XPS and OXPS to PDF Converter
Turn the XPS and OXPS files that Windows produces when you print to a file into PDFs that open on a Mac, a phone or in any browser.
Convert to PDF
or drag DOC, DOCX, DOCM … files here ·
Up to 95 MB each· 20 files at once· Removed after 30 min
Your files are removed from our servers 30 minutes after processing.
Convert the whole document or only some pages, slides or sheets.
Pages or slides to keep, e.g. 1-3, 5, 8-10. Numbers refer to the original document.
Source margins keep the document's own layout. Narrow is 12.7 mm, normal 25.4 mm, wide 50.8 mm left and right.
Excel, ODS and Numbers files: convert every sheet, or only the one that was open when the file was saved.
JPEG quality for photos inside the document. 90 looks identical to the source; lower it to make the PDF smaller.
Leave empty for no password. If set, the PDF asks for it before opening. Not available with PDF/A.
Files are deleted 30 minutes after processingPrivacy policy
- XPS
- Also called XML Paper Specification · OXPS · OpenXPS
- Microsoft's fixed-page document format, created mainly as the output of printing to a file in Windows. Like PDF it stores finished pages, but outside Windows almost nothing opens it.
An XPS file is a printout without paper
Most XPS files are created by accident. Windows ships with a virtual printer called Microsoft XPS Document Writer, and when it is picked in a print dialog, or left as the default printer, the pages are written to a file instead of being sent to paper. Online receipts, boarding passes, bank statements and web pages saved this way all end up as .xps or .oxps files in the Documents folder.
The format itself is sound. It describes each page precisely, embeds the fonts and keeps text as text. The problem is reach: Macs, iPhones, Android phones, Chromebooks and web browsers do not open XPS, and many people have never heard of it. Sending one to a bank, a school or a colleague usually brings back the question of how to open it.
Converting to PDF answers that question once. PDF is the format those same organizations expect, and every device has a viewer for it already.
XPS
XPS document
Microsoft's XML Paper Specification, introduced in 2006 and later published as an open standard. Like PDF it fixes page layout, and Windows produces it when you print to the Microsoft XPS Document Writer. Few apps outside Windows open it, so XPS files are usually converted to PDF for sharing.
- Transparency
- Still images only
- Open standard
PDF document
Adobe's Portable Document Format from 1993, now an open ISO standard. It fixes text, images and layout so a page looks the same on every screen and printer, and it can carry forms, links and transparency. Every operating system and browser can open it, though editing the content is harder than in a word processor.
- Transparency
- Still images only
- Open standard
Why convertXPS and PDF both describe finished pages, but XPS is read almost only on Windows while PDF opens on every system. Convert when an XPS printout has to be sent, uploaded or opened on a Mac or phone; nothing about the pages themselves needs to change.
XPS, OXPS and the standard behind them
Microsoft introduced XPS with Windows Vista as an alternative to PDF, built on the same ZIP-and-XML packaging as the Office Open XML formats. The format was later handed to Ecma International, which published a standardized edition called OpenXPS. Files in that edition carry the .oxps extension, and newer versions of Windows save them by default.
The two versions differ in small internal details, enough that some older XPS viewers refuse OXPS files. This converter reads both, so you do not need to know which one you have.
Some XPS files hold more than one document, because the format allows several to be packed into a single file. They are converted in sequence into one PDF, so a set of statements printed together stays together. Split it afterwards if each statement must be sent on its own.
2009
The year Ecma International published OpenXPS as the standard ECMA-388.
See the ECMA-388 standard page. PDF followed a similar path and is now the ISO standard ISO 32000.
Keeping the print quality
Because an XPS file is meant to reproduce a printout, its pictures and logos are often stored at print resolution. This page sets Image quality to 100 so the PDF keeps that detail, which matters for receipts with small print, scanned signatures and documents you may need to print again later.
The trade-off is file size. A long XPS full of photos can produce a large PDF at full quality. If you only need to read the result on screen, lower the quality before converting, or compress the finished PDF instead. The settings below are the ones most often changed for XPS files.
Image quality
100 on this page. Values around 80 give noticeably smaller files and still look sharp on screen; keep 100 for anything you will print.
Page size
Same as source keeps the page size chosen in the print dialog. Pick A4 or Letter if the original was printed to an unusual size.
Open password
For statements and other private records, set a password under Security. The PDF then asks for it before it opens.
PDF/A
Choose PDF/A if the printout is a record you need to keep, such as a tax receipt. It embeds every font and cannot carry a password.
After the conversion
Once the pages are a PDF, the usual PDF tools work on them. Several converted receipts can be joined into one file with Merge PDF, a large result can be reduced with Compress PDF, and the Convert to PDF page takes other document types, such as Word files, in the same batch.
Your uploaded XPS files are deleted from the server as soon as they are processed, and the PDFs are removed 30 minutes later. No account is needed, and nothing you upload is shared or kept.
If you print to files often, switching the default printer saves the extra step. Microsoft Print to PDF is included in current Windows versions and appears in the same printer list as the XPS Document Writer.
How to convert XPS to PDF
Add the XPS or OXPS files
Drop .xps or .oxps files on the box above, or press Choose Files. Up to 20 files fit in one batch.
Leave quality at 100
Image quality is set to 100 so pictures keep the detail of the original print file. Lower it under Advanced settings only if the PDF is too large.
Convert and download
Press Convert to PDF, then save each PDF or download them all together.
XPS to PDF questions
What is the difference between XPS and OXPS?
OXPS is the standardized version of XPS published by Ecma International as ECMA-388. It works the same way but uses slightly different internal names, so some older XPS viewers cannot open it. This page converts both.
Why did my computer save a document as XPS?
Usually because Microsoft XPS Document Writer was chosen in the print dialog, sometimes because it was set as the default printer. Instead of paper, Windows writes the printed pages to an .xps or .oxps file.
Can I open an XPS file on a Mac or iPhone?
Not with the built-in apps. macOS Preview, the Files app on iPhone and Android's file viewers open PDF but not XPS, which is why converting is the simplest way to share these files.
Is the text in the PDF selectable?
Yes, when the XPS file contains real text, which is the case for documents printed from Word, a browser or most other programs. Pages printed from a scanned image stay images in the PDF.
Will a multi-page XPS become one PDF?
Yes. All pages stay together in one PDF, in the original order. Use Page range under Pages & content to keep only some of them.
Can I avoid XPS files next time?
Yes. In the Windows print dialog, choose Microsoft Print to PDF instead of the XPS Document Writer, and the printed file is saved as a PDF straight away.
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