Convert XSN to PDF

A fixed PDF is useful when an InfoPath form must be emailed, submitted, printed, or archived for recipients who do not have InfoPath. The conversion captures the rendered form view; it does not turn the editable InfoPath template into an interactive PDF form.

What the XSN format is

XSN is the Microsoft InfoPath form-template format. It is a package containing the form layout, views, XML schemas, controls, resources, data-connection definitions, and the manifest.xsf file that describes the template.

InfoPath Designer created XSN files, particularly in InfoPath 2003, 2007, 2010, and 2013 environments. SharePoint form libraries and other older business systems also used these templates. An XSN is not normally a completed response: filled forms are usually saved as XML documents based on the template.

What the PDF format is

PDF stores a fixed page representation that can be viewed and printed without InfoPath. It preserves the generated page layout and pagination more reliably than an editable form package and is suitable for distribution, submission, and records storage.

A printed PDF does not retain InfoPath controls, validation rules, conditional formatting logic, calculated-field behavior, data connections, workflow actions, or custom code. It contains the rendered output of the selected view, not the XSN package or its editing functionality.

How to convert XSN to PDF

Using Microsoft InfoPath

1. Use a Windows installation that has a compatible Microsoft InfoPath desktop application, such as InfoPath Designer 2013. InfoPath is discontinued, is not included in current Microsoft 365 desktop applications, and may be difficult to obtain or run on newer systems.
2. Open the .xsn file in InfoPath Designer with File → Open. If it came from an untrusted source, do not allow external data connections or custom code to run.
3. Select the view to export and use Preview to check repeating sections, calculated values, page breaks, headers, and populated controls.
4. Choose File → Print. Select Microsoft Print to PDF, Adobe PDF, PDF24, or another installed PDF printer; set the intended paper size, orientation, and page range; then save the output with a .pdf extension.
5. Open the saved PDF in a viewer and inspect every page. Check that repeating sections, signatures, images, external values, headers, and footers appear as expected.

To capture a completed form, open or fill its associated XML form in the InfoPath environment that supports the template and its connections, then print that rendered form. Opening an XSN in Windows Explorer or extracting it with an archive utility does not create a meaningful PDF.

Online conversion

General online converters, including services that accept common Office documents, generally do not render arbitrary InfoPath XSN packages. A reliable web service would need to reproduce the template’s views, rules, data connections, controls, and possibly custom code, so uploading an XSN is not a dependable conversion method. It can also disclose embedded schemas, connection details, custom resources, or business data.

Use local InfoPath rendering and a PDF printer instead. Do not upload a confidential XSN to an online service unless the service explicitly supports the required InfoPath version and the organization has approved the disclosure.

Quality and compatibility limitations

Only the view and state that are printed appear in the PDF. If the template has multiple views, print each required view separately. A form that depends on SharePoint, web services, external databases, ActiveX controls, or managed code may show missing values or incomplete content when its original environment is unavailable.

Output can differ from the on-screen preview because of unavailable fonts, printer settings, paper size, unsupported controls, or page-scaling options. Set the paper size and orientation before printing, disable unintended scaling when appropriate, and verify the generated PDF rather than treating the XSN package itself as converted.