Turn XML files into PDF
Turn your XML records into a PDF you can actually read and hand to someone. A PDF looks the same to everyone who opens it, on any device, with the fonts, images and layout locked in place. Your file never leaves your computer.
How to convert XML to PDF
- 1 Drop your XML .xml file onto the page, or click to browse for it.
- 2 Set the quality, or leave the default, which keeps the file small without anything showing.
- 3 Convert. The work happens on your own machine, so how long it takes depends on your computer and the file.
- 4 Download the PDF, or add more files and do the whole set in one go.
Why convert XML to PDF
- Layout, fonts and colour are fixed, so the file looks the same everywhere.
- Every browser and operating system opens it without extra software.
- Print production, where PDF/X is the delivery standard.
- XML: entity expansion features have caused a long line of security problems.
XML compared with PDF
How the two formats differ on the things that decide whether a conversion is worth making.
| Property | XML | |
|---|---|---|
| File extension | .xml | |
| Compression | Uncompressed | Lossy or lossless |
| Multiple pages | No | Yes |
| Colour depth | Unicode element tree with namespaces, DTD or XSD validation | RGB, CMYK, greyscale and spot colour with ICC profiles |
| Typical file size | Largest | Depends on mode |
| Introduced | 1998 | 1993 |
| Developed by | W3C | Adobe, now ISO 32000 |
Quality and what changes
PDF stores the same content under a different set of rules, so what matters here is compatibility rather than picture quality. Convert once from the best source you have rather than through a chain of intermediate files.
- One PDF limitation to keep in mind: editing an existing PDF is awkward because it stores drawing commands, not structure.
Questions about XML to PDF
Is my XML file uploaded anywhere?
No. The whole thing runs inside the browser tab you already have open. Your XML is read straight from your own disk, converted on your machine and handed back as a PDF. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is stored and there is no account.
Is there a file size limit?
There is no server-side limit because no server sees the file. The real ceiling is your device memory, since the input and the output both have to fit in the tab. A few hundred megabytes is usually fine on a desktop machine and considerably less on a phone.
Can I convert several XML files at once?
Yes. Add as many as you like and they are processed one after another, then offered as separate PDF downloads or as a single ZIP. Speed depends on your own processor rather than on a queue.
Does the converter work offline?
Yes, after the page has loaded once. The engine is cached by the browser, so you can disconnect, reload and keep converting. That falls out of doing the work locally rather than being a separate mode you switch on.