Forum Discussion
XML import problem
Hi GrahamR ,
You are correct this is the expected behavior.
The reason you are seeing only null values is that the plain text “Site A” is not retained when Power BI parses the XML. The Xml.Tables function processes only structured elements and attributes, and in your file, “Site A” appears as loose text before the <Shelf> and <Box> elements. As a result, it is considered mixed content and omitted during import.
Since this text does not make it into Power Query, it cannot be retrieved by any M or DAX expressions after the XML is loaded.
The best solutions are to either update the XML so that “Site A” is within its own tag or attribute, or to read the file as raw text and extract the relevant section before <Shelf> using text functions prior to converting it to XML.
In summary, your understanding is correct the data loss occurs during the XML parsing stage, and is not due to any issues with your process.
Thank you,Tejaswi
Hi,
The XML isn't a standard XML file. "Site A" should be in a paire of tags or as an attribute.
<Location><site>Site A</site><Shelf>1</Shelf><Box>32</Box></Location>
or <Location site="Site A"><Shelf>1</Shelf><Box>32</Box></Location>
Hi DaleT
This was one of my thoughts and why I put the xml file through various checkers - none of the checkers throw up any fault. Microsoft XML Notepad handles the file with no problems. However I agree that if the xml was structured as you suggest, there would be no problem.
The xml file is being supplied to me by the client and it is exported from a well respected software package used throughout this particular industry. So my only option is to find some workaround.
Appreciate your reply but I need to find a way of grabbing this pesky text!
Hi GrahamR ,
You're correct the XML you received is valid, but it contains mixed content (plain text combined with child elements within the same tag). As a result, Power Query does not automatically display the “Site A” text in the standard columns when expanding the XML.
To extract this text, you can use a custom column in Power Query. The following method is compatible with your XML structure:
let
xml = Xml.Tables([ObjectLocation]),
loc = try xml[Location]{0} otherwise null,
textNode = try Record.Field(loc, "#text") otherwise null
in
if textNode = null then null
else if Value.Is(textNode, Binary.Type) then Text.Trim(Text.FromBinary(textNode))
else Text.Trim(Text.From(textNode))This approach retrieves the text node preceding the <Shelf> and <Box> elements, providing “Site A” as plain text in a new column.
The “Invalid Identifier” error occurred because [#text] is not a valid identifier in M. To access this field correctly, use Record.Field(loc, "#text") or loc["#text"].
I hope this solution helps you achieve the desired outcome.
Best regards,
Tejaswi.
Community Support TeamHi Tejaswi
Many thanks for your suggested approach however this is giving me nulls. I tried simplifying the method but still get nulls all the time.
My latest thought is whether the XML input process is filtering out the 'extra' text so that the Xml.Tables does not contain the text string at all.
Regards
