You may have heard of Extensible Markup Language (XML), and you may have heard many reasons why your organization should use it. But what is XML, exactly? This article explains the basics of …

Microsoft Excel makes it easy to import Extensible Markup Language (XML) data from other databases and applications, to map XML elements from an XML schema to worksheet cells, and to export …

Microsoft Office uses the XML-based file formats, such as .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx. These formats and file name extensions apply to Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint.

XML is a plain-text, Unicode-based metalanguage (a language for defining markup languages). XML is not tied to any programming language, operating system, or software vendor. XML provides access …

To import and export XML data in Excel, an XML Map that associates XML elements with data in cells to get the results you want will be useful. To create one, you need to have an XML schema file (.xsd) …

In the Import XML dialog box, locate and select the XML data file (.xml) you want to import, and click Import. If the XML data file doesn't refer to a schema, Excel infers the schema from the XML data file.

The default format is XML based, which is important if you're using your data with third-party programs because XML is an open standard. However, for most purposes, the binary format is sufficient and …

After you've imported XML data, mapped the data to cells in your worksheet, and made changes to the data, you often want to export or save the data to an XML file. Before exporting XML data, you will …

For example, a .docx file is an Open XML formatted Microsoft Word document. Not all applications can read all file formats; and in some cases, an application may only be able to read parts of the file.

It is important to understand how XML Schema Definition (XSD) data types are handled when you import or export XML data, so that the data is appropriately converted according to your needs.

To open a file that was created in another file format, either in an earlier version of Excel or in another program, click File > Open. If you open an Excel 97-2003 workbook, it automatically opens in …