About XML Filters

Office stores documents in XML format. You can create customised filters that convert the native OpenDocument XML file format used by Office into another format. These filters can be integrated into Office seamlessly so that you can save or load these formats transparently.

To create an XML filter, you must have a good understanding of XML and XSLT concepts. These concepts are beyond the scope of this help.

An XML filter contains stylesheets that are written in the XSLT language. The stylesheets define the transformation from the OpenDocument file format to another XML format through export and import filters. There are three types of XML filters:

• Import Filters - load external XML files and transform the format of the files into the OpenDocument XML file format. After you install an import filter, the name of the filter is added to the list of file types in the File Open dialogue box.
• Export Filters - transform OpenDocument XML files and save the files to a different XML format. After you install an export filter, the name of the filter is added to the list of file types in the Export dialogue box.
• Import/Export Filters - load and save OpenDocument XML files into a different XML format. After you install these filters, the names of the filters are added to the list of file types in the File Open dialogue box and the File Save As dialogue box.

Related Topics

• World Wide Web Consortium Pages on Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL)
• World Wide Web Consortium Pages on Extensible Markup Language (XML)
• XML File Formats
• Distributing XML filters
• Creating and Testing XML filters