XPS Team Blog - XML Paper Specification and the Open Packaging Conventions

Here, I've separated out stuff which really didn't apply in my previous post, on HTML printing.

A lot of technical and scientific work uses plotters to render design work that is created out of CAD or GIS or other special-purpose software, onto a hard copy (paper or transparent sheets, etc). This is 'continuous paper': the plotter devices have a confined plotting width, but essentially unrestricted length.

Native file formats of the technical/scientific applications are used, but there is such a plethora of incompatible standards that the PDF file format is commonly chosen. The latest PDF specifications are suitable for most technical purposes.

So for data interchange, most GIS (geographic information system) practitioners curently rely on an Adobe PDF document - which often is not actually printed (ever), but does retain the vector objects so that the saved disk file has scaleable / zoomable information.

Of course, to produce the PDF disk file (whether it will be actually printed or not) at a suitable 'paper size' requires some settings within the GIS or via the PDF printer driver that is used (PDF prnter drivers are not just produced by Adobe, of course).

Often though, the paper size chosen corresponds to a common PLOTTER - usually a Hewlett Packard model, in my business.

I'm sure that the hardware manufacturers are interested in the XPS and that you have looked at the problem of paper width restrictions (typical of plotters), but essentially unlimited paper length.

Where can I find out about all of these matters?

This is a problem with IE7's spooling to printers, and to XPS and to PDF. I know you guys are not the IE team - but their products' printing (whatever send-to-printer routines they use) is diabolical, and initially led me to blame the XPS writer for the problems.

A website http://www.morfik.com/ was built with its own technology, which uses AJAX - which in itself that should mean nothing significant.

The webpage has 3 tabs and it is peculiar that printing to paper, to XPS, and to PDF via IE7 (RTM) when 'live' connected to that website gives 2 blank pages and the footer info, from the first tab (MORFIK.COM). There is one Flash image there, but plenty of text and normal images.

I'm sorry to say (because I would much prefer to use IE7, for its other features) that Firefox 1.5.07 prints perfectly to my low-end Samsung ML-2010 laser printer, to XPS, and to PDF (the latter using a non-Adobe product called pdfMachine from Broadgun Software).

XPS has no special restrictions on jpegs. However, XPS Viewer EP uses GDI plus to render the images, so if there for any reason, GDI plus rejects a jpeg (say for security reasons), we will not load it. If you are still seeing this issue and you don't mind sharing the XPS document, would you kindly share it by emailing xpsinfo@microsoft.com and the XPS Essentials Pack team will look into it.

The specified download does not support Windows 2000. Only Windows 2003 Server and Windows XP is supported. Is there any Windows 2000 XPS Viewer available?

This is more of a question.  I am looking for a solution to a problem I am investigating.  I have a program that has the ability to print to file in a xps file format. The problem I am having is trying to figure out how I can make this file viewable in a secondary program that uses microsoft word as a document viewer and generator.  My first idea was to see if I could insert the xps document as an object into a newly created word document in this secondary program.  Is it possible to do this without converting the xps files to jpegs and inserting them as jpegs.  In all honesty I am looking for a solution to make the process simpler and less time consuming.  Any feed back would be appreciated.  Xiame

Just wondering if there is any word on the download working with Windows 2000?