XML Input

For a runnable .NET example, see Import XML data. The shared field-handling rules also apply.

TFORMer recognizes two XML format families for job data:

Internal TFORMer XML. The PSData/Form/Records hierarchy stores records and data-field name/value pairs. A Record may use the optional Copies attribute; its default is one.
Generic XML. TFORMer uses the first element level containing field values as a record. A field name can be supplied in the Name attribute or, if that attribute is absent, by the field element's name. The parent elements form the record and records-container hierarchy; their names are not fixed. XML exported by Microsoft Access is one example of this element-per-field structure. This does not imply compatibility with a specific Microsoft Access version.

In every format, imported field names must match the data-field names in the form layout.

Internal TFORMer XML-Format

The XML format used internally by TFORMer must be available exactly as specified below:

<PSData>
  <Form>
    <Records>
      <Record Copies="1">
        <V Name="DataFieldName1">Value</V>
        <V Name="DataFieldName2">Value</V>
        <V Name="DataFieldName3">Value</V>
      </Record>
      <Record Copies="1">
        <V Name="DataFieldName1">Value</V>
        <V Name="DataFieldName2">Value</V>
        <V Name="DataFieldName3">Value</V>
      </Record>
    </Records>
  </Form>
</PSData>

Description:

Name	Description
PSData	Required root element of the internal TFORMer XML format. It contains the `Form` element and all data in the file.
Form	Encloses all records for one form and must occur only once in an XML file.
Records	Encloses all records to be printed with the form and must occur only once in an XML file.
Record	Encloses the data fields for one record. Its optional `Copies` attribute defaults to 1 and can request multiple copies of the same data.
V	Data element consisting of the data-field name in the `Name` attribute and the actual value.
DataFieldName	Name of the data field; it must be unique within a record.
Value	Actual value of the data field.

Generic XML-Format

Generic XML supports two field representations. In both variants, the names of the root, records-container, and record elements are arbitrary; their nesting order determines their roles. TFORMer interprets the lowest element level as data-field definitions and values, with the parent elements representing records and their container.

Field Names in Name Attributes

<Root>
  <Records>
    <Record>
      <V Name="DataFieldName1">Value</V>
      <V Name="DataFieldName2">Value</V>
      <V Name="DataFieldName3">Value</V>
    </Record>
    <Record>
      <V Name="DataFieldName1">Value</V>
      <V Name="DataFieldName2">Value</V>
      <V Name="DataFieldName3">Value</V>
    </Record>
    <!--
    Further Data Records
    -->
  </Records>
</Root>

Description:

Name	Description
Root	Encloses all data within the XML file.
Records	Encloses all data records.
Record	Describes one data record. Within a record, one value can be specified for each data field.
V	Data element consisting of the data-field name in the `Name` attribute and the actual data-field value.
DataFieldName	Name of the data field; it must be unique within a record.
Value	Actual value of the data field.

Example:

<Root>
  <Records>
    <Record>
      <V Name="ArticleName">Chair</V>
      <V Name="ArticleNo">558963</V>
      <V Name="ArticlePrice">110</V>
    </Record>
    <Record>
      <V Name="ArticleName">Desk</V>
      <V Name="ArticleNo">778920</V>
      <V Name="ArticlePrice">150</V>
    </Record>
    <!-- Add more Record elements here. -->
  </Records>
</Root>

Field Names as Element Names

Variant 2 uses the field name as the element name instead of <V Name="DataFieldName">Value</V>:

<Root>
  <Records>
    <Record>
      <DataFieldName1>Value</DataFieldName1>
      <DataFieldName2>Value</DataFieldName2>
      <DataFieldName3>Value</DataFieldName3>
    </Record>
    <Record>
      <DataFieldName1>Value</DataFieldName1>
      <DataFieldName2>Value</DataFieldName2>
      <DataFieldName3>Value</DataFieldName3>
    </Record>
    <!--
    Further Data Records
    -->
  </Records>
</Root>

Microsoft Access XML-Format

The following Microsoft Access example uses one element per data field:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<dataroot xmlns:od="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:officedata">
  <tblTableName>
    <DataFieldName1>Value</DataFieldName1>
    <DataFieldName2>Value</DataFieldName2>
    <DataFieldName3>Value</DataFieldName3>
  </tblTableName>
  <tblTableName>
    <DataFieldName1>Value</DataFieldName1>
    <DataFieldName2>Value</DataFieldName2>
    <DataFieldName3>Value</DataFieldName3>
  </tblTableName>
  <!--
  Further Data Records
  -->
</dataroot>