How to open XML files for editing in Excel: several simple ways

Often, some users have to deal with XML files that represent data based on entering a description with tags or program settings. You can not open them for editing with an ordinary double click. This is due to the fact that the application you want to associate with the extension is not installed by default. But if you need to get a legible file as a table with the ability to edit, you can open the XML file in Excel. It does not need any converters that can convert formats between themselves. The only point is that this option is available only in versions of Office 2003 and above.

How to open XML in Excel: the first way

Consider importing data based on Excel version 2016. The first and simplest way is to start the Excel program from the start. At startup, the application will receive a special login window instead of a greeting and a logo, in which there is a line "Open other books" on the left of the menu.

After that, the viewpoint is used, and in the new window XML is selected as the opened format. Then use the usual method to find the file you need and press the open button. In this case, the Excel XML file recognizes not as a text document containing descriptions and tags, but as the most common table. Naturally, the data can be edited at its discretion, but more on this later.

How to open XML format in Excel: the second way

Practically nothing is different from the first one more proposed method. The XML file in Excel can be opened from the file menu or use the quick Ctrl + O combination for this.

Again, first select the type of format to be opened, then the desired file is located and the corresponding button is pressed.

Opening XML: the third way

There are several other methods for opening XML files in Excel. So, in the version of the program in 2016, you can use the top-panel menu, where the "Data" section is selected, and then the external data retrieval button is pressed.

In the drop-down menu, you simply select the section "From other sources" and use the line "From XML import" in the new menu. After this, the standard procedure for finding the desired file follows and then opens.

Editing, saving and exporting

When using any of these methods, the user gets the table structure. Editing is done in the same way as it is done with standard XLS files. Sometimes for the convenience of editing and saving data, it is advisable to use the menu for developers.

In this case, you can not import all the contents of the XML file, but only what is really needed, by inserting the information into the corresponding columns and lines, specifying the XML object as the data source. But for this it is necessary in the program itself to sign in to the account using its registration in Microsoft.

You can save the modified file immediately in the original format by selecting the appropriate type from the list. From the file menu, if the object was saved in the "native" Excel format, you can select the export function, click on the file type change and set XML as the final format.

If the user is too lazy to do such conversions, or in the work he uses the version of Office below version 2003, to open this format as a table, you need to use a special converter. Such programs are now offered quite a lot. In extreme cases, if this does not work, you can easily turn to specialized online services, where the format will be changed within a couple of dozen seconds. At the end of such actions, you will only have to download the finished result in the XLS format to the hard disk, and then open it in Excel. However, in most cases, such actions are not required, since in the same Office 2003 the possibility of direct opening (import) of XML format is already provided for initially. And I think that few people today use obsolete office products from Microsoft.