5+ best XML viewer / XML file reader [2022 Guide]

XML (Extensible Markup Language) files do not do anything on their own, instead, they are just a way of storing data that can be easily read by other software.

There are a lot of programs that use XML to store information. In other words, you can open, create and edit an XML file in any text editor.

XML files are similar to HTML files but they’re not the same, XML is used for carrying data while HTML is used for displaying it.

There are a few programs that are able to read and edit XML files, and we chose five of the best. In this article, we will explain how to open an XML file in Windows 10.

Using these handpicked tools, you have multiple ways to read or edit your XML files. Hence, it’s possible to see the content files in Tree view or directly in Code format.

Take a look at their sets of features to see which one is the best XML reader for Windows.

Adobe Dreamweaver is one of the oldest platforms users could utilize to design and create websites.

First launched in 1997, Dreamweaver constantly adapted and received new features and options to meet the ever-increasing demands of website owners.

Nowadays, describing, labeling, and structuring data is extremely important.

This helps machines to quickly understand what a particular document or website is about.

XML (Extensible Markup Language) is still widely used to describe, store and transport data on the Internet via tags that define your data structure.

Dreamweaver is one of the best tools you can use to read and edit XML files. You can also create XML files and incorporate them into XSLT data.

This is a subset language of XSL you can use to display XML data on a web page, and then edit it into an easy-to-read form.

Other key features include:

• Import and export XML content
• Link XSLT pages to XML pages
• Perform XSL and XML-server side operations
• Plenty of templates to get you started

Are you curious to see what Dreamweaver can do?

Adobe Dreamweaver

Adobe Dreamweaver is a perfect software tool for website design but it’s also great for XML viewing and editing.

Filmora is well-known video editor software that can’t fail in helping you create captivating videos. Plus, it’s capable of text editing and kinetic typography.

This tool have multiple video editing tools like motion tracking or keyframes. So, if you need expressive videos to share with family or friends, this is a suitable place.

Besides all this, you can do text editing in creative ways as well. There are customizable text color, size or font, animated text, and so on.

With Filmora Editor, you can manage text files and export them in various formats. Even though XML format exporting is not available with the software, you can still view and edit text files whenever you need.

There is kinetic typography that can be done using this editing tool. You can use different styles, moving text, or creative fonts to express your ideas with artistic effect.

Hence, we trust this video editing software will greatly support you to access and edit text like XML files to create eye-catching text animations or videos.

Filmora Video Editor

Edit your text files in a creative manner with this big community software.

File Viewer Plus is probably the best program you can find to open different types of files. It supports over 400 file formats, including XLSX, XLTX, XLTM, and XSD.

The software can provide support to view common file types such as Office documents, image files or PDFs. Also, you can open various media player files on one platform.

The Smart File Detection feature will help you out in case you are not sure what type of file you are facing and need to detect the format first.

In addition to reading various file types, the software application lets you analyze and edit some of them. You can as well convert edited files to other formats, like having a Word file and converting it to PDF.

Here are the key features of File Viewer Plus:

• Edit and convert text documents, images to different formats
• Convert audio and video files to various multimedia formats
• Advanced image editing: edit, resize, crop and many other features
• Converting multiple files at once
• Use Inspect feature to see what a document that you cannot open contains

These are just a few of the features that File Viewer Plus offers to its users. Download it now and give it a try, you will not be disappointed.

⇒ Get File Viewer Plus

XML Explorer is another lightweight and fast utility that allows you to view XML files. The best thing about this software is that it is able to handle huge XML files.

The program has been tested even on files that are over 300 Mb.

XML Explorer allows users to enjoy the fast exploration of data, copying of formatted XML information, evaluation of XPath expression, and also XSD schema validation.

The program uses a DockPanel Suite and a docking library for .NET Windows Forms development which mimics Visual Studio .NET.

Here are the key features of XML Explorer:

• XML Explorer validates XML documents using XSD schema that is specified in the document
• Shows a list of validation errors, so you can navigate and select the node by double-clicking on the error
• An expression library stores and manages commonly used XPath expressions (similar to Firefox Bookmarks)
• It supports various document tabs, and you can also middle-click to close those tabs
• There are fully-featured Visual Studio-style dockable panels
• XML Explorer does not support editing for now.

Overall, this is a convenient tool, and you can find out more about its capabilities by downloading it to see how it works.

⇒ Get XML Explorer

EditiX XML Editor is another high-quality XML editor and XSLT editor, compatible with Windows and other operating systems.

This tool is designed to help web authors and application programmers take advantage of the latest XML and XML-related technologies such as XSLT/FO, DocBook, and XSD Schema.

EditiX XML Editor offers users an extensive range of XML functionalities within a refined IDE that is able to guide users with intelligent entry helpers.

All the processes will be manageable via shortcuts and working locally can be managed by OASIS XML Catalogs.

In the end, you can utilize this XML software for free or modify it according to the GNU (General Public License).

Here are the key features of EditiX XML Editor:

• Even beginners can easily get the hang of how this tool works
• The program comes with real-time XPath location and syntax error detection
• The helpers are also provided with context syntax popup supporting DTD, RelaxNG, and Schema
• Comes with support for various templates and project management
• You will be able to apply XSLT or FO Transformation, and the result will be shown in a dedicated view

This piece of software will turn out ideal, especially for web authors, app makers, and programmers.

⇒ Get EditiX XML Editor

Essential XML Editor is a lightweight program for the text-based XML document editing. There are enough key features included in this editor to provide users with everything they need.

Earlier versions of this editor have been released under the name Open XML Editor.

But now, it’s required to purchase an activation key to use all the features that come packed in this tool, and that’s why the term “open” was not considered appropriate anymore.

The Essential XML Editor also includes some more advanced features such as plug-ins for third-party Relax NG and W3C XML Schema validators

Here are the key features of Essential XML Editor:

• There is a built-in XML well-formedness tester included alongside a DTD Validator and a plug-in for the Saxon XSLT processor
• Other features that are supported by this software include undo/redo, search and replace, shortcuts for every command, a built-in file system explorer, a submenu of recently opened files and more
• There is also a detailed page setup and print preview dialogs
• The program also comes with an external hex editor that can be customized according to the users’ preferences

The key features of this editor can be used for free, without any time limitations. To use the advanced features, you have to pay a small fee.

⇒ Get Essential XML Editor

XML Tree Editor from Oxygen is able to display XML files as tree views, and the software also allows essential operations including adding, editing and even deleting text nodes along with their attributes.

The primary target of this software is to provide a user-friendly tool to create and edit XML configuration files for users who don’t necessarily know too much about XML.

The commands that are available for XML tags include the following: Add, Edit, Delete, Rename, Move to another position on the tree, Copy to another location, Copy from a separate reference XML document.

XML Tree Editor also supports language translation and the only tool necessary to make a new translation is a program itself.

Here are the key features of XML Tree Editor:

• The software comes with a built-in Free Pascal Lazarus that allows really easy compilations for various target platforms
• The available commands for comments include add, delete and edit
• The text node is not separated from its container tag, and it can contain virtually anything
• The program is very customizable, and it comes with two XML configuration files
• The search facilities that this software has to offer include searching through text values

This program represents the ideal way to move and edit XML nodes effortlessly and without wasting time. Some users say that this tool is quite similar to Notepad++.

⇒ Get XML Tree Editor

XML Notepad offers users a simple and really intuitive interface that will allow anyone to browse and edit XML documents.

The program uses incremental search in both text and tree views, and this means that as you type, it will navigate to matching nodes

Also, it supports drag/drop which allows easier manipulation of the tree even from the file system and across various instances of XML Notepad.

There are configurable fonts and colors via the options dialog, and there’s also a full find/replace dialog that offers support for XPath and regex.

You have also included an HTML viewer that is able to process XML-stylesheet processing instructions.

Here are the key features of XML Notepad:

• The Tree View is synchronized with Node Text View to provide quick editing of node names and values
• XML Notepad supports cut/copy/paste functionalities
• There is an infinite undo/redo for all edit operations
• You will also get the opportunity to edit large text node values
• With the help of XML Notepad, you will enjoy excellent performance even on large XML documents and this software is able to load a 3 Mb document in just a second
• You will get instant XML schema validation while you are editing and errors and warnings will be shown in the error list window
• XML Notepad supports custom editors for date, dateTime and time datatypes

⇒ Get XML Notepad

These are the best programs that allow you to read/edit XML files. We recommend that you head over to their official websites to check out as many details about them as possible before making your final decision.

We would like to hear from you regarding some of these specialized XML file viewers. You can then reach us in the comments section and be heard about your experience.