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Creating XML Filters

Creating an XML Filter for Office

When you create an XML filter for Office, you need to design an XSLT stylesheet that can convert to and from the OpenDocument XML file format.

For more information about the OpenDocument XML format, go to https://www.openoffice.org/xml/.

If you want, you can include a template with your filter to apply Office styles to an XML document that you import.

To Create an XML Filter

  1. Create an XSLT transformation stylesheet that maps the elements of the external XML format to the elements of the OpenDocument XML file format and back again.

  2. Create a template that assigns Office styles to elements in the external XML format when you import a file in this format into Office.

  3. In Office Writer, create a text document, and choose Tools - XML Filter Settings.

  4. Click New.

  5. In the XML Filter dialogue box, click the General tab, and define the properties of the filter.

  • In the Filter Name box, enter a name for the XML filter.

This name is displayed in the XML Filter Settings dialogue box.

  • In the Application box, select the Office application that the filter is for.
  • In the Name of File Type box, enter the file type that the filter is for.

This name is displayed in the list of file types in the Open, Export, and Save As dialogue boxes.

  • In the File extension box, enter the extension for the exported file.

To differentiate the file from other XML files, enter an extension other than *.xml.

  1. On the Transformation tab page, define the transformation properties for the filter.
  • (Optional) In the DocType box, enter the document type identifier for the external file format.

This identifier is used to detect the file type on import.

  • In the XSLT for export box, enter the path and file name of the XSLT stylesheet that defines the transformation from OpenDocument format to the external format.
  • In the XSLT for import box, enter the path and file name to the XSLT stylesheet that defines the transformation from the external format to OpenDocument format.
  • (Optional) In the Template for import box, enter the path and name of the template that defines the Office styles that are used in the imported file.

The files that are specified on the Transformation tab page are copied to the local Office users directory.

  1. Click OK.

To Test an XML Filter

You can perform basic tests on a custom XML filter in Office.

The document is not altered by these tests.

  1. Create or open a text document.

  2. Choose Tools - XML Filter Settings.

  3. In the list of filters, select the filter that you want to test, and click Test XSLTs.

  4. To test an Export filter, do one of the following in the Export area of the dialogue box:

  • Click Browse, select the Office document that you want to test, and click Open.
  • To test the current document, click Current Document.
  1. To test an Import filter, click Browse in the Import area of the dialogue box, select a document, and click Open.