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XML Paper Specification: Overview

The XML Paper Specification (XPS) provides users and developers with a robust, open and trustworthy format for electronic paper. The XML Paper Specification describes electronic paper in a way that can be read by hardware, read by software, and read by people. XPS documents print better, can be shared easier, are more secure and can be archived with confidence.

The XML Paper Specification itself is platform independent, openly published, and available royalty-free and Microsoft has integrated XPS-based technologies into Microsoft Windows Vista operating system and the 2007 Microsoft Office system. Microsoft brings additional document value to its customers, partners, and the computing industry through the XPS-based technologies.

Explore the features and functionality that the XML Paper Specification makes possible.

Get Started

Windows Vista makes it easy to get started with XPS documents. Windows Vista lets you generate XPS documents from any application by simply selecting the Microsoft XPS Document Writer as the printer when printing. In Windows Vista, you can double-click an XPS document to automatically open the document inside an XPS viewer.

You can also download the tools to provide these features and get started with XPS documents in earlier versions of Windows.

To learn more about the features of XPS: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/xps.mspx

Integrate XPS in Your Application

You can seamlessly integrate your application with enterprise-wide workflows by adding the ability to publish, import, and view XPS documents. .NET Framework 3.0 provides the APIs that enable you to add XPS-based publishing, importing, and viewing technologies to your Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application. Adding XPS-based technologies to your application gives your customers a print quality that was previously found only in high-end graphic arts applications because the Windows Vista print sub-system has been enhanced to recognize and process XPS documents.

XPS-based technologies support innovation and format consistency so you can build your application with features for the future while retaining the safety-net of backward compatibility. With this freedom you can decide how to add XPS-based technologies to your application.