Welcome!

Welcome to the blog for the team developing the XML Paper Specification and the Open Packaging Conventions! The official site for XPS and XPS-related topics is located at https://www.microsoft.com/xps.

We on the XPS Team intend to use this forum to post on a number of topics, including:

  1. Interim development updates to the XPS and Open Packaging Conventions specifications, so that you can glimpse the changes coming in the next version of the specification.
  2. XPS Document and package programming scenarios in WinFX and elsewhere.
  3. Observations and ideas about the XPS Document format and packages in general.

Here are a couple definitions to get us started.

XPS: XPS is an abbreviation for the XML Paper Specification, which defines the XPS Document format. The XPS Document format is both a fixed-layout document interchange format, a native Windows Vista spool file format, and a PDL (Page Description Language, used by printing devices). The XPS Document format is an open format for development on any platform, supported by a published specification. Microsoft integrates this format in the WinFX Runtime Components and Windows Vista and, which includes an XPS Viewer and APIs to support programming scenarios.

Open Packaging Conventions: This specification describes the shared conventions used by both the XPS Document format as well as the new Office "12" file formats (.docx, .docm, .xlsx, .xlsm, .pptx, .pptm) to store their content in a ZIP container according to a well-defined parts and relationships abstraction model. These conventions may be used by any file format that wishes. Microsoft also provides an API for these conventions in the WinFX Runtime Components and Windows Vista.

A couple other blogs we think you might find interesting include:

We look forward to sharing more with you in the months ahead.

- The XPS Team