Want to convert TXT (“|” pipe delimited text) file to XML file?
Try Withdata Data File Converter, a desktop TXT to XML converter for Windows, MacOS, and Linux, Convert TXT to XML, Easy and Fast.
- Can run in GUI mode, Step by Step, just a few mouse clicks.
- Can run in Command line, for Scheduled Tasks and Streams.
- Convert files locally and privately, avoid uploading large TXT file(s) to online services.
- Support Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Download Withdata DataFileConverter
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Linux .deb (For Debian, Ubuntu) 64 bit
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Convert TXT (“|” pipe delimited text) to XML
Choose TXT file -> Set XML file -> Convert TXT to XML
“Start a New Convert” for “TXT to XML”.
Select From “File” “TXT” To “File” “XML”.
1. Open source TXT (“|” pipe delimited text) file.
Support large TXT file ( > 4GB ).
Source TXT file’s content is like this:
2. Config target XML file.
3. Set rows options.
4. Convert TXT to XML.
After converting, you can view the output XML file.
More about TXT to XML converter
Download Withdata DataFileConverter
Windows 64 bit
Windows 32 bit
Linux .deb (For Debian, Ubuntu) 64 bit
Linux .rpm (For Red Hat, Fedora, SUSE) 64 bit
MacOS 64 bit
See Video: Convert TXT (“|” pipe delimited text) file to XML file in a few clicks
See also:
- Merge multiple pipe delimited text files into one XML
- Batch convert pipe delimited text files to XML files
Pipe-delimited text → XML reference
What is a pipe-delimited file?
A pipe-delimited file (also called pipe-separated values, PSV) is a plain-text file where each line is one record and a vertical bar | separates the fields. It works like CSV but uses | instead of ,, so a value that contains commas needs no quoting.
Name|Age|City
Alice|30|New York
Bob|41|San FranciscoTo open it in Excel: Data → From Text/CSV, then set the delimiter to | (or Text to Columns → Other = |).
Type mapping
| Value kind | in Pipe-delimited text | in XML |
|---|---|---|
| Int | 1234 | <int>1234</int> |
| Bigint | 9007199254740993 | <bigint>9007199254740993</bigint> |
| Decimal | 1234.56 | <decimal>1234.56</decimal> |
| Float | 1.234e+10 | <float>1.234e10</float> |
| Text | quoted only when it contains a pipe or a quote | <char>text</char> |
| Long text | must be quoted; line breaks inside force multi-line records | <text>multi-line text</text> (entities for & <) |
| Date | 2026-09-18 | <date>2026-09-18</date> (xs:date with an XSD) |
| Datetime | 2026-09-18 14:30:00 | <datetime>2026-09-18T14:30:00Z</datetime> (xs:dateTime) |
| Binary | not representable - base64 or hex string | <blob>base64...</blob> (xs:base64Binary) |
| Boolean | TRUE / FALSE, or 1 / 0 depending on the writer | <bool>true</bool> |
| JSON | the whole JSON value quoted, with internal quotes doubled | escaped inside an element, or its own sub-tree |
Dialect differences
Both Pipe-delimited text and XML are file formats, so what differs below is how each one chooses to represent a value.
| Property | in Pipe-delimited text | in XML |
|---|---|---|
| identifiers | Double quotes; a literal quote is doubled ("" ) | Attribute values in quotes; entities (& < >) for ... |
| dates | Conventional text: 2026-09-18 or 2026-09-18 14:30:00 | Text (xs:date / xs:dateTime when an XSD is in play) |
| binary | Not supported | base64Binary / hexBinary inside text |
| separator | Pipe "|" | Tags, not delimiters |
| encoding | No declaration - UTF-8 works only with a BOM | Declared in the XML declaration |
| typing | None - every field is text | None in the markup itself |
| shape | Flat table, optional header row | Arbitrary tree |
| ceiling | No formal limit; row count bounded by memory | Whole document is usually parsed into memory |
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