XPS documents
This feature is included in the following editions of Windows Vista:
An XPS document is a new Microsoft document format that you can use to archive content in a standardized format or publish content in an easily viewable form. You can also use this format to ensure that no one is able to edit your original work.
Download the XPS Viewer for Windows XP
XPS document creation
With Windows Vista or Microsoft .NET 3.0 installed on Windows XP, you can easily create XPS documents from virtually any application using the Microsoft XPS Document Writer.
XPS Document Writer
Whether you are working with documents in Microsoft Word, photos in Microsoft Paint, or a web order form being viewed in Internet Explorer, if the application has the ability to print, then the Microsoft XPS Document Writer will be available through the Print dialog of the application.
Use the XPS Document Writer from any application to publish content as an XPS document.
After you have created your XPS document, you can use Windows Vista to add "tags"—custom keywords—to your document to make it even easier to find. Windows Vista also has all the necessary components to index XPS documents, so you can instantly find your XPS documents by filename, author, or even by text contained within the document itself.
Creating XPS documents in the 2007 Microsoft Office system
With a free download, you can also "Save as XPS" directly from the following 2007 Microsoft Office system programs: Access, Excel, InfoPath, OneNote, PowerPoint, Publisher, Visio, and Word. Rather than going through the print menu, you can just use the "File | Save As" option to create an XPS version of your document, presentation, or spreadsheet directly from the authoring application.
From the 2007 release, you can save as or publish directly to XPS.
XPS document viewing
The XPS Viewer is installed by default in Windows Vista, so you can quickly and easily open a document created with the XPS document format. The viewer is hosted within Internet Explorer 7. This Internet Explorer-hosted viewer is also available to Windows XP users when they download the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0. For Windows XP users who only wish to view or create XPS documents, and thus do not need the full .NET Framework, they can download the smaller XPS Essentials Pack.