XML Tips & Tricks

This section covers how to use some more obscure XML functionality in ESD. These tips only apply when targeting the XML export format.

XML Comments

If the first cell in a row is the string !--, the row will be exported as an XML comment block.

Example:

Sheet: Planets

Name	Orbit	Description
Venus	0.72 AU	An ethereal puff burning through the sky.
!–	This is an XML comment!
Earth	1 AU	A pale blue dot suspended in a sunbeam.
!–	Each cell gets…	…a newline in the block!
Mars	1.52 AU	A red mote glittering in the dark.
!–	Hyphens ( - ) are replaced with Underscores ( _ )

Output:

<data>
  <Planets>
    <Venus Orbit="0.72 AU" Description="An ethereal puff burning through the sky." />
    <!--This is an XML comment!-->
    <Earth Orbit="1 AU" Description="A pale blue dot suspended in a sunbeam." />
    <!--Each cell gets...
...a newline in the block!-->
    <Mars Orbit="1.52 AU" Description="A red mote glittering in the dark." />
    <!--Hyphens ( _ ) are replaced with Underscores ( _ ) -->
  </Planets>
</data>