Tools & helper files Tools & Helper Files >> XML Editors

This page includes links to commercial and open source software used by members of the community in the creation of EAD files (instance documents). Please note that many of these tools might require additional configuration to work well (or more easily with EAD), and the workflows employed by archivists as they arrange and describe collections. For example, Microsoft Word 2003 can save files in a XML format, making it by definition an XML editor. However, you will need some means of converting Word's XML to EAD. Such "add-ons" we call Helper Files

Presented below is not an exhaustive list of editing options for EAD, but an overview of software currently widely used by archivists. For a more comprehensive list see http://www.xmlsoftware.com/which aims at maintaining a complete list of XML authoring tools: XML Editors.

This page is still under development. More content will be added soon. If you use the below listed editors, or other tools not listed here-- we would appreciate your comments for addition to this site!

 

Microsoft Word® 2003

Microsoft's new version of Word (2003) has XML editing capabilities and has a file format based on XML which might later be transformed into EAD.

 

Notetab Pro

Not strictly an XML editor, Notetab is a general purpose editor that is easily customised for use with EAD. One of its stongest features is its clip macro language that allows it to interact with your XML tools of choice (e.g. XSLT processor), and permits the easy creation of EAD templates.

 

Open Office

Open Office is an open source office productivity suite designed to complete with Microsoft Office®. Its native file format for Writer (the equivalent of Word in Office) is a compressed zip archive of XML documents, which may then be potentially converted to EAD.

 

oXygen XML Editor

A bare-bones, but very powerful XML editor that is constanty under active development. It's Java based and much of its underlying technology is built on open source tools. oXygen is probably not suitable for all but those who are very comfortable looking at <angled brackets>. It also comes with an XSLT editor and schema designer.

 

XMetaL Author

From the XMetaL website:

XMetaL Author simplifies content creation by offering business users and content experts familiar, word-processor-inspired interfaces and tools that easily result in valid XML documents. Users do not require technical skills - in fact, most will be so focused on the process of creating high-value, high-quality content that they will not even be aware they are working in XML.

 

XMLBlueprint XML Editor

From an XMLBlueprint representative:

To create a minimal EAD 2002 Document: Choose File > New > XML Document from DTD or Schema and copy/paste the EAD 2002 DTD into the dialog. Press the Next button, choose "ead" as root element and press Finish. Also supports the RelaxNG Schmea and the EAD XML Schema

 

XML Spy®

A powerful and fully featured suite of XML (and related technologies, such as XSLT, XPath, &c.) tools. A free version is available under Altova's Home Edition License