FILE FORMAT GUIDE
XML Paper Specification Document (.XPS): Structure & Inspection
An XPS file is a fixed-layout paginated document package built from XML and other resources under Open Packaging Conventions.
Check supported header evidence locally. Identification is not file validation or a malware scan.
Analyze a file locallyQuick facts
- Extension
- .xps
- Format
- XML Paper Specification Document
- Category
- document
- MIME type
- Not reviewed
- Standard / developer
- Microsoft / Ecma International
- Open with
- Python zipfile
What is XPS?
XPS packaging uses ZIP, XML and Unicode conventions to organize fixed document parts. A generic ZIP header alone cannot establish that a package satisfies XPS relationships and content rules.
- Exchange fixed-layout paginated documents
How to open XPS
This workflow inspects structure or metadata without rendering embedded content. It does not establish safety, authenticity, rights or visual fidelity.
Python zipfileCommand-line tool or library
Open the file with zipfile.ZipFile("document.xps", "r") and call infolist() to inspect package member names and sizes. Do not extract untrusted members; ZipFile.Path does not sanitize filenames.
Technical details
- Signature
- Not reviewed
- Encoding
- Not applicable
- Container
- Open Packaging Conventions ZIP package
- Compression
- ZIP entry compression
Things to check
- A ZIP reader can list package members but does not render or validate XPS page semantics.
Related formats
- Portable Document Format
Both represent paginated documents, but PDF and XPS use different document structures and specifications.
- EPUB Publication
EPUB targets publication and reading-system workflows, while XPS is a fixed-layout document package.
Sources & review
Fact review: 2026-09-19. Unknown fields are not inferred from the file extension.