CleanorLabs
Support
Reference

XPS / OXPS

XPS (XML Paper Specification) is Microsoft’s fixed-layout document format, created as a Windows alternative to PDF. OXPS is the newer OpenXPS variant. Both preserve a page exactly as designed, but PDF is far more widely supported.

Files & formatsWindowsGeneral

XPS / OXPS

Also known as: .xps file, .oxps file, XML Paper Specification

XPS (XML Paper Specification) is Microsoft’s fixed-layout document format, created as a Windows alternative to PDF. OXPS is the newer OpenXPS variant. Both preserve a page exactly as designed, but PDF is far more widely supported.

  • Microsoft’s fixed-layout PDF alternative
  • OXPS is the newer OpenXPS variant
  • Limited support outside Windows; convert to PDF

What XPS is

XPS is a fixed-layout format: like PDF, it locks a document’s pages, fonts, and graphics so they print and display the same everywhere. Microsoft introduced it with Windows Vista as its own answer to PDF.

OXPS (OpenXPS) is the standardized, updated version used by newer Windows tools. Windows can create XPS or OXPS files through the built-in Microsoft XPS Document Writer print option.

Opening and converting XPS

Windows historically included an XPS Viewer, though it is now an optional component on recent versions. Outside Windows, support is limited, so XPS never matched PDF’s reach.

Because almost every device opens PDF, the practical move is to convert XPS or OXPS to PDF for sharing — typically by opening the file and using Print > Save as PDF.

Related terms

Keep reading the reference.

Files & formatsPDFPDF (Portable Document Format) is a fixed-layout document format that looks the same on any device. Most PDFs are small, but scanned documents and image-heavy files can grow large, and they accumulate quietly in Downloads and the Files app.GeneralFiles & formatsDjVuDjVu is a file format built for storing scanned documents — books, manuscripts, and archives — at small sizes. It separates page text from background images so high-resolution scans compress far smaller than the equivalent PDF.GeneralFiles & formatsDOCX (Word)DOCX is the default file format for Microsoft Word documents since Word 2007. It is a ZIP package of compressed XML, so a text-heavy document stays small — but embedded photos and fonts are what actually inflate the file size.GeneralFiles & formatsSearchable PDFA searchable PDF is a scanned document that has a hidden, selectable text layer added by OCR (optical character recognition) beneath the page image. You see the original scan, but you can search, select, and copy the recognized text — unlike a plain image-only scan.General