How to open an InfoPath form without InfoPath
An InfoPath form is an XML file with a pointer to the template that knows how to draw it. Once the software that follows that pointer is gone, double-clicking the file gets you a wall of tags, or nothing at all.
To open an InfoPath form without InfoPath, you need two things: the form's .xml file (the data someone filled in) and, ideally, the .xsn template it was built on (which holds the layout). Drag both into FormArchive and the form renders with its original layout on Mac or Windows, ready to save as a PDF or export to Excel. If the template is lost, FormArchive still shows every field in a labelled generic view. A browser or text editor will also open the XML, but you see raw tags rather than a form.
What you are actually looking at
An InfoPath submission is a plain XML file. The first lines are processing instructions, usually <?mso-infoPathSolution ... href="..."?> and <?mso-application progid="InfoPath.Document"?>. They tell Windows to hand the file to InfoPath and tell InfoPath where the template lives. Everything after that is the data: elements in a my: namespace, one per field, nested in the groups the form designer created.
None of the layout is in that file. The labels, the sections, the tables and the formatting all live in the template. That is why the same XML can look like a tidy expense claim in InfoPath and like a list of my:field7 elements anywhere else.
Option 1: open it with the template (the original layout)
The template is the .xsn file the form was published from. In a SharePoint form library it is normally in the library's Forms folder, named template.xsn. If the library used content types, it may sit with the content type instead. The href in the XML's first line tells you where it was published.
With the template, FormArchive applies the view stylesheets stored inside it, so you see the form the way your staff filled it in. If the template has several views, such as an entry view and a print view, you choose which one to show and export.
Option 2: open it without the template
Templates get lost: a library was rebuilt, a designer left, the file was never backed up. The data is still complete without it. FormArchive reads the XML on its own and lays out every field with its name as a label, uses group names as headings, and turns repeating groups into tables. It is not the original design, but nothing in the form is unreadable.
What doesn't work well
- A web browser. It shows the XML tree. Fine for one field, painful for a whole form and useless for a library.
- Word. Word can open XML but does not understand InfoPath views.
- Applying the view XSL yourself. The
view1.xslfiles inside a template are XSLT, so you can run them with any XSLT processor. They rely on InfoPath-specific extensions, though, and the result is often missing formatting or fails outright. - Keeping an old PC with InfoPath 2013. It works, one form at a time, on Windows only, on software that is out of support.
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Works with InfoPath 2007, 2010 and 2013 forms. Mac and Windows.
FAQ
Can I open an InfoPath form on a Mac?
Yes. InfoPath itself never ran on macOS, but FormArchive does. Drag the .xml file in, add the .xsn template if you have it, and the form opens with its layout.
Is there a free InfoPath viewer?
FormArchive previews 10 forms free, with the original layout and every field. Bulk export to PDF and Excel is a paid plan.
Why does my InfoPath file open in a browser as code?
Without InfoPath installed, Windows hands the .xml file to the default XML or web viewer, which shows the raw data. The layout lives in the separate .xsn template.