Microsoft has transitioned away from the XPS format in favor of PDF. To keep the operating system lean and reduce the “attack surface” for security, legacy tools like the XPS Viewer are now categorized as optional features that users can choose to install only if they need them.

If you don’t want to install the legacy viewer, you can often open .xps files using the Microsoft OneNote app or by using an online converter to turn the file into a PDF. Additionally, some web browsers can view the content of these files if you drag and drop them into an open tab.

If the installation bar isn’t moving in the Settings menu, it is usually because the Windows Update service is busy or paused.

In corporate environments without internet access, you cannot use the “Add a feature” menu. You must use a Windows 11 “Features on Demand” (FOD) ISO or disk provided by an administrator. The command would look like this: dism /online /add-capability /capabilityname:XPS.Viewer~~~~0.0.1.0 /Source:D:\FOD (Where D:\ is the location of your offline source files).

XPS is the original “XML Paper Specification” created by Microsoft. The OXPS is the Open XML Paper Specification, which is the standardized version used in Windows 8 and later.

Yes, but because it is “legacy” software, it doesn’t receive the same frequent feature updates as modern apps. If you don’t regularly work with legacy documentation from the mid-2000s, it is generally considered good “system hygiene” to leave it uninstalled until you specifically need it.