XML Output

The XML Output step writes rows to one or more XML files.

You cannot write in parallel to the same file. If you run multiple copies of the step, select Include stepnr in filename and merge the generated files afterward.

General

• Step name: Specify the unique name of the step on the canvas. You can customize the name or leave it as the default.

Configure the step (tabs)

XML Output step properties

File tab

File tab in XML Output

Use the File tab to define general output file properties.

Option	Description
Filename	Output file name and location. Select Browse to choose the file or folder. For supported file systems, see Connecting to Virtual File Systems.

Do not include a file extension when you append date/time and specify Extension. | | Do not create file at start | Select to avoid creating empty files when the step processes no rows. | | Pass output to servlet | Select to return data through a web service instead of writing to a file. See Web services steps. | | Extension | File extension to append. Default is .xml. | | Include stepnr in filename | Select to include the copy number in the file name (for example, _0) when running multiple copies of the step. | | Include date in filename | Select to include the system date (for example, _20220501). | | Include time in filename | Select to include the system time (for example, _235959). | | Specify date time format | Select to include date/time using Date time format. | | Date time format | Date/time format to use. | | Add filenames to result | Select to add output file names to the transformation results. |

Select Show filename(s) to display a simulated list of files that the step generates.

Content tab

Content tab in XML Output

Use the Content tab to define the XML structure and file content options.

Option	Description
Zipped	Select to store the XML file in a ZIP archive.
Encoding	File encoding. Leave blank to use the system default. Use UTF-8 or UTF-16 for Unicode. The encoding is written to the XML header.
Namespace	Default namespace URI. The step validates that the URI is well-formed; invalid values stop the transformation with an error.
Parent XML element	Root element name for the XML document.
Row XML element	Element name used for each output row.
Split every ... rows	Maximum number of rows per file before the step creates a new file.
Omit null values from XML output	Select to omit elements whose values are null. If you clear this option, elements for null values are written as empty elements (for example, <data2/>). You can also define a replacement value for nulls in the Null column on the Fields tab.

Fields tab

Fields tab in XML Output

Use the Fields tab to define the fields exported to the output XML file.

Column	Description
Fieldname	Field name from the incoming stream.
Element name	Element name to write in the XML output.
Content type	Content type for the element value.
Type	Field type: String, Date, or Number. For number format specifiers, see Number Formats.
Format	Format mask. See Common Formats.
Length	Field length.

• Number: Total number of significant digits.

• String: Total length of the string.

• Date: Length of printed output (for example, 4 for a year).

If you specify a length, the output string is padded to that length. | | Precision | Number of floating point digits for number fields. | | Currency | Currency symbol (for example, $ or €). | | Decimal | Decimal point character (. or ,). | | Group | Thousands separator character (. or ,). | | Null | String to write when the field value is null. |

Select Get fields to load fields from the incoming stream.

Select Minimal width to minimize field lengths by removing unnecessary padding.

Metadata injection support

All fields of this step support metadata injection. You can use this step with ETL metadata injection to pass metadata to your transformation at runtime.