Firefox shouldn't assign itself to open .xps files. If you right-click a .xps file and choose Properties, does the "Type of file" and "Opens with" look sensible or does that fail to match what you expect for a .xps file? I don't have XP handy, but I'm attaching what I see in Windows 7 for reference.

Yes, it got me thinking. I attempted to open the xpsviewer to see if it would open the xps doc that way. Their is not an XPSViewer.exe (as is listed in the "open with" context menu. I found that the viewer is actually part of the .NET stuff and opens in IE. Went to IE and the file opens normally. I am guessing it is actually associated with the default browser and this is the real problem. Firefox does not support the file type yet it is associated by being the default.

   Thanks for your time, will try for a work around on this old os. 

Mike

I think that I remember that this is an issue in Windows XP that has been reported in the past. XPS file might be associated with Firefox, but Firefox can't handle this file type. IE should be set to open XPS files instead.

Very old bug about XPS files.

• bug 358297 - MS-Windows: XPS Viewer incorrectly redirects to firefox (Vista, XP)

apparently early xp did have a stand alone "XPSViewer.exe" and still shows up in the context menu when "open with" is selected and can be selected to always open with. This now associates the file type with the default browser. You need to associate it directly with IE and NOT the "XPSViewer.exe" option.

Thanks all that responded, helps to click the old mind!