PDF is a standard file format for documents, allowing the format to be set and the document displayed independently of the platform. Many apps support displaying PDF documents on many different platforms.
When Windows Vista was released Microsoft also included a new competing file format, XPS. XPS, or XML Paper Specification, was designed to offer the same sort of feature set. In reality though, the concept never really took off and most people have never used it or even heard of it.
Windows 10 includes a Print-to-PDF function that allows you to export any document to the PDF format easily. It also offers a Print-to-XPS option, that allows you to do the same thing but to the XPS format. Unfortunately, the Print-to-XPS feature and all associated functionality take up space on your hard drive. If you never plan to use XPS documents and want to remove the functionality, doing so is pretty simple.
How to remove the XPS document printer
To remove the XPS document printer from Windows 10 entirely, you need to press the Windows key, type “Turn Windows feature on or off”, then hit enter.
In the Windows Features window, untick “Microsoft XPS Document Writer” then click “OK”.
Windows will spend a small amount of time searching for the affected files, and then removing them. Once it’s complete the popup window will tell you that “Windows completed the requested changes”. You don’t need to restart your computer or anything for the change to take effect.
Alternatively, if you want to just disable the printer device, you can open the Settings app to the right page by pressing the Windows key, typing “Printers & Scanners”, then hitting enter. In the printer list, right-click on “Microsoft XPS Document Writer”, then click “Remove device”. You’ll need to click “Yes” when you’re asked to confirm that you want to remove the device.
