Why do I see columns like address.city?

Nested elements are flattened into dotted paths so each leaf value has a stable column name without collapsing the structure into a single cell.

What does @id mean in the header row?

Columns that start with @ come from XML attributes. @id is the id attribute on that record or nested element path.

Why is there a #text column?

Mixed-content elements keep their direct text in #text while child elements become their own columns. This prevents child text from being duplicated into the parent cell.

How are repeated phone elements named?

Same-name children under one record become phone, phone[2], phone[3], and so on, including under nested paths like contact.phone[2].

Where should I go for the full XML to Excel steps?

See /guides/how-to-convert-xml-to-excel for the full workflow and /guides/xml-to-excel-without-uploading for privacy details.

Illustration of nested XML elements and @attributes becoming spreadsheet column headers

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How Nested XML and Attributes Convert to Excel Columns

XML trees rarely match flat spreadsheets one-to-one. Looty Tools XML to Excel flattens each selected record into columns using stable path rules so nested data stays readable. This guide explains attributes, nesting, mixed content, namespaces, and indexed siblings.

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Attributes become @ columns

An attribute on a record or nested element becomes a column named with @, such as @id or address.@type. Attribute values are written as text cells.

Nested elements use dotted paths

Child elements become columns like name or address.city. Missing fields across rows stay blank so every row shares the same column set.

Repeated same-name children are indexed

If one record contains multiple phone elements, columns are named phone, phone[2], phone[3], and so on. The same indexing applies under nested paths, such as contact.phone[2].

Mixed content and namespaces

When an element has both direct text and child elements, direct non-whitespace text is stored in a #text column at that path, and children are flattened separately. Descendant text is not combined into one cell, which avoids duplicating child values.

Namespace identity uses namespace URI plus local name so unrelated namespaced siblings are not merged. User-facing paths prefer local names and add a prefix or short disambiguation only when needed.

Nested XML and Attributes to Columns FAQ

Why do I see columns like address.city?: Nested elements are flattened into dotted paths so each leaf value has a stable column name without collapsing the structure into a single cell.
What does @id mean in the header row?: Columns that start with @ come from XML attributes. @id is the id attribute on that record or nested element path.
Why is there a #text column?: Mixed-content elements keep their direct text in #text while child elements become their own columns. This prevents child text from being duplicated into the parent cell.
How are repeated phone elements named?: Same-name children under one record become phone, phone[2], phone[3], and so on, including under nested paths like contact.phone[2].
Where should I go for the full XML to Excel steps?: See /guides/how-to-convert-xml-to-excel for the full workflow and /guides/xml-to-excel-without-uploading for privacy details.

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