugin that allows Microsoft's search engines to index various file formats (as documents, email attachments, database records, audio metadata etc.) so that they become searchable. Without an appropriate IFilter, contents of a fil ...

plug-in that helps Windows Desktop Search index the contents of XPS files, and another plug-in for

Windows Explorer File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application and default desktop environment that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user i ...

to help generate thumbnails for XPS files. Installing this pack enables

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

s prior to Windows Vista to use the XPS print spooler instead of the older

GDI GDI may refer to: Science and technology * Gasoline direct injection, a type of fuel injection * Graphics Device Interface, a component of Microsoft Windows * Guanosine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor, a protein Organisations * Gabriel Dumont I ...

-based spooler. The XPS print spooler can produce better quality prints for printers that directly consume the XPS format.

Third-party software

Hardware

XPS had the support of printing companies such as

Konica Minolta is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, with offices in 49 countries worldwide. The company manufactures business and industrial imaging products, in ...

, Sharp,

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Epson Seiko Epson Corporation, commonly known as Epson, is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa, Nagano, Japan, t ...

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...

, and

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduc ...

and software and hardware companies such as CSR (formerly Zoran), and Global Graphics. Native XPS printers were introduced by Canon, Konica Minolta,

Toshiba is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

, and Xerox. Devices at the ''Certified for Windows'' level of ''Windows Logo'' conformance certification were required to have XPS drivers for printing since 1 June 2007.

Licensing

Microsoft released XPS under a

royalty-free Royalty-free (RF) material subject to copyright or other intellectual property rights may be used without the need to pay royalties or license fees for each use, per each copy or volume sold or some time period of use or sales. Computer standards ...

patent license called the ''Community Promise for XPS'', allowing users to create implementations of the specification that read, write and render XPS files as long as they included a notice within the source that technologies implemented may be encumbered by patents held by Microsoft. Microsoft also required that organizations "engaged in the business of developing (i) scanners that output XPS Documents; (ii) printers that consume XPS Documents to produce hard-copy output; or (iii) print driver or raster image software products or components thereof that convert XPS Documents for the purpose of producing hard-copy output, ..will not sue Microsoft or any of its licensees under the XML Paper Specification or customers for infringement of any XML Paper Specification Derived Patents (as defined below) on account of any manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale, importation or other disposition or promotion of any XML Paper Specification implementations." The specification itself was released under a royalty-free copyright license, allowing its free distribution. On September 13, 2011,

Monotype Imaging Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc., founded as Lanston Monotype Machine Company in 1887 in Philadelphia by Tolbert Lanston, is an American (historically Anglo-American) company that specializes in digital typesetting and typeface design for use wit ...

announced it had licensed its XPS-to-PCL 6 and XPS-to-PostScript vector conversion filters to Microsoft for use in the next version of Windows.

History and standardization

In 2003, Global Graphics was chosen by

to provide consultancy and proof of concept development services on XPS and worked with the Windows development teams on the specification and reference architecture for the new format. Microsoft submitted the XPS specification to

. In June 2007 Ecma International Technical Committee 46 (TC46) was set up to develop a standard based on the Open XML Paper Specification (OpenXPS). At the 97th General Assembly held in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, June 16, 2009, Ecma International approved Open XML Paper Specification (OpenXPS) as an Ecma standard (ECMA-388). TC46's members included: *

Autodesk Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that provides software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquarte ...

Brother Industries is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational electronics and electrical equipment company headquartered in Nagoya, Japan. Its products include Printer (computing), printers, multifunction printers, desktop computers, consumer and indu ...

* CSR (formerly Zoran) *

Fujifilm , trading as , or simply Fuji, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the areas of photography, optics, Office supplies, office and Biomedical engine ...

* Fujitsu * Global Graphics *

* Lexmark *

* Océ Technologies * Panasonic (formerly Matsushita) *

Ricoh is a Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company. It was founded by the now-defunct commercial division of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) known as the ''Riken Concern'', on 6 February 1936 as . Ricoh's hea ...

Malware vulnerability

XPS files can be infected with malware.

References

External links

XML Paper Specification Version 1.0 (via Internet Archive; from 2006-11-17)

Microsoft XPS Development Team Blog

View and Generate XPS Documents (via Internet Archive; from 2006-12-05)

View and Generate XPS Documents (via Internet Archive; from 2009-12-14)

Open XML Paper Specification

Document management — Portable document format — Part 1: PDF 1.7

Document management — Portable document format — Part 2: PDF 2.0 {{Windows Components Computer printers Digital press Document-centric XML-based standards Ecma standards Office document file formats Page description markup languages XML XML-based standards Open formats