XML is widely applied in web technologies. If you work with websites regularly, having a solid understanding of XML will help you have a better knowledge of how websites deliver content. This post will give you a comprehensive introduction to the XML file.
What Is an XML File
Extensible Markup language, or XML, is one of the most popular file formats for sharing structured information across systems or platforms. It is a text-based document with the .xml file extension. Similar to HTML, XML is a markup language but with a more flexible structure. It was introduced by the World Wide Web Consortium in 1998.
XML files are composed of tags and text. Users can create and define their tags or use tags created by other users while editing an XML file.
How to Open XML Files
As XML files are plaintext files, they can be opened and edited in any text editor. On Windows, you can open an XML file with Notepad while TextEdit for Mac. Both of those two software are pre-installed text editors. All you need to do is select the XML file and right-click on it, hover over “Open With” and choose one text editor.
You can also open an XML file with Microsoft Excel. To do that, you should launch Excel first, click “File > Open”, locate your XML file and hit “Open”. In the “Open XML” window, select “As an XML table." Then your XML file will be converted into an Excel table which is organized based on the tag structure.
If you just want to view the content of the file, you can do it with any web browser like Chrome, Edge, and Safari.
Besides, there are many online XML viewers available on the Internet. Some of the most popular XML openers are Code Beautify, JSON Formatter and XML Grid. You can pick one you prefer and upload your XML files to it to view the content.
How to Convert XML to PDF
XML files come with downsides: they do not have an encryption system to protect them. When it comes to file transferring, it is suggested to convert an XML file to a more secure file type like PDF, which can be protected by passwords. After converting XML to PDF, the file will be more accessible.
To convert XML to PDF, you can resort to an online converter like FreeConvert. Upload your XML file to the web app, select “PDF” as the output format and hit “Convert”. If you want to make more conversions between PDF and other office documents, try SwifDoo PDF.
