read_xml: read xml file

In openxlsx2: Read, Write and Edit 'xlsx' Files

read xml file

Description

read xml file

Usage

read_xml(
  xml,
  pointer = TRUE,
  escapes = FALSE,
  declaration = FALSE,
  whitespace = TRUE,
  empty_tags = FALSE,
  skip_control = TRUE,
  comments = FALSE
)

Arguments

xml	something to read character string or file
pointer	should a pointer be returned?
escapes	bool if characters like "&" should be escaped. The default is no escapes. Assuming that the input already provides valid information.
declaration	should the declaration be imported
whitespace	should whitespace pcdata be imported
empty_tags	should ⁠<b/>⁠ or ⁠<b></b>⁠ be returned
skip_control	should whitespace character be exported
comments	should comments be parsed (1) or only comments returned (2)

Details

Read xml files or strings to pointer and checks if the input is valid XML. If the input is read into a character object, it will be reevaluated every time it is called. A pointer is evaluated once, but lives only for the lifetime of the R session or once it is gc().

Examples

  # a pointer
  x <- read_xml("<a><b/></a>")
  print(x)
  print(x, raw = TRUE)
  str(x)

  # a character
  y <- read_xml("<a><b/></a>", pointer = FALSE)
  print(y)
  print(y, raw = TRUE)
  str(y)

  # Errors if the import was unsuccessful
  try(z <- read_xml("<a><b/>"))

  xml <- '<?xml test="yay" ?><a>A & B</a>'
  # difference in escapes
  read_xml(xml, escapes = TRUE, pointer = FALSE)
  read_xml(xml, escapes = FALSE, pointer = FALSE)
  read_xml(xml, escapes = TRUE)
  read_xml(xml, escapes = FALSE)

  # read declaration
  read_xml(xml, declaration = TRUE)

openxlsx2 documentation built on March 7, 2026, 5:06 p.m.