#Print xps on mac pdf
#Print xps on mac install
#Print xps on mac windows 8

Silverlight was supposed to be MicrosoftвЂ™s вЂњFlash killer,вЂќ but itвЂ™s now being set aside. itвЂ™s just saved in MicrosoftвЂ™s XPS format. To make things even easier, treat an XPS file like a PDF. It basically defines the basic layout, and printing information for a specific document. XPS seems neglected, like another Microsoft technology introduced around the same time: Silverlight. An XPS file is related to a document that contains some layout information. In summary, you probably donвЂ™t want to use XPS files for your personal documents. There are third-party viewer applications that can read XPS files, but support is nowhere near as common.

#Print xps on mac pdf

Many other programs may support PDF files, but wonвЂ™t support XPS files. For example, Macs donвЂ™t include built-in XPS file support, but they do include built-in PDF support. An XPS file may look unfamiliar and the recipient may not be able to open the file. If youвЂ™re trying to send someone a document, you can bet theyвЂ™ll be familiar with PDF files and will be able to open it.

The world has largely standardized on PDF files, while XPS files remain little-used. While the advantages of printing to XPS files are unclear, the disadvantages are fairly clear. In fact, Windows 8вЂ™s inclusion of a PDF viewer can be seen as Microsoft taking a step back, introducing support for a competing document format. Microsoft has certainly not been making a case for XPS files being better than PDF files and has been silent on any reason to use them in recent years.

#Print xps on mac install

ItвЂ™s unclear why youвЂ™d actually want to create an XPS file instead of a PDF file, unless you need to print a document to a file and canвЂ™t install a PDF printer. Even though Windows prods its users into printing to XPS files rather than PDF files by including the XPS Document Writer printer, few users seem to create XPS files. While XPS was regarded as a possible вЂњPDF killerвЂќ when it was included with Windows Vista six years ago, it never became very popular.

#Print xps on mac windows 8

While Windows 8 touts better support for PDFs because of its Modern вЂњReaderвЂќ app, you will need a third-party app if you want to view PDF files on the desktop or print to PDF files.

XPS Viewer: The included XPS Viewer application allows you to view XPS documents on your desktop.

ItвЂ™s like a вЂњprint to PDFвЂќ feature, but less useful because itвЂ™s not as compatible with other software.

Microsoft XPS Document Writer: Microsoft installs a virtual printer named вЂњMicrosoft XPS Document Writer.вЂќ This printer creates XPS files from documents you print to it.

Even Windows 8 has better support for XPS files than it does for PDFs. Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 all include built-in XPS tools. In short, an XPS file is MicrosoftвЂ™s less-compatible version of a PDF file. ItвЂ™s actually not compatible with the XPS Viewer included with Windows 7, so you have to convert OXPS files to XPS if you want to view them on Windows 7. OXPS stands for OpenXPS вЂ“ itвЂ™s the standardized version of the original XPS format. By default, Windows 8 uses the OXPS file extension for XPS files it generates.