XPS Document Writer - what to do with it

The XPS Document Writer can be found in the list of printers since Windows Vista. What you do with it is not obvious at first glance. We'll show you what you can do with it.

Create XPS files with the XPS Document Writer

The XPS file format - short for XML Paper Specification - was developed by Microsoft as an alternative to the widely used PDF format. It can be used to save image and text documents. To create XPS files with the XPS Document Writer, proceed as follows:

1. Open the print menu of a program - for example in Microsoft Word or in Outlook.
2. Select the "XPS Document Writer" from the list of printers. You can switch between portrait and landscape in the Printer Settings dialog box.
3. Click on "Print".
4. Now you can select the location and name of the file. Click on "Save".

Read here how to open XPS files. The instructions refer to a system under Windows 7.