XML Editor Features¶

Version: 2.0.1

This page describes the advanced features available in the XML Editor.

Search (Find)¶

Search works in every view mode — Text, Tree and Graphic — for both XML documents and XSD schemas.

Finding Text in Your Document¶

Press Ctrl+F to open the Find feature and type the text you are looking for. Use the up and down arrows (Find Previous / Find Next, or Enter / Shift+Enter) to move between matches. When you reach the last match, the search wraps around and continues from the beginning.

Search Works in All Views¶

You can search in the Text, Tree or Graphic view of a document:

Text view - Matches are highlighted in the source code. Replace is available here.
Graphic view (XML instances) - The search looks through element names, attribute names, and values across the whole document. When you press the up/down arrows, the editor jumps directly to the matching node: if the match is inside a collapsed node, its parent nodes are expanded automatically, the matching row is selected, and it is scrolled into view.
Tree and Graphic views (XSD schemas) - The search looks through the schema nodes themselves: element/attribute/type names, documentation and appinfo, type references, fixed/default values, enumeration and facet values, and comments. Matching nodes are revealed (collapsed branches expand), selected, and scrolled into view — in the Graphic diagram this includes loading lazily rendered subtrees.

Searching is case-insensitive in all views.

Switching Views While Searching¶

If you switch the view mode (Text / Tree / Graphic) or the file tab while the search bar is open, the search automatically re-targets the view you switched to, so you can keep navigating without retyping your search term.

Where Search Is Available¶

Pressing Ctrl+F opens an inline search bar at the top of the editor, with up/down chevron arrows for Find Previous / Find Next and a replace toggle (Text view only). The same bar works in every view mode and every XML-family document type.

Note: In the Tree and Graphic views, search is for finding and navigating only - Replace is not available there (the replace toggle is disabled). To replace text, use the Text view.

Note: HTML documents have a rendered, read-only Preview view instead of Tree/Graphic (see HTML Preview). Pressing Ctrl+F there searches the document's underlying markup text, not the rendered page.

Searching Across Many Files¶

Ctrl+F searches the active document. To search - and replace - across all files of a folder, by plain text or by an XPath expression, use the Search activity in the Unified Shell: press Ctrl+Shift+F (Find in Files) or Ctrl+Shift+H (Replace in Files), or click the magnifying-glass icon in the activity bar. See the Search Panel guide.

Changed shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+F used to format the document - Format Document is now Shift+Alt+F.

Schematron Integration¶

Schematron validation in the Validation panel - the bound rules file in SOURCES, the findings in the PROBLEMS list

What is Schematron?¶

Schematron lets you create custom validation rules for your XML documents. While XSD schemas validate the structure, Schematron validates business rules - for example, "if field A contains X, then field B must not be empty."

How to Use Schematron¶

Open an XML file in the editor
Open the Validation panel from the activity bar
In the SOURCES section, click Change on the Schematron row and pick a .sch file - or pick a favorited Schematron from the row's star menu, or simply drop a .sch file onto the row
Click Run Validation - the findings appear in the PROBLEMS list (each row tagged with a Schematron badge); click a problem to jump to the offending element
Enable Validate while typing (the panel's ⋮ menu) to check as you type

Problems whose rules define quick fixes can be corrected in place: click the yellow lightbulb in the editor gutter (or press Alt+Enter / Ctrl+.), or right-click the problem row and pick a fix from the Quick Fix submenu. See Schematron Quick Fixes.

Saving Schematron Files as Favorites¶

Save frequently used Schematron files for quick access: - Add them to your Favorites (for example with Add current in the Favorites panel while the .sch file is open) - Organize them in favorites folders like "Business Rules" - Bind a saved rules file in one click via the star menu on the Validation panel's Schematron row - or from the Explorer's Schematron bar

Learn more: Schematron Support | Favorites System

Auto-Completion (IntelliSense)¶

IntelliSense Popup Auto-completion suggestions popup

Smart Element Suggestions¶

When you type < in the editor, a popup shows only the elements that are valid at your current position based on your XSD schema.

How It Works¶

Type < - A popup appears with valid element options
Use arrow keys - Navigate through the suggestions
Press Enter - Insert the selected element
Press Escape - Close the popup

Auto-Closing Tags¶

When you type an opening tag like <element>, the editor automatically adds the closing tag </element> and places your cursor between them.

Learn more: Auto-Completion Guide

Grid Editor (Graphic View)¶

For XML (and XSLT/Schematron) documents, switching to the Graphic view opens the editable XMLSpy-style grid.

XML Grid view in the Unified Shell The grid in the Unified Shell's Graphic view — table-like editing with the inspector

Edit XML Like a Spreadsheet¶

The grid displays your XML data in a table format, making it easy to edit structured data.

How to Use¶

Open an XML file in the editor
Switch to the Graphic view with the segmented view switch
Click cells to edit values directly
Add, delete, or move nodes using the right-click context menu
Select a row to view and edit its properties in the Properties inspector
Switch back to the Text view to see the updated code

Changes made in any view are synchronized automatically.

Reading the Grid¶

The header strip at the top reads "Grid view · nested · repeating elements as embedded grids" and offers a Collapse all button that folds every container at once.
Rows holding a simple value are marked with {}.
Collapsed containers show a "collapsed" hint so you know there is hidden content.
Repeating elements appear as embedded grids - small tables nested inside the row.

Properties Inspector¶

You can view and edit a node's properties from all three XML views (Text, Tree, and Graphic).

The Properties inspector shows the details of the selected node and lets you edit them. Toggle it with the panel toggle at the right end of the editor toolbar.

Select a node by moving the text caret into an element (Text view), clicking a node (Tree view), or selecting a row in the grid (Graphic view).
Edit the element name, namespace (prefix/URI), attributes (add/rename/remove), leaf text, and the text of comments, CDATA, and processing instructions.
Edits are written straight back to the document text, keeping everything in sync.
When a schema is bound, the inspector also shows read-only hints: the schema-derived type, documentation, and lists of valid child elements and example values.
All views share one in-memory model, so edits and Undo/Redo history carry over when you switch views.

See the Properties Inspector section for full details.

Code Folding¶

Code folding - collapse XML sections to focus on the parts that matter

For large XML files, you can collapse sections to focus on what you're working on:

Collapse: Click the minus (-) icon next to an element
Expand: Click the plus (+) icon to show the content again
Nested Folding: Collapse parent elements to hide all children

Tree View¶

Tree View Panel An XML document in the Tree view

Visual Document Structure¶

The tree view shows your XML document as a hierarchical structure:

Navigate: Click on tree nodes to jump to that location in the text
Understand Structure: Quickly see how your document is organized
Expand/Collapse: Click arrows to show or hide child elements
Edit Properties: Click a node to select it and edit its properties in the Properties Inspector

Supported Schema Formats¶

Format	Support
XSD (XML Schema)	Full support with IntelliSense
Schematron	Business rules validation
DTD	Not supported
RelaxNG	Not supported

Previous	Home	Next
XML Editor	Home	XSD Tools