README

xmltab-wlx Extended

A native Win32/Win64 Total Commander WLX plugin for viewing and editing XML files in a combined tree, virtual table, and formatted text view.

Highlights

xmltab turns Total Commander's Lister into a fast XML workbench: browse the document tree, inspect repeated structures as a table, jump into a formatted source view, and edit values without losing the original file style.

• See XML as structure and data at the same time: synchronized tree, virtual grid, and formatted text view.
• Work comfortably with big files: owner-data grid, sampled column sizing, lazy unfolding for huge roots, and incremental syntax highlighting while scrolling.
• Make table data readable: natural Unicode sorting, three-click original order restore, powerful column filters, Flat View for repeated XML records, and pixel-accurate decimal alignment even with proportional fonts.
• Edit with confidence: inline editing for attributes, text, comments, CDATA, processing instructions, and simple element text; insert blank structural row copies; delete rows or columns in edit mode.
• Save carefully: edits patch only the affected source range, then Ctrl+S writes atomically after reparsing the temporary file, preserving UTF-8, UTF-16LE, UTF-16BE, ANSI, and BOM where possible.
• Navigate without friction: continued F3 search, source-accurate Locate from formatted text back to the tree, XPath copying, persistent splitter, remembered startup tab, zoom, themes, alternating rows, and configurable selection colors.
• Feel native in Total Commander: Win32 and Win64 WLX builds, GPX detection by default, context menus, and host hotkey forwarding where it belongs.

Installation

1. Copy xmltab.wlx and xmltab.wlx64 to the desired plugin directory.
2. In Total Commander, open Configuration > Options > Plugins > Lister plugins.
3. Add xmltab.wlx.
4. Restart Total Commander after replacing an already loaded plugin binary.

Main Controls

The context menus expose editing, saving, filtering, formatting, Locate, XPath copying, column visibility, and theme actions.

Text View

Formatted mode automatically indents XML without changing the source file. Mixed text content remains inline. The displayed text keeps a position map to the original source, so Locate and loss-minimizing saving continue to operate on the unformatted source.

Syntax colors are configurable for tags, attribute strings, values, CDATA, and comments. Large documents are highlighted by visible viewport while scrolling, avoiding the former fixed-size highlighting cutoff. Generated indentation and RichEdit line-break positions are included in the display map, preventing cumulative color and Locate offsets.

Editing And Saving

Only typed, structurally safe cells are editable. Complex structure cells remain read-only. Edits update only the affected grid cell without rebuilding the table. Enter edits the selected grid cell like a double-click. In edit mode, the grid context menu can insert a blank structural copy below the selected element row, delete the selected row, or delete the current column after confirmation. Flat columns delete the matching per-row XML nodes, including keyed k/v tag elements. The temporary editor's former area is explicitly repainted after closing.

Edits update the DOM and minimally patch the original XML source. Saving:

• writes a temporary file in the target directory;
• flushes and reparses the temporary file;
• atomically replaces the destination;
• preserves UTF-8, UTF-16LE, UTF-16BE, or ANSI source encoding and BOM;
• rejects ANSI saves when a changed value cannot be represented losslessly in the active Windows code page.

Configuration

Settings are stored in the [xmltab] section of xmltab.ini. They include the splitter position, font size, filter visibility, text formatting, light and dark theme colors, syntax colors, grid colors, and column sampling limits. When xmltab.ini exists beside the plugin, it takes precedence over the default INI path supplied by Total Commander. Without a plugin-local INI, xmltab reads and writes the Total Commander supplied INI.

Numeric settings accept surrounding whitespace and trailing semicolon comments, for example:

xml-tag-color-dark = 16711680 ; RGB(0, 0, 255)

Color values use Windows COLORREF decimal integers. Every color has separate light and dark variants:

All shipped color keys are read at startup and reapplied when switching themes. Tabs and the status bar retain their Windows system colors.

Behavior settings:

Building

Open xmltab.lpi in Lazarus or build its release modes:

lazbuild --build-mode="Release 64" xmltab.lpi
lazbuild --build-mode="Release 32" xmltab.lpi

Outputs:

• xmltab.wlx64 for 64-bit Total Commander
• xmltab.wlx for 32-bit Total Commander

Tests

The repository contains focused tests for:

• parse/serialize/parse behavior and XML edge cases;
• source mapping and Locate;
• typed cell editing plus row insertion, row deletion, and column deletion in edit mode;
• loss-minimizing atomic saving and encoding preservation;
• display indentation and source-position mapping;
• RichEdit-compatible multi-line syntax-color positioning;
• INI precedence, numeric inline comments, and theme color application;
• Unicode natural sorting and sampled column sizing;
• decimal recognition and real-WLX custom-draw regression coverage;
• debounced filtering plus WLX loading, tree/grid behavior, continued search, Locate, and artifact-free editing.

See tests/README.md and MIGRATIONSSTATUS.md for details.