Convert XML to TSV Online Free
Extract data from XML documents into tab-separated format for spreadsheets and data analysis. XML elements become columns, records become rows.
To convert XML to TSV, drop your .xml file onto the ChangeThisFile converter. Repeated XML elements are parsed into rows with child element names as tab-separated column headers. This free browser-based tool keeps your data private with no server uploads.
Convert XML to TSV
Drop your XML file here to convert it instantly
Drag & drop your .xml file here, or click to browse
Convert to TSV instantly
XML vs TSV: Format Comparison
Key differences between the two formats
| Feature | XML | TSV |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Hierarchical with nested elements | Flat rows and columns |
| Syntax | Angle-bracket tags | Tab-delimited plain text |
| Data types | Text content (types via schema) | All values are text |
| Attributes | Key-value pairs on elements | No equivalent |
| File size | Large due to opening/closing tags | Very compact |
| Spreadsheet paste | Requires import/parsing | Paste directly into cells |
| Tooling | DOM parsers, XSLT, XPath | awk, cut, paste, spreadsheets |
When to Convert
Common scenarios where this conversion is useful
Analyzing XML data exports in spreadsheets
Convert XML data exports from enterprise systems into TSV for quick analysis in Excel or Google Sheets without writing parsing code.
Processing XML feeds with command-line tools
Convert RSS feeds, Atom feeds, or XML API responses to TSV for processing with Unix tools like awk, sort, grep, and cut.
Extracting XML report data
Pull structured data from XML-formatted reports and convert to TSV for import into business intelligence tools or databases.
Database loading from XML sources
Convert XML data files to TSV for bulk loading into databases using COPY or LOAD DATA commands that accept tab-delimited input.
How to Convert XML to TSV
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1
Drop your XML file
Drag and drop your .xml file onto the converter, or click to browse. Well-formed XML with repeated record elements works best.
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2
Instant conversion
Repeated child elements under the root are treated as records. Their sub-elements become columns. Tab-separated values are generated for each record.
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3
Download your TSV
Click Download to save the .tsv file. Copy and paste the output directly into any spreadsheet for instant column alignment.
Frequently Asked Questions
The converter looks for repeated elements under the root. Each repeated element becomes a row, and its child elements become columns with the element names as headers.
Attributes are included as additional columns, typically prefixed with '@' to distinguish them from child element values.
Only the first level of repeated elements is flattened to rows. Deeper nesting is stringified into single TSV cells.
Namespace prefixes are included in column names. Namespace URIs are not preserved in the TSV output.
No. Comments, processing instructions, and the XML declaration are stripped during parsing and do not appear in the TSV output.
Yes. TSV is the native clipboard format for spreadsheets. Copy the output and paste into Google Sheets or Excel for automatic column alignment.
CDATA content is treated as regular text and appears as the cell value in the corresponding TSV column.
Elements with both text and child elements have their text content extracted. Child elements are processed separately as nested columns.
The converter handles moderately sized XML files in your browser. Very large files (over 50MB) may be slow depending on your device's capabilities.
Yes. The conversion runs entirely in your browser. Your XML data is never uploaded to any server.
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