What is an XPS file?
XPS stands for XML Paper Specification. It was created by Microsoft and first released in 2006. XPS is Microsoft's fixed-layout page format, a ZIP of XML pages, fonts and images, meant as an alternative to PDF. Windows printed to it through the Microsoft XPS Document Writer, but it never caught on, and since 2018 Windows no longer installs its viewer by default.
| Type | document |
|---|---|
| Compression | Lossless |
| Colour | any colour, pages of text, vector shapes and images |
| In a browser | does not open in browsers; the XPS Viewer, an optional Windows feature, opens it |
| Common uses | documents printed with the Microsoft XPS Document Writer |
| MIME type | application/vnd.ms-xpsdocument |
Which format should you convert XPS to?
- XPS to JPG to share a page as a photo.
- XPS to PNG to keep text on a page sharp.
- XPS to TIFF for print and archive workflows.
XPS is lossless, so converting it to a lossy format is where the file gets much smaller.
How to open an XPS file
An XPS file does not open in a web browser, and only some devices have a program for it. Here is what works on each. If none of these is to hand, converting the file to PNG here is the quickest way to see what is inside it.
| Windows | The XPS Viewer opens it once added under Settings, Apps, Optional features; SumatraPDF (free) opens it too. |
|---|---|
| Mac | macOS has no XPS viewer. Convert it to PDF here to view it. |
| iPhone and iPad | iPhone and iPad have no XPS viewer. Convert it to PDF here to view it. |
| Android | Android has no XPS viewer. Convert it to PDF here to view it. |
Want the technical details? See what a .xps file is, with its MIME type, file signature and a viewer.
XPS compared with other document and image formats
How XPS stacks up against the formats people most often convert it to or from:
| Format | Compression | Transparency | Released | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XPS | Lossless | No | 2006 | documents printed with the Microsoft XPS Document Writer |
| Either | No | 1993 | documents, forms, invoices and print-ready files | |
| JPG | Lossy | No | 1992 | camera photos, web images and email attachments |
| PNG | Lossless | Yes | 1996 | screenshots, logos, diagrams and anything with transparency |
How to use the XPS converter
- Choose the format you want in the Convert to menu.
- Drop your XPS files on the box, or press Choose XPS files. Several files can go in at once.
- Adjust the settings if you need to; the defaults suit most people.
- Press Convert and save each file with its Download button. The file is converted on our server and deleted as soon as the result is sent back.
Tips for converting XPS files without losing quality
XPS is lossless, so it is a good source for any conversion. Converting it to a lossy format is where the file gets much smaller, and converting it to another lossless format keeps every pixel.
- Convert to PDF to keep every page as text and vectors; it opens on every device.
- Choose images only when a page must be a picture: PNG for text, JPG for photos.
- Several pages made into images come back as one ZIP with an image per page.
- The server accepts files up to 25 MB and converts at most the first 100 pages to images.
Convert XPS files from the command line
MuPDF and Ghostscript do the same on your own computer:
mutool convert -F pdf -o page.pdf input.xps
gs -dSAFER -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=eps2write -dFirstPage=1 -dLastPage=1 -sOutputFile=output.eps page.pdfConverting on your own computer keeps the file entirely local, which is worth it for very large or very sensitive documents. For everything else, the converter on this page does it without installing anything.
XPS converter FAQ
What is an XPS file?
XPS stands for XML Paper Specification, a document format created by Microsoft in 2006. XPS is Microsoft's fixed-layout page format, a ZIP of XML pages, fonts and images, meant as an alternative to PDF. Windows printed to it through the Microsoft XPS Document Writer, but it never caught on, and since 2018 Windows no longer installs its viewer by default.
How do I open an XPS file?
XPS does not open in browsers; the XPS Viewer, an optional Windows feature, opens it. If the program you need will not open it, convert it to a more widely supported format above.
What is the most common XPS conversion?
XPS to EPS is the conversion people search for most. The XPS is converted to PDF by MuPDF, and Ghostscript, the standard PostScript interpreter, writes the first page as an EPS on our conversion server.
Does converting XPS files here upload them?
Yes. XPS conversions need MuPDF, Ghostscript and ImageMagick, open-source programs that cannot run in a browser, so they run on our conversion server. The file is uploaded, converted, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result has been sent back to you. Nothing is kept.
Is the XPS converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no watermark. Conversions that use our server accept files up to 25 MB, with a fair-use limit per hour. The site is supported by advertising.
Can I convert XPS files on iPhone or Android?
Yes. Open this page in Safari on iPhone and iPad, or in Chrome on Android, choose your XPS files and download the results to your Downloads folder.
Can I convert several XPS files at once?
Yes. Drop as many as you like; they are converted one after another, each with its own download button.