What is an ospx file and why do people send them?

On Sat, 6 Dec 2014 17:57:02 -0500, "Mayayana" wrote:

Are you sure it wasn't aspx? That's a webpage, like
.html. She may have mistakenly sent you the webpage
rather than the link to it. If she'd sent the actual map
it probably would have been a JPG file.

Hmm, it seems that even my limited knowledge is greater than that of all the
experts he

You cannot open an .oxps file in Windows 7 or in Windows ...
support.microsoft.com/kb/2732059
Microsoft Corporation
Note The .oxps format is the default XPS document format in Windows 8.
Typically, .oxps files are created when users print to a Microsoft XPS
Document Writer (MXDW) printer on a computer that is running Windows 8.

Perhaps one needs a way of changing the default.


--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

On 06 Dec 2014, Steve Hayes wrote in
alt.windows7.general:

Hmm, it seems that even my limited knowledge is greater than that
of all the experts he

People are spending their valuable time trying to help you puzzle
through your problem. I have an idea I was going to add, but since you
would rather be rude about it, I won't bother.

You cannot open an .oxps file in Windows 7 or in Windows ...
support.microsoft.com/kb/2732059
Microsoft Corporation
Note The .oxps format is the default XPS document format in
Windows 8. Typically, .oxps files are created when users print to
a Microsoft XPS Document Writer (MXDW) printer on a computer that
is running Windows 8.

Perhaps one needs a way of changing the default.

One already has one.

On 06 Dec 2014, Steve Hayes wrote in
alt.windows7.general:

Microsoft says explicitly that the format cannot be read in
Windows 7.

Perhaps they conned Google into using it as a way of forcing
people to use Windows 8.1.

It has nothing to do with Google and everything to do with your default
printer.

Steve Hayes wrote:
On Sat, 06 Dec 2014 20:03:39 -0500, Paul wrote:

Steve Hayes wrote:
My wife has to go somewhere tomorrow and downloaded a map that she wanted me
to print out, so she sent me the file, and I found it has an .ospx extension,
and my computer could not open it.

Why do Google maps send files in such an obscure format that I'd never heard
of it before?

I did a web search, and found here

http://www.pagemarktechnology.com/home/products.html

that I would have to pay $US 169 to print a one page map!

Is this the future of computing?

I have a couple of tools I use:

1) Use a hex editor. If you see plain text inside,
you can then move on to Notepad or Wordpad if you want.
Otherwise, the hex editor might show a 4CC code, hinting
at what the file type really is. Maybe you see structured
XML in there, in which case that would be text.

That is very unlikely to produce a readable map.


2) Use a port of the "file" command, which can identify the
true file type of hundreds of file types.

http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/file.htm

The only problem with "file", is the enclosed magic file
hasn't been updated for a while. So if a new file format
is created, it might not be detected.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_(command)

*******

The XPS format is the Microsoft imitation of PDF which
nobody uses. The OS should have a viewer, in Windows 7.
And that would automatically be launched if the file
had the *correct* extension.

It doesn't.

Microsoft says explicitly that the format cannot be read in Windows 7.

Perhaps they conned Google into using it as a way of forcing people to use
Windows 8.1.




You're greater knowledge than the rest of the group is a misconception.
Initially posting the wrong file extension, then correcting after
realizing the error and finding (most likely before realizing the error)
a related MSFT article about the correct file extension as validation
of that supposedly obtained greater knowledge. That acquired wisdom
should at the minimum allow you to deduce that Google has not bearing at
all on the topic. If you wish to read/open oxps file types in Windows 7
it would be prudent to follow the advice in the MSFT KB article
referenced earlier.



--
....winston
msft mvp consumer apps

Steve Hayes wrote:

Hmm, it seems that even my limited knowledge is greater than that of all the
_experts_ he

What is an ospx file and why do people send them? ---

"You cannot open an .oxps file..." ---

You mis-spelled the extension, you dopey *******.

We take the information you provide, at face value.
For all we know, your problem involved a brand
new file format we've never heard of.

If I happen to unscramble a spelling mistake like
that, fine and dandy. You coming back and insulting
people because they didn't unscramble your spelling mistake,
is a bit much.

Paul

Steve Hayes wrote:
My wife has to go somewhere tomorrow and downloaded a map that she wanted me
to print out, so she sent me the file, and I found it has an .ospx extension,
and my computer could not open it.

Why do Google maps send files in such an obscure format that I'd never heard
of it before?

I did a web search, and found here

http://www.pagemarktechnology.com/home/products.html

that I would have to pay $US 169 to print a one page map!

Is this the future of computing?

"You cannot open an .oxps file in Windows 7"

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2732059

1. Install the OXPS to XPS converter tool
2. Use the tool to convert the .oxps file to an .xps file.
3. Use XPS Viewer to open the .xps file.

32 bit converter for 32 bit OS (.oxps to .xps), for Win7 only

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...0-9d32028b7f21

64 bit converter for 64 bit OS (.oxps to .xps), for Win7 only

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...4-67e0e68597e7

*******

There doesn't appear to be a path to go from OXPS on Windows 8.1
to XPS on WinXP directly. The XPSviewer.exe on WinXP no longer starts here
(it won't run for me). It seems broken.

The following has four packages, two for WinXP 32/64 and
two for Vista 32/64. Select the package right for your system.
That may give a working XPS Viewer, you never know. And indeed it
does. This tool takes the place of XPSViewer.exe on WinXP. It
still (stupidly) will not open an .oxps.

(XPS Essentials for WinXP)

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/downl....aspx?id=11816

Version: 1.2 Date Published: 12/2/2010
File Name: File Size:

XPSEP XP and Server 2003 32 bit.msi 7.5 MB --- Tested on WinXP
XPSEP XP and Server 2003 64 bit.msi 9.7 MB
XPSEP Vista 32 bit.msu 1.9 MB
XPSEP Vista 64 bit.msu 2.8 MB

After installing that on this WinXP machine, the new
executable added is "XpsRchVw.exe".

*******

Google Earth details:

When I printed from Google Earth, on a Win8.1 machine without
any additional print drivers, I was faced with the Microsoft
XPS Printer (print to file) driver.

Fortunately, for Google Earth, they tend to prepare a bitmap
image of the screen. There are some decorations at the bottom
of the page, but they don't add much value. So the map
fortunately, is a bitmap image, which saves many steps.

I printed on Win8.1, from Google Earth standalone tool,
to "map.oxps".

I booted Windows 7 SP1, installed the 64 bit converter

Windows6.1-KB2732059-v5-x64__Oxps2xps_converter_win7.msu

and when clicking on the .oxps from the previous step,
was offered an "OXPS to XPS" converter tool. I didn't
check to see what the executable name was.

This produced an XPS file.

I carried the XPS file back to WinXP, and XpsRchVw.exe
both ran and was able to view the document. For a person
on WinXP, this is the path you'd take, to get from the
Win8.1 output, to viewing on a WinXP screen. If you
were instead using Win7 as your main machine, you
should be able to open the XPS file on Windows 7,
after the converter is finished with it. In fact,
the converter opens the file for viewing anyway,
so you immediately get to see the doc, right
after conversion.

*******

Bonus step:

This avoids *ALL* of the above.

Take the "map.oxps" from Win8.1.

The following works on any Windows that can run 7-ZIP.

Using a modern copy of 7-ZIP, open the archive. The file
is in fact an archive, like a ZIP file.

Once 7-ZIP opens the archive, you will see

Documents\
Metadata\
_rels\
FixedDocumentSequence.fdseq
[Content_Types].xml

Continue to open folders inside 7-ZIP. Navigate
to Documents\1\Resources\Images and you will find

1.PNG

and a couple more files. Click the 1.PNG to
highlight it, select Extract from the button
bar at the top of 7-ZIP. I know this is the
file I want, as it is the biggest file in the
folder. And is likely to be a snapshot of the
screen in Google Earth view.

Now, open that image in your image viewer.
That image contains the essence of the map.
Ready to print. No converters necessary.
No $169.

Paul

On Sun, 07 Dec 2014 06:42:21 -0500, Paul wrote:

Google Earth details:

When I printed from Google Earth, on a Win8.1 machine without
any additional print drivers, I was faced with the Microsoft
XPS Printer (print to file) driver.

Fortunately, for Google Earth, they tend to prepare a bitmap
image of the screen. There are some decorations at the bottom
of the page, but they don't add much value. So the map
fortunately, is a bitmap image, which saves many steps.

I printed on Win8.1, from Google Earth standalone tool,
to "map.oxps".

I booted Windows 7 SP1, installed the 64 bit converter

Windows6.1-KB2732059-v5-x64__Oxps2xps_converter_win7.msu

and when clicking on the .oxps from the previous step,
was offered an "OXPS to XPS" converter tool. I didn't
check to see what the executable name was.

This produced an XPS file.

I carried the XPS file back to WinXP, and XpsRchVw.exe
both ran and was able to view the document. For a person
on WinXP, this is the path you'd take, to get from the
Win8.1 output, to viewing on a WinXP screen. If you
were instead using Win7 as your main machine, you
should be able to open the XPS file on Windows 7,
after the converter is finished with it. In fact,
the converter opens the file for viewing anyway,
so you immediately get to see the doc, right
after conversion.

Thanks, that is useful.

Bonus step:

This avoids *ALL* of the above.

Take the "map.oxps" from Win8.1.

The following works on any Windows that can run 7-ZIP.

Using a modern copy of 7-ZIP, open the archive. The file
is in fact an archive, like a ZIP file.

Once 7-ZIP opens the archive, you will see

Documents\
Metadata\
_rels\
FixedDocumentSequence.fdseq
[Content_Types].xml

Continue to open folders inside 7-ZIP. Navigate
to Documents\1\Resources\Images and you will find

1.PNG

and a couple more files. Click the 1.PNG to
highlight it, select Extract from the button
bar at the top of 7-ZIP. I know this is the
file I want, as it is the biggest file in the
folder. And is likely to be a snapshot of the
screen in Google Earth view.

Now, open that image in your image viewer.
That image contains the essence of the map.
Ready to print. No converters necessary.
No $169.

And that is even more useful.

Now we've been and gone and come back, and I think the next step is to
discover how to make Windoes 8 default "print to file" use a more useful
format like .pdf.


--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

Steve Hayes wrote:


Now we've been and gone and come back, and I think the next step is to
discover how to make Windoes 8 default "print to file" use a more useful
format like .pdf.

I don't collect PDF print drivers here.

Maybe with some care, you can find something useful.
I think at one time, Adobe sold a package like that for printing.

I've used packages like the following, as an intermediate step.
This is the Universal PostScript printer driver (originally designed
by Microsoft and customized by OEMs). You take the output
from this and distill it to PDF. Or open it in GIMP (assuming GIMP has
optional PostScript support set up in it). Not many people share my
taste in PostScript to PDF conversion, but I'm able to do a
few odd things with it. I have an actual crude PostScript
editor on another machine, which is able to fix certain
things, when it is in a mood to do so. And this driver
is all part of various repair procedures (such as
redistilling things you're not supposed to be able
to redistill).

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/s...tem=ob-51860-1

I like this cumbersome route, mainly to avoid any nasty
dialog boxes telling me I'm not allowed to do what
I'm doing. And that's why I'm not really interested
in what clever limitations have been placed in the
"free" PDF print drivers.

As an example, if I have a PDF open in Adobe Acrobat,
and I use a certain other PostScript driver, it'll tell
me I "can't print to that printer". Because that would
enable me to edit and redistill something. So PDF is
full of DRM-like elements to get in my way. And I then
search for workarounds.

To stop guys like me, there are commercial packages
available to obfuscate the font tables. It took me
around two weeks to undo such a technique. And lately
I ran into another approach, where a font dictionary
"magically disappears" if you click on the screen. Which
is a way to prevent copy and paste, even if you disabled
the copy protections in a document. So while the bypasses
I've got cover naive cases, there are still tool flows
that can't be defeated that way. The process to remove
obfuscation requires "human OCR" to recognize how to
correct the font tables, and by the time you're doing that,
it's easier to just run the PDF document back through
an OCR process. And get the text that way.

I have an actual printer. I just don't use it
all that much. So most of my printing, is to
eventual PDF archival format. The only time I
might print, is when doing my income tazes.

Paul

| Now we've been and gone and come back, and I think the next step is to
| discover how to make Windoes 8 default "print to file" use a more useful
| format like .pdf.
|

I'm curious how you got in that position in the
first place. Printing a webpage through IE, maybe?
If you're on a Google maps page you should be
able to just right click the map and save as JPG.
There's no reason to print a whole page.

On 12/06/2014 10:29 PM, Steve Hayes wrote:







I bet you mean aspx

if so, you will get plenty of info from a Google search

No I don't mean aspx. I mean .oxps.

I'm not sure why anyone would want to print an aspx file to find how to get
somewhere.

But my wife copied and pasted the content to a .docx file, which Libre Officce
opened, and so I was able to print it.

The original one she got was what she got when she wanted to print something
from Google maps.






Ok thanks


oxps is a new one for me

On Sun, 7 Dec 2014 11:28:04 -0500, "Mayayana" wrote:

| Now we've been and gone and come back, and I think the next step is to
| discover how to make Windoes 8 default "print to file" use a more useful
| format like .pdf.
|

I'm curious how you got in that position in the
first place. Printing a webpage through IE, maybe?
If you're on a Google maps page you should be
able to just right click the map and save as JPG.
There's no reason to print a whole page.

Quite possibly.

My wife has the computer with Windows 8, and I've never touched it.

She just found the map of the place she wanted to go to, saved it as a file,
and asked me to print it.

When I tried to do so, I got the message that that couldn't be done in
anything other than Windows 8.

So I wondered if anyone else had encountered this phenomenon and knew of a
cheap and simple way to convert such files to be used by other operating
systems.

Now that I've realised that it is a feature of Windows 8, and not something
Google is responsible, I just wonder if it would be possible to change the Win
8 default to something more useful.


--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

Steve Hayes wrote:
On Sun, 7 Dec 2014 11:28:04 -0500, "Mayayana" wrote:

| Now we've been and gone and come back, and I think the next step is to
| discover how to make Windoes 8 default "print to file" use a more useful
| format like .pdf.
|

I'm curious how you got in that position in the
first place. Printing a webpage through IE, maybe?
If you're on a Google maps page you should be
able to just right click the map and save as JPG.
There's no reason to print a whole page.

Quite possibly.

My wife has the computer with Windows 8, and I've never touched it.

She just found the map of the place she wanted to go to, saved it as a file,
and asked me to print it.

When I tried to do so, I got the message that that couldn't be done in
anything other than Windows 8.

So I wondered if anyone else had encountered this phenomenon and knew of a
cheap and simple way to convert such files to be used by other operating
systems.

Now that I've realised that it is a feature of Windows 8, and not something
Google is responsible, I just wonder if it would be possible to change the Win
8 default to something more useful.

Remove the XPS print driver ? :-)

A PDF print driver is what you want, for "no-loss capture".
And be careful to set the "level" of the output, to something
relatively low.

In the case of Google, the Google Earth uses bitmap style output,
in order to tempt you with "high resolution" option offered
by their $$$ version of program. If you do a PrintScrn keypress
followed by saving the clipboard, or use Clipping Tool or the like,
the output will be low resolution. As is the .png file inside the
..oxps.

When I plan on using a computer interactively, I install at
least "one thing that can print" other than the XPS default.
As XPS is a relatively useless path, even if you only want to
open that output on the computer that made it. For example,
I was explaining that the xpsviewer.exe on WinXP appeared
to be broken, and the executable won't start. Which would
be an example where a .xps produced on the WinXP machine, could
not actually be viewed on the WinXP machine. At least, until
you install a later version of viewer (xpsrchvw.exe).

Articles like this offer suggestions on what to add for PDF.
My approach is a PostScript printer followed by Distilling,
but that's my own peculiar work flow. For example, the print
dialog shown in the example here, has "high quality images",
and that's one thing I think I'm getting by setting an
equivalent setting in Distiller (lossless compression).

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-...p-modern-apps/

At least a few companies, have made PDF user manuals, where it
is obvious the tech writer doesn't know what "image quality" is,
and the distiller step has compressed all the readability out
of each picture in the manual. Some motherboard manuals,
you can't read any of the BIOS shots (some router manuals
are like that too), which negates the whole purpose of having
a manual in the first place. If every picture is blurry, what
point does that serve ? Even the printed copy of the manual
can be fouled up like that. This is why checking the settings
on any post-production tool is important to making usable
output. A lot of PDFs have the wrong security settings,
and again, because the tech writer never bothered to
look at the settings at all. Just used the defaults.

Paul

On 07 Dec 2014, Steve Hayes wrote in
alt.windows7.general:

Now that I've realised that it is a feature of Windows 8, and not
something Google is responsible, I just wonder if it would be
possible to change the Win 8 default to something more useful.

Well, now you have another chance to ask everybody for their help and
then tell them how much smarter you are than them!

Steve Hayes wrote:
On Sun, 7 Dec 2014 11:28:04 -0500, "Mayayana" wrote:

| Now we've been and gone and come back, and I think the next step is to
| discover how to make Windoes 8 default "print to file" use a more useful
| format like .pdf.
|

I'm curious how you got in that position in the
first place. Printing a webpage through IE, maybe?
If you're on a Google maps page you should be
able to just right click the map and save as JPG.
There's no reason to print a whole page.

Quite possibly.

My wife has the computer with Windows 8, and I've never touched it.

She just found the map of the place she wanted to go to, saved it as a file,
and asked me to print it.

That's *one* approach to printing on a different PC, but I wouldn't
expect it to work very well unless you were very lucky.

Taking things one step at a time, why didn't she print it herself?

--
Mike Barnes
Cheshire, England

On Mon, 08 Dec 2014 06:42:04 -0500, Paul wrote:

Steve Hayes wrote:
On Sun, 7 Dec 2014 11:28:04 -0500, "Mayayana" wrote:

| Now we've been and gone and come back, and I think the next step is to
| discover how to make Windoes 8 default "print to file" use a more useful
| format like .pdf.
|

I'm curious how you got in that position in the
first place. Printing a webpage through IE, maybe?
If you're on a Google maps page you should be
able to just right click the map and save as JPG.
There's no reason to print a whole page.

Quite possibly.

My wife has the computer with Windows 8, and I've never touched it.

She just found the map of the place she wanted to go to, saved it as a file,
and asked me to print it.

When I tried to do so, I got the message that that couldn't be done in
anything other than Windows 8.

So I wondered if anyone else had encountered this phenomenon and knew of a
cheap and simple way to convert such files to be used by other operating
systems.

Now that I've realised that it is a feature of Windows 8, and not something
Google is responsible, I just wonder if it would be possible to change the Win
8 default to something more useful.

Remove the XPS print driver ? :-)

A PDF print driver is what you want, for "no-loss capture".
And be careful to set the "level" of the output, to something
relatively low.

In the case of Google, the Google Earth uses bitmap style output,
in order to tempt you with "high resolution" option offered
by their $$$ version of program. If you do a PrintScrn keypress
followed by saving the clipboard, or use Clipping Tool or the like,
the output will be low resolution. As is the .png file inside the
.oxps.

Yes, that's what I usually do -- PrintScreen, save to IrfanView and trim
accordingly.

I'll suggest that my wife does that too, unless Microsoft have cunningly
disabled that feature in Windows 8.

When I plan on using a computer interactively, I install at
least "one thing that can print" other than the XPS default.
As XPS is a relatively useless path, even if you only want to
open that output on the computer that made it. For example,
I was explaining that the xpsviewer.exe on WinXP appeared
to be broken, and the executable won't start. Which would
be an example where a .xps produced on the WinXP machine, could
not actually be viewed on the WinXP machine. At least, until
you install a later version of viewer (xpsrchvw.exe).

Articles like this offer suggestions on what to add for PDF.
My approach is a PostScript printer followed by Distilling,
but that's my own peculiar work flow. For example, the print
dialog shown in the example here, has "high quality images",
and that's one thing I think I'm getting by setting an
equivalent setting in Distiller (lossless compression).

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-...p-modern-apps/

Thanks for that -- will check it.


--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk