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XML document support in M-Files
Former Member
Hello,
I'm new to M-Files and evaluating its capability to manage collections of XML documents. Does M-Files support an "XML Document" class out of the box? Or is this something that would need to be implemented through the API?
I've found it works fine to manage the content as a basic text file, but I'm looking to populate object properties using Xpaths into the file contents as well as manage the schema within the vault and reference it using relative paths.
If I've missed something in the documentation, or there are any online resources related to this, I'd really appreciate the guidance!
Populating metadata from an XML file is supported out of the box when using the "Connections to External Sources / File Sources" feature. This feature enables you to populate metadata from an XML to scanned or otherwise imported files. The operating logic goes as follows: when you set M-Files server to monitor a folder, you can import metadata for an imported or linked file from an XML file that has the same name as the imported file (e.g. you can import metadata for ABC.docx from ABC.xml). You can find more information about this feature by searching with xpath in M-Files help.
If you plan to store XML files in M-Files and then retrieve metadata from those files, you need to use event handlers.
Managing schemas in M-Files is not straight-forward. If all XML files have unique schema file, you can store the schema within the same multi-file document with the XML file and then refer to it using relative paths. If multiple XMLs share the same schema file, it is probably better to store the schema file to a file server or web server and refer to it. Referring to the xsd file that is stored in M-Files is a bit tricky since files do not have physical location in a same manner than traditional file systems have.
Populating metadata from an XML file is supported out of the box when using the "Connections to External Sources / File Sources" feature. This feature enables you to populate metadata from an XML to scanned or otherwise imported files. The operating logic goes as follows: when you set M-Files server to monitor a folder, you can import metadata for an imported or linked file from an XML file that has the same name as the imported file (e.g. you can import metadata for ABC.docx from ABC.xml). You can find more information about this feature by searching with xpath in M-Files help.
If you plan to store XML files in M-Files and then retrieve metadata from those files, you need to use event handlers.
Managing schemas in M-Files is not straight-forward. If all XML files have unique schema file, you can store the schema within the same multi-file document with the XML file and then refer to it using relative paths. If multiple XMLs share the same schema file, it is probably better to store the schema file to a file server or web server and refer to it. Referring to the xsd file that is stored in M-Files is a bit tricky since files do not have physical location in a same manner than traditional file systems have.
