You can use this action to create an XML document without special coding or extensible stylesheet language transformations (XSLT). You can do the following:
Take unstructured data from different sources or calculations.
Transform the data into the correct XML format.
Return the data to a visual object.
You can create an XML document in one of the following ways:
Use various actions to do it piece by piece.
Create the document.
The Rowsets element is created, but its children are not. You do not need to configure the Document action.
Create a rowset, column section, and row section.
In each row, create a data item.
Data item examples are <Name> and <ID> elements with their text values. Elements are added to a document in the order in which you create them. If you add another rowset, the next columns and rows are added to the last rowset. You need to use the following XML Output actions:
Using the Configuration screen of the Document action, create a complete document.
Define one or more columns, which are automatically added to the document.
Define the following attributes for each column:
Description
Minimum Range
Maximum Range
Data Type
The data type is critical to properly handling each returned data column. If you plan to chart the data, minimum and maximum ranges are important because they affect Y-axis scaling. For more information, see Column.
When you use this process to build a document, you need to add rows and data items to the document. The Row action can link data to the document without adding individual Data Item actions. You define the rowset and column definitions on the Configuration screen. When you add data items, make sure the data item name is identical to the column name in the Configuration screen.
The Fatal Error action is used when an error occurs and no data is returned. The Message action is used to add information, usually a non-fatal error, to the result set. For example, you can use a message when data is returned for three of four tags but the fourth tag name is invalid.
The properties for this action are listed in the following table:
Property |
Data Type |
Access |
Description |
---|---|---|---|
StartDate |
DateTime |
In and out |
Controls the StartDate attribute in the XML document content. If the XML document is returned from a transaction call to an XML query, the StartDate is set by the query. |
EndDate |
DateTime |
In and out |
Controls the EndDate attribute in the XML document content. If the XML document is returned from a transaction call to an XML query, the EndDate is set by the query. |
Output |
XML |
In and out |
Controls the XML document content and can be linked to Results from Queries actions. If you assign Output to an XML transaction property, the document is returned by the transaction. |
Success |
Boolean |
Out |
Is always true. |