# Editing XML files

To open an XML file in the XML editor, right-click it in the Navigator view and click Open With > XML Editor. To make the XML editor the default editor for XML files, select Window > Preferences > Workbench > File Associations, then select *.xml and XML Editor from the Associated Editors list. Click OK.

We recommend working in the Resource perspective when you are developing XML files. The views that appear by default in this perspective (such as the Outline view) help facilitate XML development.

The XML editor enables you to directly edit XML files. There are several different views you can use to edit your files:

- Source view - you can manually insert, edit, and delete elements and attributes in the Source view of the XML editor. To facilitate this effort, you can use content assist while you are in the Source view.
- Design view - you can insert, delete, and edit elements, attributes, comments, and processing instructions in this view.
- Properties view - you can edit attribute values in this view.
- Outline view - you can insert, delete, and edit elements, comments, and processing instructions in this view.

Often, you may find that you have more than one way to perform a specific task. For example, you have an XML file "MySchoolSubjects.xml" associated with an XML schema file "SchoolSubjects.xsd" which list all the subjects taught in a school. You want to insert a new element "Math" into your file. You can do so the following ways:

- In the Outline or Design view, right-click the appropriate parent element and select Math from the Add Child pop-up menu.
- In the Source view, use content assist to help you find the appropriate location and code for the Math element.
- In the Source view, type the code for the Math element in the file.

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