What is the MPS file format?
.mps files are proprietary binary map segment files created by Microsoft for use with Pocket Streets, the mobile companion to Microsoft Streets & Trips. Designed for Windows CE and Pocket PC devices, Pocket Streets allowed users to load regional map extracts onto a handheld device for offline navigation.
Map segments were exported from Streets & Trips on the desktop and saved as .mps files, each covering a defined geographic region. The format stores vector map data - streets, points of interest, landmarks, and routing information - in a compressed binary structure with little-endian byte order. File sizes range from around 500 KB to 50 MB depending on geographic coverage. Microsoft MapPoint for the desktop could also load .mps data alongside the related .EST Streets & Trips map format.
Pocket Streets was available through several major releases (2006, 2009, 2011, 2013), with the final version shipping alongside Streets & Trips 2013. Microsoft discontinued both Streets & Trips and MapPoint in 2013, making .mps files effectively obsolete. No current Microsoft product reads them, and users have migrated to online services such as Bing Maps or third-party GPS applications.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWGIS data file with no executable content. Safe to possess. Legacy format - modern antivirus may not recognize it but it poses no threat.
Format details
in a nutshell- Mathematical Programming System (MPS) format - Text-based LP/MILP optimization problem format (IBM origin, 1960s); used by CPLEX, Gurobi, lpsolve - unrelated to GIS; file is plain ASCII text.
- MPEG-1 System Stream - Some rare encoders used .mps for MPEG-1 multiplexed audio+video system streams; uncommon - .mpg/.mpeg are standard extensions for this.
Programs that open MPS files
Windows2 apps
Microsoft MapPoint (legacy)
Paid Discontinued in 2013. If you have a legacy installation, File → Open → select MPS. No longer available for purchase or download from Microsoft.
Microsoft Streets & Trips (legacy)
Paid Discontinued in 2013. Could export MPS files for Pocket Streets but not a viewer per se. Technical details
deep spec| Format type | Proprietary binary vector map segment |
| Encoding | Binary with XML metadata components; little-endian byte order |
| Compression | Proprietary (likely compressed, similar to EST format) |
| Geographic scope | Single file covers one defined geographic region |
| Data stored | Streets, roads, points of interest, landmarks, and route data |
| Typical file size | 500 KB - 50 MB per map segment |
| Platform | Windows Mobile / Windows CE (device); Windows desktop (via MapPoint) |
| Target device | Pocket PC and Windows CE handheld devices |
| Companion format | .est (Streets & Trips full desktop map file) |
| Discontinued | 2013, following Microsoft's end-of-life for Streets & Trips and MapPoint |
| Migration path | Users moved to Bing Maps and third-party GPS applications |
| Released | ~2000 (Microsoft Pocket Streets for Windows CE/Pocket PC) |
| Latest version | Pocket Streets 2013 (final version, with Streets & Trips 2013) |
MPS conversions
Community Q&A
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