Template export formats

Because HTML and XML are text-based formats, there is no fundamental difference between designing a template for HTML or XML export compared to a plain text file. The only difference is that the text file must conform to HTML and XML specifications.

HTML results must be a well-formed HTML, ensuring that all properties contain no characters that might invalidate the HTML specification, such as unescaped “<” or “&” characters. This is particularly relevant for especially user-entered text such as descriptions and notes.

Systems that process XML typically are very strict about syntax and well-formedness. Be careful not to generate text that invalidates the XML or confuses the recipient of the XML. For instance, beware of unescaped “<” or “&” characters in a notes field. If possible, export data within an XML <CDATA> tag, which allows more types of characters and character strings without problems of unescaped characters.