XPS File Viewer Tools - 5 Best for PC And Online

XPS is a file format developed by Microsoft and ECMA International in 2006. It contains fixed page layout information written in the XPS page description language. XPS documents are similar to PDF but based on XML instead of PostScript.

You might use XPS files in the Windows Office suite to see what the printed version will look like. Unlike PDFs, you cannot edit an XPS file after you save it, but you can open, view, sign, and manage file permissions in the Microsoft XPS viewer.

Microsoft introduced the XPS file viewer on Windows Vista and continued to support it on Windows 7, 8.1, and 10. In April 2018, the company discontinued support for the file format and removed the XPS Viewer app from new Windows installations.

If you're among the many people who still use XPS, and you no longer have access to the application on your PC, there are XPS file viewer tools you can use to get back control over your files. In this article, we look at the 5 best XPS file viewer tools for PC and online use in 2023.

1. Master PDF Editor

Master PDF Editor is a lightweight and fast XPS viewer that allows you to view and print XPS files. It's intuitive and easy to use ,featuring everything you need to work with PDF and XPS files.

Once you upload an XPS document to Master PDF Editor, the tool immediately converts it into an editable fil,e allowing you to perform various functions. Some of the features of the application include:

• Editing PDF and XPS file documents
• Document encryption, watermarking, and signing
• Adding, removing, or changing text and images
• Importing XPS and PDF files to JPEG, BMP, PNG, and TIFF
• Converting XPS to PDF

The premium version costs about $80, allowing you full access to editing features, controls on your document, form validation ,and document merging.

2. NiXPS File Viewer

NiXPS has two useful applications: NiXPS Edit and NiXPS View. NiXPS Edit is an interactive XPS-based tool that helps you inspect, edit, and optimize XPS files. It's designed to enhance four key functionalities:

• Manipulating documents
• Editing objects
• Text editing
• Handling data

NiXPS View isn't bad at either. It allows you to add notes to your document, correct text, integrate JavaScript, and convert documents to PDF. The user interface is intuitive and easy to use. You can quickly redact documents, annotate them, and send them as PDF files. NiXPS View costs $49, allowing you to view, search, and print XPS documents effectively.

3. Windows XPS Viewer

Windows XPS Viewer is a free tool for viewing XPS documents. After Windows discontinued support for Windows XPS Viewer, many people felt locked away. Newer versions of Windows might not have the XPS viewer installed, but you can install it.

To find out if Windows XPS Viewer is installed on your computer, do the following:

• Open the Start menu by pressing the Windows key on your keyboard
• Type Manage Optional and click on Manage Optional Features in the search results
• Check for the XPS viewer in the list on the window that pops up
• If you cannot find it, click on Add a Feature at the top of the window
• Find XPS Viewer in the list on the pop-up and check the box next to it
• Click Install

After installing the application on your PC, it should be available in your start menu items. Like most XPS Viewers, Windows XPS Viewer contains options to manage your file. You can view, print, set permissions, and save the document as PDF.

4. Google Drive

If you prefer to perform your activities online. Google Drive allows you to view XPS documents without installing an app on your PC. To start, you must log into your Google account and upload the XPS file on your Google Drive.

Once you upload the document, you can click to view its contents on the web browser. You can also save the document as PDF on your computer by clicking on the Print icon at the top-right on your window.

5. Adobe Acrobat DC Pro

If you plan to use XPS files outside Windows Office applications or share it with Mac or Linux users, you might need to convert it to PDF. You can convert your XPS to PDF using Adobe Acobat's direct file conversion tool.

Adobe Acrobat DC Pro is a trusted PDF file viewer that allows you to edit, view, create, and share documents. To convert your XPS file to PDF, follow this procedure:

• Open XPS view application, click File, and select Print from the dropdown menu
• Select Microsoft Print to PDF in the dialog box and click Print
• Select the desired location for the PDF file

You might need to create a new registry key on your PC if the option is disabled by default. To do that, follow the procedure below:

• Open your Registry Editor or REGEDIT as an administrator
• Go to the following location and create FeatureState HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureState
• Create a key of type DWORD and name it BlockXPSParsing
• Set its value to 0

That's it

Download Adobe Acrobat

Conclusion

We did not include the Danet studio and XPS Annotator XPS file viewers in the list as they only allow you to view, zoom, and print XPS files. SysTools XPS Viewer has segments that make it difficult to read your document, so we don't recommend it.