Windows
XD for Windows needs a Creative Cloud All Apps subscription and Windows 10 or later. Without it, double-clicking an .xd file shows “How do you want to open this file?”. Instead, open Edge or Chrome, come to this page and drag the file from File Explorer onto it, or use Choose a file. If the file came by email in Outlook, save the attachment first (right-click › Save As). If it’s in OneDrive with “Files On-Demand”, right-click it and choose Always keep on this device first; a placeholder that hasn’t downloaded is empty, and the page will tell you so.
Mac
Quick Look shows only XD’s small thumbnail, if anything. Open Safari, Chrome or Firefox, come here and drag the file from Finder. Fonts like SF Pro and Helvetica Neue are usually installed on a Mac, so designs made on a Mac look exact. If the file is in iCloud Drive with “Optimise Mac storage” on, make sure it has downloaded (no cloud icon) before you open it.
Chromebook
There has never been an XD app for ChromeOS, and Android apps can’t open .xd files. The browser can: open this page in Chrome, then choose the file from your Downloads or Google Drive. Chromebooks rarely have commercial fonts installed, so text in fonts like Helvetica or SF Pro is drawn with close open-source substitutes, and the page lists every swap.
Linux
XD has never run on Linux. Any current Firefox or Chromium opens .xd files here, with the same viewer, inspector and exports as on other systems.
Phones and tablets
It works on iPhone, iPad and Android too: open the page, tap Choose a file and pick the .xd from Files or Downloads. The artboard view supports pinch to zoom. Exports are saved to your device’s downloads.
What you can do once it’s open
- See every artboard, and zoom into each one with the layers panel and an inspector for sizes, positions, colours, borders, shadows and type.
- See the document’s colours, text styles and fonts, and save its embedded pictures.
- Save any artboard as SVG or PNG, free. With the £9 unlock, save everything at once as a PDF or a ZIP, plus a handoff sheet.
Whatever the system, the file is read in your browser and never uploaded.