.wps File — WPS Writer Document

WPS files are associated with two different applications: Microsoft Works and WPS Office (formerly Kingsoft Office). The Microsoft Works WPS format was used by the budget-friendly Microsoft Works word processor that was bundled with many consumer PCs from the 1990s through the 2000s. WPS Office, developed by Kingsoft in China, uses a more modern format that is largely compatible with Microsoft Office documents. The Microsoft Works variant stored basic text formatting, simple tables, and images in a binary format that was intentionally simpler than the full Microsoft Word DOC format. WPS Office has grown to become one of the most popular Microsoft Office alternatives globally, particularly in Asia, with over a billion users. The WPS Office version supports rich formatting, track changes, comments, and most features expected in modern word processing. Both variants can generally be opened by LibreOffice and converted to more common formats like DOCX or PDF for broader compatibility.