Batch convert XML files to pipe delimited text files

Shiji Pan

1 year ago

Want to batch convert XML files to TXT (“|” pipe delimited text) files?

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Batch convert XML files to TXT (“|” pipe delimited text) files

Click “Start a New Convert” at task dialog.

then show the wizard.

Select From “Files” “XML” To “Files” “TXT”.

And config the first source XML file.

List source XML files.

After converting, you can view output TXT (“|” pipe delimited text) files.

Value kind	in XML	in Pipe-delimited
Int	`<int>1234</int>`	`1234`
Bigint	`<bigint>9007199254740993</bigint>`	`9007199254740993`
Decimal	`<decimal>1234.56</decimal>`	`1234.56`
Float	`<float>1.234e10</float>`	`1.234e+10`
Text	`<char>text</char>`	`quoted only when it contains a pipe or a quote`
Long text	`<text>multi-line text</text> (entities for & <)`	`must be quoted; line breaks inside force multi-line records`
Date	`<date>2026-09-18</date> (xs:date with an XSD)`	`2026-09-18`
Datetime	`<datetime>2026-09-18T14:30:00Z</datetime> (xs:dateTime)`	`2026-09-18 14:30:00`
Binary	`<blob>base64...</blob> (xs:base64Binary)`	`not representable - base64 or hex string`
Boolean	`<bool>true</bool>`	`TRUE / FALSE, or 1 / 0 depending on the writer`
JSON	`escaped inside an element, or its own sub-tree`	`the whole JSON value quoted, with internal quotes doubled`

Both XML and Pipe-delimited are file formats, so what differs below is how each one chooses to represent a value.

Property	in XML	in Pipe-delimited
identifiers	`Attribute values in quotes; entities (& < >) for ...`	`Double quotes; a literal quote is doubled ("" )`
dates	`Text (xs:date / xs:dateTime when an XSD is in play)`	`Conventional text: 2026-09-18 or 2026-09-18 14:30:00`
binary	`base64Binary / hexBinary inside text`	`Not supported`
separator	`Tags, not delimiters`	`Pipe "\|"`
encoding	`Declared in the XML declaration`	`No declaration - UTF-8 works only with a BOM`
typing	`None in the markup itself`	`None - every field is text`
shape	`Arbitrary tree`	`Flat table, optional header row`
ceiling	`Whole document is usually parsed into memory`	`No formal limit; row count bounded by memory`

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