How to View or Open XML File in Excel, Chrome, Text Editor

What is an XML File?

eXtensible Markup Language files, also known as XML files for short, are readable files that describe data structures. XML is a computer programming language that transmits data and its meaning between computer systems. Being a markup language, it uses XML tags to specify how the document should be structured

There are different ways you can open XML files, either online or using apps on your computer. In this article, you will learn how to open these files differently and convert a Word document to an XML file.

You can save it on your system by using the .xml extension. In case you haven’t seen it before, this is what XML files look like:

How to open an XML file using the Chrome browser

In this method, simply drag the XML file you want to open to a new tab in Chrome. The browser automatically opens the file in XML format.

Here, are steps to open an XML file using the Chrome browser:

Step 1) Open File Explorer on your system and browse to the XML file you want to open.

Step 2) Right-click over the file you have chosen and select “Open With.”

Step 3) Different browsers may show up on your screen. Scroll down to find Chrome or any browser of your choice, and click.

Note: Although the Chrome browser is used in this article, you may use other browsers on your system with the same method described for Chrome.

Step 4) You will see the XML

How to Open or View XML files using a text editor – Notepad

You can also read an XML file using text editors like Notepad or Word. However, Notepad is a more commonly used text editor to open XML files. It is more simple and not as complex as MS Word.

Step 1) Go to the file explorer on your system. Locate the XML file you want to open and right-click. Choose the “Open with” option that displays on your screen.

Step 2) Choose Notepad

A list of various tools to open XML files will display on your screen. Scroll down to find Notepad and click on it.

However, if the Notepad does not show up when you first click on the “Open with” option, you can follow this process.

Step 1) Click on Choose another app.

Step 2) Check for more apps

If you still have not found it, click on More apps with an arrow pointing downwards

Step 3) Click on Notepad

More apps will be displayed on your screen, allowing you to choose. Scroll down those options and click on Notepad. File will be opened

How to open or view an XML file using Excel

You might be wondering if it is possible to open an XML file in Excel. Well, it is. However, it is only applicable if your XML file does not have too many nested tags.

Step 1) Open MS Excel in your system

Open your MS Excel file and click on File, then Open.

Step 2) Then browse to the location of the XML file. Once you have found it, you may double-click on it or select Open to open the file.

Step 3) Three options will appear on your screen. Then you select “As an XML table” and click OK.

Step 4) It will then open the XML file on an Excel table. The nested tags in the XML file convert the file into an Excel table.

How to open the XML file online using XMLGrid.net

There are various XML viewers on the internet today, such as XMLGrid.net, JSON format, and Code beautify. They all work in a similar pattern. However, XMLGrid.net serves as an illustration in this article.

Here, are steps to open the XML file online using XMLGrid.net:

Step 1) Go to your default browser and type this URL, XMLGrid.net, on the search bar. This is how the homepage looks when you open the link.

Step 2) You might choose to paste in a URL, copy and paste your data in the box, or click on Open File to search for XML files on your computer.

Step 3) After choosing your file, click on Submit to view your XML file

Step 4) Switch from Gridview to TextView

Then clicking on Submit -> GridView -> TextView option to see the complete XML file.

Your file will appear as thus:

How to Convert and Read an XML file format in a text format

To make your XML file more flexible, you need to convert it to text. You can convert an XML file to text by using Wondershare PDFelement.

Here are steps to convert and read XML file into text format:

Step 1) Open the XML file using either Notepad or MS word

Step 2) Click on File on your word editor. Several options will display on your screen, including Print. Click on it. Or you can type ctrl P to bring out the printing options.

Step 3) Different print options will be displayed on your screen, but choose Wondershare PDFelement. Then click on Print.

Step 4) You will be redirected to the Wondershare PDFelement app. Click on Convert and then To Text. Your XML file will be automatically converted to text.

Note that: You can create an XML file by re-converting your text file to an XML format. Simply change the extension from .txt to .xml when saving the document in your system.

FAQ:

There are text editors on Android phones that can be used to access your XML files. Hence, you do not need to download any XML file viewer app.

To open an XML file on your Android phone, you need to follow these steps:

Step 1) Navigate to the File Manager on your phone and search for the XML file you want to access.

Step 2) Click on the XML file. Various word editor apps that open an XML file will show up on your screen. You should select either of them to access your file. In this article, a WPS Office app was used to open the XML file.

If you want to open your XML file on windows, you have to right-click on the file you want to open. Choose the Open With option and select either Notepad, Notepad ++, or any internet browser.

Summary

XML files can be opened with a Chrome browser, Notepad, MS Excel, or an online tool such as XMLGrid.net.
You can create an XML file by saving a document with a .xml extension instead of .txt.
XML files are converted to text for easy editing and understanding using Wondershare PDFelement.