Welcome to the XPS & OPC APIs
My team has been heads down getting some great stuff together for all of you working on printing & beyond, so I haven't been writing as much lately. I haven't abandoned those of you who follow my blog for PrintTicket, though things in that space have been pretty quiet around here for the most part. If there's a topic you'd like to see more info on though, please do leave a comment or send me feedback.
The big news though is that coming in Windows 7, and available with the beta, there are two new sets of APIs coming out in the upcoming Windows 7 SDK. First, we'll have support for XPS document reading & creation. Second, we'll have a set of APIs for creating OPC (Open Packaging Conventions) packages. Both APIs will support reading & writing of the corresponding file types, progressive loading, and COM interface surfaces. Additionally, we have support for digital signatures for XPS, and the ability to create digital signatures & policies for your own packages as well.
Along with that news, I'd also like to point out that the Windows 7 SDK Beta has just been released, and is available here.
Getting started with the OPC APIs doesn't take much:
1) Install the Beta. The OPC APIs only run on Windows 7
2) Install the SDK. If you're using Visual Studio, you'll find a tool in the start menu after installing to update Visual Studio to use the new SDK as well.
3) Create / open a C++ project
4) Include Windows.h & msopc.h.
That's it. you're ready to go!
FYI, If you're interested in the XPS / OPC space, here's another blog that you should be watching:
I'll be posting more about OPC, XPS & the new APIs in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!
- Ben