Creating an XML File from a Word Document

Summary: XML (extensible markup language) is a standard used by many problems to exchange information. Word 2007 uses its own variant of XML to save documents, and documents in Word 2003 could be saved in an XML format. If you want to save document information in a cleaner, plainer, more universal form of XML than what is provided by Microsoft, here's some guidance on what you can do. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 95, Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, and Word 2007.)

Bill has a Word 2003 file that he wants to convert to XML format. He prefers not to end up with a "Word only" XML version, such as what is created in Word 2007, so he wonders about the best way to create an XML-formatted file from a standard Word document.

There is no easy answer to this question, Bill, because XML documents can take many forms and it is only after picking a desired form that you could possibly hope to start the translation process. Now, such a statement doesn't present as formidable of a hurdle as it may appear at first. Indeed, there are ways that you can do the conversion with a minimum amount of hassle. Normally this involves converting to/from XML using a plain ASCII intermediary format, such as RTF. (It is much easier to process a plain-text format such as RTF than it is to format Word's traditional DOC format, which is binary.)

For a great article that discusses this topic in detail, refer to the following page:

http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2003/12/31/qa.html

Tip #3517 applies to Microsoft Word versions: 95 | 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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Creating an XML File from a Word Document