How to open .xml files

Open XML files

At Mobile Forum we have published a large number of articles where we explain what files are . Dll, .JSON, RAR, . MSG, . BIN… In this article we are going to focus on showing how to open .xml files, a more widely used format than you might think at first.

Whether working in an office or browsing the internet, it is more than likely that on some occasion you have come across a file in .xml format, a format, contrary to what you might think, is very widespread and is compatible with a large number of applications, including web browsers. But What is an .xml file?

What are .xml files

Thanks to the file extensions, operating systems are able to recognize with which applications can the files be opened. When the files are associated with a specific application, the extension of the files is not usually shown because there is no need to know with which application we can open it, since it is shown in the file icon.

However, when the operating system does not recognize the extension, or displays a blank icon or displays a question mark. Depending on the type of applications you have installed on your computer, it is possible that this extension is associated with an application, although they do not only open with a specific application, as may be the case with Photoshop's .psd format. The .xml format was created by the World Wide Web Consortium.

Files with the .xml extension are files, forgive redundancy, which use extensible markup language which consists of a plain text file that you use to string separators or markers to define the structure. This format is used to define a syntax in the encoding of documents that applications can read.

A much more popular markup language is .html, used for web page encoding, language that uses a set of markup symbols that describe the format that displays the content of a web page. However, there is one aspect that clearly differentiates them.

While .xml is extensible, does not have a previously established markup language since it allows users to generate markup symbols according to the type of content, the .html files cannot be left out of the set of codes that is established.

Thanks to its versatility, this format we can find it in a large number of applications to create text labels that in turn allow you to create data structures. The X of the Office extensions from 2007 onwards, comes precisely from this .xml.

How to create .xml files

How to create .xml files

If we want create a file in .xml format to enter data on a machine, we can use any basic text editor, separating the data with commas and / or other elements and save the document as plain text with the extension .xml.

If the amount of data is very large, such as databases or spreadsheets, from the application where the data is located, we can export the file in .xml format from the Save as options available in Excel.

When saving the file, the application will generate a plain text file, separating the fields / records by commas. This process we can only do it from a computer, since the mobile versions of the spreadsheets only allow us to save the files in the application format.

How to open .xml files on a PC / Mac

As I have commented above, the files in .xml format are plain text files, so supports a large number of applications and machines that allow them to easily interpret established data.

In Windows, we can open a file in .xml format with the application Memo pad. When opening the file with notepad, the text will be displayed separated by commas (in most cases). If we want to work with the data contained in a file in .xml format we must use a spreadsheet.

If we want create filters, sort or classify available content in a file in .xml format we must import the file into a spreadsheet, as you can Excel, although we can also do it with LibreOffice without any problem.

When opening with these applications, the text that is separated by commas will be distributed in columns, which allows us to work in a much more comfortable and simple way than with a plain text file in any text editor.

How to open .xml files on Android

Open XML on Android

The .xml files are plain text files, that is, they do not include any format, beyond the one assumed by the extension. In this way, if we want to open files in this format on an Android device, we just have to use any application that allows us to open text documents.

If we have an application for open and work with spreadsheetsWe can also use it, although today, very few mobile applications allow us to import files in other formats. If you don't have a text editor or spreadsheet application, you can always use a web browser.

In the Play Store we have at our disposal a large number of applications completely free that allow us to see the files in .xml format but not edit their content if copying it to other applications.

XML Viewer - Reader and Opener
XML Viewer - Reader and Opener
Developer: evansir
Price: Free

How to open .xml files on iPhone

Open xml on iphone

As in Android, if we want to open .xml files on the iPhone, we must use an application that allows us to open text files, with or without format, such as Pages, the free text editor available on the App Store.

[app 361309726]

If we want to show the text included in the .xml file separated into columns, we must use the application Numbers, Apple's Excel which is also available for download completely free of charge for all users with an Apple account.

[app 361304891]

Another option to open .xml files on iPhone is to use one of the different free applications compatible with this format that we have at our disposal in the App Store, although we will only be able to see the content but not edit it.

[app 1003148843]

How to open .xml files without applications

Chrome

Every desktop mobile operating system includes an internet browser. The .xml format is compatible with each and every one of the internet browsers available today and even with the oldest, since this format is not exactly new, but has been with us for more than 20 years.


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