XPS Print Output

Windows 7 includes support for a newer document file type called XPS, which stands for XML Paper Specification. This is a file format that represents printed output electronically. The idea is that you can view an XPS file on any computer that has an XPS viewer program, without having to have a copy of the application that created the document. For example, you can view the XPS version of a Microsoft Word document without having to have a copy of Word. If this sounds suspiciously like Adobe's PDF file format, you're right. XPS is Microsoft's attempt to create a universal electronic document format. XPS has some advantages, but PDF is so widely used and understood that we suspect XPS doesn't stand a chance.

In any case, Windows 7 does come with built-in support for XPS. You can generate XPS documents simply by following these steps:

1. Edit and format a document in one of your applications. Be sure to save the document in the application's native format, so that you can come back and change it later. You can't edit an XPS file.
2. Use the application's Print function. Most applications display the standard Windows print dialog. Select the Microsoft XPS Document Writer printer. Click Print.
3. When the Save the File As dialog box appears, select a location and name for the XPS document.

You can now distribute the XPS document to others to view and print as desired. Windows 7 and Vista have built-in XPS document viewers. On Windows 7 or Vista, just double-click an XPS file to open and view it.

Microsoft has created tools for viewing and creating XPS files on Windows XP, which you can get from www.microsoft.com; just search for "Get the XPS Viewer". This tool requires the .NET Framework, so you may need to download and install that program as well. On other operating systems, you will need to download an XPS viewer program from some other source.