How to open an xps file: about the two most reliable software tools…. How to open an xps file: about the two most reliable software tools... How to open xps in Windows 10

When you open the Print dialog box from Windows applications 10, The Print dialog box displays all connected printers. In addition to physical printers, the dialog box also displays virtual printers such as Microsoft Print to PDF and Microsoft XPS Document Writer.

As you probably know, Microsoft Print to PDF allows you to save documents as PDF files. Likewise, Microsoft XPS Document Writer allows you to save a file in the OpenXPS Document (.oxps) format. Exists special program called XPS Viewer, built into Windows 10 to open .oxps documents.

OpenXPS Document is a lesser known document format as most users prefer to use PDF to save and share documents. If you also don't use the OpenXPS document format or save documents in .oxps format on your PC, you may want to consider removing the Microsoft XPS Document Writer entry from the Print dialog box.

Windows 10, like more early versions, makes it easy to delete entries from the Print dialog box. If you want to completely disable the Microsoft XPS Document Writer feature.

Follow the instructions in one of the methods below to disable or uninstall Microsoft XPS Document Writer on Windows 10.

Method 1 of 3

Remove Microsoft XPS Document Writer from the Print Dialog Box

Step 1. Open the Settings app by clicking the gear icon in the Start menu or pressing the Windows logo key and the I key at the same time.

Step 2. In the application "Options" go to "Devices""Printers and scanners". You should now see all connected printers and scanners, if any. In the "Printers and Scanners" section you will also see - among other entries.

Step 3. Click on the entries Microsoft XPS Document Writer to view the available options.

Step 4. Finally, click the button "Remove device". Click the button "Yes" when the system asks "Are you sure you want to remove this device?" To remove Microsoft entry XPS Document Writer from the Print dialog box in Windows 10.

Method 2 of 3

Completely remove Microsoft XPS Document writer from Windows 10

If you prefer to completely remove Microsoft XPS Document Writer from Windows 10, please follow the instructions below.

Step 1. In the search field " Start/taskbar» enter appwiz.cpl and press the key "Enter" to open the window "Programs and Features".

Step 2. On the left side of the window, click Turn Windows features on or off.

Step 3. In the window that appears, uncheck the box next to Microsoft XPS Document Writer. Click the button "OK".

Restart your computer.

Please note that you can also disable or delete XPS Viewer. Uncheck XPS Viewer to remove this feature.

Method 3 of 3

Uninstall Microsoft XPS Document Writer using any program

Step 1. Open any classic text editing program, such as Notepad or WordPad.

Step 2. After starting the program, press the Ctrl and P keys simultaneously to open the dialog box "Seal". Alternatively, you can click the File menu and then select Print to do the same.

Today we will look at:

Beginning with Windows versions Vista Microsoft operating environment is initially equipped with a special software tool for viewing electronic documents in xps format. However, in the event of unexpected system failures, for which there can be any number of reasons, the Microsoft XPS Viewer application may lose its functionality. As a result, the user may have a question: “How to open xps file?. However, for the conservative group of users who continue to use Windows XP, the difficulty in opening files with the above-mentioned extension is also relevant. Nevertheless, in both the first and last cases, the material in the presented article will help the puzzled user resolve this kind of difficult situation.

Description of the XPS format

In order not to get into the technical jungle of describing this format, let's say one thing - this extension is used when creating an electronic print document, which has its own internal separate structure and can have a digital signature, and is also often equipped with software security elements.

In simple words, the essence of the purpose of a file with this extension is the correct printing process with given instructions: color, layout, formatting elements and other preset printing parameters.

How to open xps file: standard Windows tool

In order to open an electronic document with the above extension, just double-click on it with the left mouse button.

In some cases, it is necessary to resort to the following manipulation option:


This option is also effective:

  • Press the key combination “Win+R”.
  • In the Run service console, enter the command "xpsrchvw.exe".

After the viewer window opens, use the “File” tab and use Windows tools Explorer, go to the directory where the file with the “unopenable” extension is located.

And finally, the third common method of how to open an xps file:


What should you do if the viewer no longer works or you are using Windows XP?

For both Windows XP and later versions of Microsoft OS, there is an incredibly simple option to restore the system’s ability to read files with the XPS extension - you need to download a special utility to your computer Microsoft package XPS EP.

The installation process of the software package does not require any advanced knowledge and can be performed even by a beginner.


Third party software - XPS file viewer

Install the STDU Viewer program on your computer, follow this link to official page downloads: http://www.stduviewer.ru/download.html. After you launch the viewing software, click on the “File” - “Open” tab and specify the path to the XPS file.

In conclusion

It's simple, isn't it? Now you know how to open an XPS document. However, there is another fairly common option: use integrated software browser Mozilla Firefox. However, this is a topic for a completely different article. That's all, always be informative and improve your knowledge!

The most common problem that prevents users from opening this file is an incorrectly assigned program. To fix this in Windows OS, you need to right-click on the file, in the context menu, hover the mouse over the “Open with” item, and select “Select a program...” from the drop-down menu. As a result you will see a list installed programs on your computer, and you can choose the appropriate one. We also recommend checking the box next to "Use this application for all XPS files."

Another problem that our users also encounter quite often is that the XPS file is corrupted. This situation can arise in many cases. For example: the file was downloaded incompletely as a result server errors, the file was damaged initially, etc. To fix this problem, use one of the recommendations:

  • Try to find required file in another source on the Internet. You may have luck finding a more suitable version. Example Google search: "File filetype:XPS" . Just replace the word "file" with the name you want;
  • Ask them to send you the original file again, it may have been damaged during transmission;

Speaking in simple language, XPS is a format similar in functionality to PDF. It is designed to display electronic documents that are easy to create, transfer from device to device, and print. You have probably encountered more than once that Microsoft document Word on different devices opens differently: images may shift, the computer may not have the required font, and so on. This won't happen with the XPS. The advantage is that the new vector color-managed formatting will allow you to open the document on most devices and on screens with almost any resolution. In addition, it is precisely due to the use of vector graphics that printed XPS files are much more best quality than DOCX.

Considering that Microsoft was one of the developers of this format, the XPS reading utility usually included inWindows. But even here there are some nuances. For example, in the eighth version operating system from Microsoft now uses the OXPS format, which is unlikely to open in older versions of the utility. You can update or download it again on the official Microsoft website, just by typing its name into the search on the site: Microsoft XPS Viewer. The program is also available on third-party sites. However, the most reliable will be the official Microsoft resource. Then we simply launch the installer, select the path and wait for the installation to complete. Everything is elementary simple.

Working with Microsoft XPS Viewer

Let's start with how to create a document of this format. Any program from which you can print a file will help us with this: notepad, Microsoft Word or any other. For example, I'll take Word. For any program, the translation mechanism will be approximately the same.

Remember that once a document is converted to this format, you can no longer edit it. Therefore, this should be done as a last resort.

Although this is not very convenient, files of this extension, printed using printers that support this format, turn out much clearer and brighter than Word.

Now let's go through the menu items Microsoft XPS Viewer, which allows you to view this format.

File Tab

And in the section " Safety» You can limit the rights to this file for different device users.

  1. Exit. Closes the utility and the file.

Permissions Tab

If in the "Properties" section you can configure permissions for different accounts this device, tab " Permissions» will allow you to configure access to this file outside the computer: who can watch, who cannot, for how long, and so on. This is actually a very convenient feature that will be useful to many.

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