WebToolArcWhat this XML step proves
XPath 1.0 names are namespace-sensitive.
What to review before handoff
Declared prefixes resolve automatically. For a default namespace, use the synthetic `_` prefix, for example `//_:item`.
XML Tools
XPath Tester
Paste XML, run XPath, inspect matching nodes and paths, and see the namespace mappings used by the local XPath resolver.
ReadyUses the browser XPath evaluator. Namespace-prefixed XPath expressions require namespace resolution beyond this simple no-prefix helper.
XML structure & handoff review
Reviewing…Parse the document you will actually use
Check structure, namespaces, repeated records, mixed content and remote-looking references. Converter pages review generated XML output when that is the handoff artifact.
Review scope—
Root—
Elements—
Namespaces—
UTF-8 bytes—
Structural findings
Copyable handoff summary
Reviewing current XML…
Browser DOM parsing checks well-formedness and structure. It is not an XSD/DTD/business-rule validator, sanitizer or permission to trust remote resources; this review does not fetch external schemas or entities.
XPath namespace & match audit
Re-evaluate the XPath, detect namespaces and list matched node types with copyable paths.
| # | Node type | Indexed path |
|---|
Practical guide and verification
Validate the XML before debugging the XPath
An XPath cannot reliably query malformed XML. If evaluation fails unexpectedly, first confirm that the document parses and that element and attribute names are exactly what you think they are before changing the expression.
Namespaces change what a name means
A default XML namespace means an unprefixed XPath such as //item may match nothing even when item elements are visible in the source. Use the namespace mappings reported by the page and the synthetic prefix documented by the audit.
Read node type and indexed path together
A result can be an element, attribute, text node, number, string, or boolean depending on the expression. The indexed path helps distinguish repeated siblings that have the same tag name but represent different records.
Use narrow predicates after confirming a broad match
Start with a simpler path that returns the expected parent nodes, then add attributes, positions, or text predicates one at a time. This makes it easier to identify which condition removes an expected match.
Browser XPath is not a remote page inspector
This tool evaluates the XML you paste into the page. It does not crawl a live website, bypass browser security, or prove that the same selector works against a dynamically changing application DOM.