A program for opening and editing xml files. How to open an xml document
XML stands for Extensible Markup Language. Such files store a variety of information, from application settings and software systems to databases.
Purpose of XML
Files of this format are used to exchange data between users on the Internet and programs. Programmers work with them regularly, and ordinary users encounter them, for example, when receiving and uploading data electronically to Rosreestr.
Due to the fact that the file contains text information, it can be edited in many text editors. Unlike XTML, which is similar in formatting, XML uses user-defined tags. It is precisely because each user is able and free to create the markup that he needs in a particular situation that the language is called extensible. Structurally, this type of document consists of a tree of elements, where these elements have content and attributes.
Opening via browser
When you double-click on a file, in most cases it opens through a browser, and through the one that is designated as the default browser on a given computer (mostly Microsoft Edge for Windows 10). But this setting is changeable:
Advice! To open it one-time through another program without changing permanent settings, you can use the “Open with” item in the same context menu. To open a document through an already open browser, drag it with the mouse into the browser window.
Other ways
Notepad and older versions of Word open this type of file in a form that is unreadable to humans.
Word
Modern versions of the Word text editor open XML with ease, transforming a list of data into a readable structure.
Excel
Excel distributes this format of data in a table. The only drawback that users note is that the document in this program opens slowly, it may even seem that Excel has frozen.
Notepad
A free text editor on the open platform, Notepad instantly opens even heavy files. But experienced programmers do not have enough functionality of the program, so they use additional plugins for Notepad.
For XML files, online editors and specialized free and paid software packages are also used (Oxygen XML Editor, XML Marker, XMLPad, EditiX Lite Version, etc.). Naturally, the functionality of paid ones is much higher.
To view the contents of files, what program you use does not matter, but when creating and editing it can. Comparative characteristics and detailed instructions for each program are easily found on the Internet.
When working with documents, you may come across a file with the XML extension. Typically, in Windows, this file extension is not associated with the program and therefore you will not be able to open an XML file by double-clicking it. In this article we will tell you what this file is, what it can be used for and how to open it.
Before you start opening XML files, a few words about what these files are and what they are used for. An XML file is a text file built using XML Markup Language or eXtensible Markup Language. This markup was developed to create documents that would not be difficult to process programmatically, and would also be easy for humans to read without the use of special programs. This property allows you to open and edit XML files using almost any text editor.
XML is a set of simple rules that a file must follow in order to conform to a format. However, XML does not record the markup that is used in the document, allowing it to be determined by the program developer. Thanks to this, each developer can create his own markup to solve his problems and use it in his XML documents. This opens up great opportunities for creating new XML-based file formats.
XML markup language is now used in many other file formats. For example, the formats known to all users of the Microsoft Office office suite, XLSX and PPTX, store text information in the form of XML. Another example is the popular one, which is also built on XML.
How to open files
As we have already said, the XML file can be opened using any text editor. For example, you can use the standard text editor Notepad, which is available in all versions of the Windows operating system. Just launch Notepad, use the "File - Open" menu, select all file types and open your XML file. You can also simply drag and drop the XML file into the Notepad window.
You will then see the contents of the XML file in Notepad. If necessary, you can even edit it and save the file.
If the capabilities of standard Notepad are not enough for you, then you can use the free Notepad++ (). This program is a specialized text editor for programmers and webmasters. The main advantage of Notepad++ over simple Notepad is syntax highlighting, which greatly simplifies working with XML files.
You can also open the XML file using any web browser (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera and others). To do this, simply drag the file into your browser window and it will open automatically. Web browsers can highlight XML syntax, which makes the file much easier to read, but you won't be able to edit an XML file using a browser.
In some cases, it is convenient to use the Excel spreadsheet to view the contents of an XML file. To do this, open Excel, use the “File – Open” menu and select the XML file. After this, a small window will appear in which you need to select “XML table” and click “OK”.
As a result, the contents of the XML file will be converted into an Excel table, and the columns will be given appropriate names.
How to edit XML files
Like any text file, an XML file can be opened and edited in any text editor. But, in most cases, editing XML in regular editors is very inconvenient. To solve this problem, there are specialized programs that have backlighting, hints and other tools that make the job easier. Here are some of such programs.
The XML format is designed to store data that may be useful in the operation of certain programs, websites and support for certain markup languages. It is not difficult to create and open a file with this format. This can be done even if you do not have any specialized software installed on your computer.
XML itself is a markup language, somewhat similar to HTML, that is used on web pages. But if the latter is used only for displaying information and its correct markup, then XML allows it to be structured in a certain way, which makes this language somewhat similar to an analogue of a database that does not require a DBMS.
You can create XML files using specialized programs or the text editor built into Windows. The ease of writing code and the level of its functionality depend on the type of software used.
Method 1: Visual Studio
Instead of this Microsoft code editor, you can use any of its analogues from other developers. In fact, Visual Studio is a more advanced version of the usual "Notepad". The code now has special highlighting, errors are highlighted or corrected automatically, and special templates are already loaded into the program that make it easier to create large XML files.
To get started you need to create a file. Click on an item "File" in the top panel and from the drop-down menu select "Create…". A list will open indicating the item "File".
The newly created file will already have the first line with the encoding and version. By default, the first version and encoding are specified UTF-8, which you can change at any time. Next, to create a full-fledged XML file, you need to write down everything that was in the previous instructions.
When finished, select again in the top panel "File", and there is an item from the drop-down menu "Save everything".
Method 2: Microsoft Excel
You can create an XML file without writing code, for example, using modern versions, which allows you to save tables with this extension. However, you need to understand that in this case it will not be possible to create something more functional than a regular table.
This method is more suitable for those who do not want or do not know how to work with code. However, in this case, the user may encounter certain problems when rewriting the file in XML format. Unfortunately, the operation of converting a regular table to XML is possible only on the newest versions of MS Excel. To do this, use the following step-by-step instructions:
Method 3: Notepad
Even a regular one is quite suitable for working with XML "Notebook", however, it will be difficult for a user who is not familiar with the syntax of the language, since various commands and tags need to be written in it. The process will be somewhat simpler and much more productive in specialized programs for editing code, for example, in Microsoft Visual Studio. They have special tag highlighting and tooltips, which greatly simplifies the work of a person new to the syntax of this language.
This method does not require downloading anything, since it is already built into the operating system. "Notebook". Let's try to make a simple XML table in it using these instructions:
Your finished result should look something like this:
XML compilers must process this code as a table with one column containing data about a certain Ivan Ivanov.
IN "Notepad" it is quite possible to make simple tables like this, but when creating larger data sets, difficulties may arise, since in ordinary "Notepad" There are no functions for correcting errors in the code or highlighting them.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated in creating an XML file. If desired, it can be created by any user who more or less knows how to work on a computer. However, to create a full-fledged XML file, it is recommended to study this markup language, at least at a primitive level.
This section offers for downloading the program XML Converter / XML Designer / XML Reports / Just Sign / XML Contact - Rosreestr.
Examples of generating electronic versions of documents using XML Constructor programs and their printed analogues using XML Reports programs can be downloaded in the section. We also suggest looking at the section where you will find various free utilities, libraries and more.
XML Converter Program configured to convert XML files/Rosreestr documents such as cadastral extracts, cadastral plans of the territory into other easy-to-use formats such as MIF/MID, DXF, CSV, TXT, HTML.
XML Designer program is configured to create electronic versions in XML format of documents for cadastral activities such as boundary plans, technical plans, map (plan), etc., as well as notifications of pledge of movable property and notifications in accordance with the FATCA law.
XML Reports program configured to convert electronic documents for cadastral activities such as boundary plans, technical plans, map (plan) into the corresponding printed (paper) counterparts.
Just Sign Program designed for creating and verifying electronic digital signatures (EDS).
XML program Contact-Rosreestr is intended for interaction with the Rosreestr web service, i.e. creating applications for cadastral registration of land plots and real estate, requests for cadastre information, obtaining results on these applications and requests.
All programs (except Just Sign and XML Contact-Rosreestr) have a demo mode lasting 30 days, which allows you to use the functionality of the programs without restrictions. After the demo period expires, you must either purchase full versions of the programs or stop using them. The Simply Sign program is a free program and has no restrictions on use. The Contact-Rosreestr XML program is in beta testing and is currently free to use.
IMPORTANT! To convert using the program XML Converter or XML Constructor Large XML files need to be downloaded and installed by an external XQuery query processor and specified in the appropriate field of the program before conversion. Currently, two freely available query processors are supported: AltovaXML 2010 (developed by www.altova.com) and Saxon-HE 9.5 (developed by www.saxonica.com). You can download them from the manufacturer’s website or from this site using the links below:
IMPORTANT! Before you start working with the programs, you must read the instructions. This is especially important for the XML Constructor program, since before work it is necessary to understand the principle of operation of this program. The instructions are located in the same folder as the program's executable file, i.e. for the XML Constructor in the folder “c:\ProgramFiles\XMLCON\XMLConstructor\XMLConstructor-help.rtf”. You can call the instructions through a shortcut from the main menu of Windows programs, i.e. for the XML Designer “Start->Programs->XML Designer->XML Designer - Instructions”. For the XML Designer program, instructions are also available through the Help menu.
