XML Paper Specification

(X-P-S)

XPS, like PDF is basically a container that represents a document in the form of a printed page. XPS will be introduced as part of the Windows Vista operating system and as an add-on to Microsoft's Office 2007 products. In addition, Microsoft has made available an XPS viewing and creation tool for earlier operating systems (Windows XP-SP2 and Windows 2000). The .NET framework is needed to use this tool.

Microsoft states it intends to release XPS under a royalty-free patent license and the specification will be under a royalty-free copyright license.

Expect to see Microsoft and Adobe locking horns as Microsoft attempts to take over part of Adobe's PDF marketplace.

More Information

• Microsoft XML Paper Specification (XPS) Information
• Microsoft XPS Viewer and Generation Tool
• Wikipedia XPS Page