XPS for End Users

Document Experience

In Windows Vista, you can easily create a document in a paginated, fixed-layout format. An XML Paper Specification (XPS) Document is a page-by-page view of the document's content as it would be printed. In other words, it turns on-screen content into true electronic paper.

The XPS Document Viewer comes with Windows Vista and is also available for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. The XPS Document Viewer allows you to open and read XPS Documents without using the original authoring application. You can also use the XPS Document Viewer to view and apply digital signatures to XPS Documents. The XPS Document Viewer is a Windows Rights Management Services (RMS)-enabled application so that any XPS Document protected with Windows RMS can be authenticated by the viewer.

2007 Microsoft Office system applications can create XPS Documents from within the application, making it very simple to create XPS Documents from applications you are already used to using. The Microsoft XPS Document Writer can also be used by any Windows-compatible application to easily create an XPS Document. The Microsoft XPS Document Writer is a print-to-file converter that creates XPS Document files.

Document Printing

Windows Vista improves the capabilities of the underlying print subsystem using the XPS Document format. Windows Vista works with XPS-capable printers to provide a truly next-generation printing experience for users. XPS Documents and the Windows Vista print subsystem address issues such as print fidelity and accuracy, the size required for rich color effects, and the speed that complex files can be printed.

The improvements to printing and documents found in Windows Vista address the following trends:

• Older dot matrix technology has been replaced by sophisticated ink jet and laser printers that offer full color output in a matter of seconds.

• A color laser printer that once cost thousands of dollars costs only a few hundred dollars today and offers considerably greater performance. As a result, color is being used more in day-to-day printing.

• Users are adding richness to their documents with more sophisticated graphic effects such as gradients and transparency.

• Users, today, demand greater color fidelity for vibrant, more life-like images; whether it is for an important sales presentation or simply printing the pictures from the family's vacation.

Windows Vista printing and XPS Documents address these requirements for today while providing the ability to support new features and printers in the future.