Features of Microsoft XPS Format and Microsoft XPS Viewer

XPS which is read as XML Paper Specification is a file format which is introduced by Microsoft and is meant to serve as the device-independent format and also one of those resolution-independent file format for describing a document based on page-by-page rendering. The main functioning of this electronic document format is based on the Extensible Application Markup Language which decides the various rules that are to be followed in each of the alteration or processing procedures of the documents that can be either to edit, print, archive or perform rendering of those documents. Being one of the independent file format, it is facilitated with its own set of viewers, drivers and graphics system. It is generally supported to be used within the Windows operating system which comes pre-installed in OS like Vista and uses the .NET Framework 3.0 along with some of its sub components like the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). Microsoft XPS file format has the extension of .xps or .oxps and is in the race to dethrone the Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) from the market concerning that of Document Management. Microsoft XPS is actually a collection of many different files which works together in re-creation of any document and is often compared to that of an archive file like ZIP. The reason behind this is because of its ability to show content of the various files included therein when the file format is changed from .xps to .zip. Being one of the device-independent document file format, it is natural that it would require to have all the requisite elements present within itself without depending on any external support from the OS or other applications. Its use is free from any royalties and can be availed without paying for its service which is almost similar to what is being offered by Adobe's Portable Document Format.

Difference and Similarities between PDF and XPS

Both these document format which are seen very much similar in its functioning and services also comes with a lot of differences considering various facts and circumstances involved in using it. The Portable Document Format and the XML Paper Specification file format both shares some common attributes like that of being the device and resolution independent format. PDF file format which occupies the lion's share in popularity has the ability to work with texts, images, forms or even 2D vector graphics which would render almost in the same manner in any of the computer machines without depending on any operating systems or other factors. XPS too is able to perform most of these without any dependencies but the use of it is limited only to various onscreen contents only. It can be used to transform most of the websites and other documents into its printable versions which can also be viewed with the XPS Viewer or be protected using digital rights management (DRM) in Vista but it does not work with creating dynamic document. However, even if the PDF format is quite popular with lot of capabilities built into it, there is one area where the XPS certainly scores high than PDF which is the ability of XPS document to be printed in the exact formatting as is viewed onscreen but the same is lacking in case of the PDF format where the documents do not reproduce accurately on the printer. This advantage within the XPS format is more likely visible due to the support of the .Net Framework 3.0 and WPF. PDF on the other hand has a vast collection of products like viewers and converters supported by third-party developers than that of the XPS which requires the Microsoft XPS Viewer to read them all.

Features of Microsoft XPS Format

There are many useful features involved with the use of Microsoft XPS file format. Some of these can be mentioned as follows:-

First of all, XPS format is not bound by dependency on any particular device or driver. The XPS file format is more-or-less like that of a ZIP archive and contains all the required support elements and components that is needed for it to work. By changing the extension of the file from .XPS to .ZIP, it can show the contents of the file and is particularly useful for storing any customized font that you may like to appear in the document. By having the font file in the archive, it ensures that the said document will work across all platform and in any computer even when the said font seems to be missing in the computer. Hence with the availability of the feature to embed fonts within the XPS archive, it has become more easier to format our documents with any desirable font which can be effectively be read by the XPS Viewer.

Like the one listed above, Microsoft XPS file format also supports the embedding of images to its archive library. Like the usage of embedding fonts, the embedding of images can also be helpful in using it with documents without any incompatibility concerns for using it in a different computer where the image format cannot be used. Since the image format will already be present within the archive, it will not pose any such errors caused due to incompatible image format. In addition to it, the Open XML Paper Specification also extends the compatibility support for color progression, subtractive color models like CMYK color model and transparencies which are being offered by Raster file formats like PNG or GIF.

The support for XPS format within the popular web browser like Microsoft Internet Explorer in Windows Vista and Windows 7 is another useful feature which strikes out the need to have any specific software to be installed in order to view the documents in a browser. In contrary to this, PDF file format do not come with such add-on feature and requires the installation of specific softwares like Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view those documents within the web browser itself. Hence, XPS scores high in this regard than that of PDF as any newly installed Windows operating system may not include the third-party support tools for working around with the document viewing.

As already mentioned once above, the XPS format comes with support for .NET framework 3.0 and some of its sub-components like Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) which assist in facilitating the XPS document to render in a way which produces the exact result while being printed. People using Portable Document Format format has always struggled to work around with the alignment and the formatting of the PDF files which when printed never matched the quality as is seen in the onscreen PDF viewer. However, the same is quite contrary in case of XPS documents and can be reproduced with high quality output and render the document page-by-page as is used by the printers in processing and printing the documents.

Microsoft XPS Viewer Features

Microsoft XPS Viewer is used to view the XPS document and is quite similar to that of the Acrobat Reader which is used to view PDF files. It provides the useful interface to work with the XPS files and also provides full control to the users to deal with the various aspects involved in using it. This also comes integrated with the Internet Explorer 7 and its later editions by default. However, there even exists a stand-alone viewer similar to that of Acrobat Reader which can be downloaded as XPS Essentials Pack. This package which includes the XPS Viewer is designed and developed to serve within the Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems and accordingly help to view and manage XPS documents and files. The XPS Viewer comes with the support for digital signatures which is another welcome feature available within it. It can provide the ability to search for any word within the XPS read-only document and also use the zoom panel to have a better look over the various contents being featured in the particular document. There are also the feature to set permissions on each of the XPS document and thereby specify whether the document can be accessed by everyone or some chosen users only. It also provides the option to set the time duration for which the document can be accessed by any specific user. It includes many other features similar to that of Adobe Acrobat Reader like quick page navigation, viewing multiple documents simultaneously and various other such features.

Features of Microsoft XPS Format and Microsoft XPS Viewer

Difference and Similarities between PDF and XPS

Features of Microsoft XPS Format

Microsoft XPS Viewer Features

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