XML data import breaks cell formatting
 

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to import data from an XML file to fill an Excel sheet -
essentially, using the Excel sheet as a blank proforma to format and display
the XML content.

So far so good - Excel infers a schema from the XML directly (nice feature)
and allows the drag-and-drop mapping of fields to cells (also nice), but when
the time comes to import the data it overwrites any cell formatting for
mapped cells - specifically, it auto-fits cells and prevents any data typing.
Since some of my cells are empty, and some are numbers that I want
currency-formatted, I've got a problem.

Is there a way to perform the XML data import without overwriting the cell
formatting instructions?

Or - here's a thought - could we see the same XML features in Word, where
formatting is king but it seems that XML data imports and mapping are a dirty
word?

(Personally, I'd love to see 'XML map' as a data source option for mail
merge...)

Thanks,

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Damien Westacott, Practice Exchange
www.practiceexchange.com.au