Note XML features, except for saving files in the XML Spreadsheet format, are available only in Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 and Microsoft Office Excel 2003.
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a method for putting structured data (such as that in a worksheet) in a text file that follows standard guidelines and can be read by a variety of applications. Designers can create their own customized tags, enabling the definition, transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and between organizations.
XML enables you to organize and work with workbooks and data in ways that were previously impossible or very difficult. By using custom XML schemas, you can now identify and extract specific pieces of business data from ordinary business documents.
For example, an invoice that contains the name and address of a customer or a report that contains last quarter's financial results are no longer static reports. The information they contain can be passed to a database or reused elsewhere, outside of the workbook.
Use a custom XML Schema You can create or open a workbook in Excel then attach a custom XML schema to the workbook. Then, you use the XML Source to map cells to elements of the schema. Once you have mapped the XML elements to your worksheet, you can seamlessly import and export XML data into and out of the mapped cells.
A few of the scenarios that the Microsoft Office Excel 2003 XML feature set is designed to address are:
Use the XML Spreadsheet schema You can create a Workbook in Excel as you normally would and then save it as in the XML Spreadsheet format. Excel uses its own XML schema, XMLSS, to apply XML tags that store information, such as file properties, and define the structure of the workbook.