8 Best Free XSD Viewer Software for Windows

Here is a list of best free XSD viewer software for Windows. An XSD or XML Schema Definition file contains Codes, Schemas, Schemas Elements, Diagrams, etc. This file type can be opened in various text and document editors, but they do not show you schemas, diagrams, and other essential elements. In order to properly view schemas, diagrams, etc., you need these XSD viewer software. In these software, you can easily view the complete schema and all the attributes and elements associated with the schema. Some of these viewers highlight attributes, elements, and other connected components in different colors and symbols to simplify schema reading. Besides schema, some software also show complete XSD diagram. In the diagram, you can view the same schema components and their relationship in a simplified manner.

These XML viewers also support XML document and provide various XML specific features like XML Validation, XML Conversion, etc. Some other formats like XSL, RDF, NRL, DTD, etc. are also supported by some software. With the help of some XSD viewer software, you can also edit both XSD Schema and original XSD Code.

My Favorite XSD Viewer Software for Windows:

WMHelp XMLPAD is my favorite software because it shows the Source XSD Code, Diagram, as well as Documentation. Plus, it also offers various view enhancing tools to improve XSD document viewing experience.

You can also check out lists of best free XML To XSD Generator, XML Syntax Checker, and XML Editor software for Windows.

WMHelp XMLPAD

WMHelp XMLPAD is a free XML viewer and editor software that can also be used as an XSD viewer software. Using this software, you can view Source Code, Diagram, and Documentation present in an XSD file with proper formatting. It also offers a document outline section on the left side of its interface that lets you jump directly between multiple schema headings. An attribute section is also provided by it to view all attributes present in a selected heading.

In this software, you also get a dedicated XSD Tab, using which you can validate XSD documents, convert XSD to DTD, generate sample XML file from XSD, export diagrams as Enhanced Metafile (EMF) file, etc.

To enhance viewing experience, it provides features like color syntax highlighting, line numbers, element range navigation, context-dependent source assistant wizard, tree view, property view, etc. It also lets you make changes on both source code and diagrams present in the XSD file. In general, it is a really good XSD viewer as well as editor software.

QXmlEdit

QXmlEdit is another free XML and XSD viewer software for Windows. It is a very comprehensive software in which you can view and format XSD document, edit source code, extract fragments, compare two XSD files, work with base64 encoding, etc. To view XSD document, use its View XSD option and load an XSD document. As soon as you load the document, you can view XSD Schema, Schema Elements, Inner Elements, Types, and XSD diagram. In the XSD diagram, you can notice that this software uses different symbols to represent Choice, Sequence, Type, Element, and Attribute. In my opinion, this software produces the best XSD diagram when compared to other similar software.

To view original XSD code, it provides a section named as Vision. In the Vision section, you get four viewing modes namely Essential (to view important elements of code), Compact (it shows limited attributes, child index, and one attribute per line), Extended (it provides a detailed view of the code), Full Details (in this mode, you can view all the code along with added notes).

Overall, it is a feature-rich software in which you can do much more things than just viewing an XSD file.

Exchange XML Editor

Exchange XML Editor is yet another free XSD viewer software for Windows. As its name implies, it is an XML editor in which you can view and edit files such as XML, XSD, DB, RNG, SVG, HTML, etc. In it, you get a dedicated Viewer Mode to protect XSD or any other code from accidental changes. It also provides various viewing sections to view XSD Schema, XSD Attributes, Elements, Document Properties, etc. Apart from viewing, it also offers Editing Mode, using which you can directly make changes on the XSD code. Plus, editing tools like  Cut, Copy, Paste, Go to Start/End Tag, Find, Replace, etc. are also available in it.

In this software, you can also digitally sign XSD documents and also verify digital signatures by using Sign Document and Verify Signature features, respectively. This software also offers various XML document specific features like XML validator, XML declaration, XML to XSD converter, XML to DTD converter, etc. After viewing and editing, you can save your XSD document in HTML, XSL, RDF, NRL, etc. documents.

XSD Diagram

XSD Diagram is a free and portable XSD viewer software for Windows. Using this software, you can open and view source code and XSD diagram present in an XSD file. But, like other similar software, you cannot view XSD Schema, XSD Grid, XSD Properties, etc. in this software. Still, basic information like file type, namespace, and line header can be viewed on its side interface. By default, this software does not show any diagram. To view the diagram, first, you need to select the Diagram section of this software and select schema headings from the available drop-down menu. According to the selected schema heading, you can view all associated elements in the form of a diagram. To properly view the diagram, you can use its Zoom in/out and Alignment tools.

XML Notepad

XML Notepad is primarily an XML viewer software, but you can also use it to view XSD and XSL files. When you open an XSD file in it, you immediately get all schema headings on the Tree View section in the format of a tree. You can expand any schema heading to view information present on that heading. Besides viewing the data, you can also Insert Elements, Attributes, Text, Comments, and Processing Instructions in the existing schema.

The good thing about this software is that it adds a unique color profile with attributes, comments, elements, and text. By going to its View Options menu, you can assign colors of your choice for better understanding. In this freeware, you can also view the source XSD code, but it does not allow you to make any modification to the code.

Xsemmel

Xsemmel is one more free XSD viewer software for Windows. This software offers a dedicated XSD Tab on its interface that provides tools to view XSD source code, XSD diagrams, XSD schema, XSD grid, etc. To view source code, use its Editor section that also lets you make changes to the original XSD code. An XSD Visualizer is used to view XSD diagram that shows the diagram in a horizontal format to make viewing diagram much easier. In its Grid section, you can find out whether the XSD document is well-formed or not. Plus, you can also view XSD document properties, fragments, and schema information in the grid section. The XSD tab also has one handy Generate sample tool through which you can general XML document from an XSD document. Some other common tools are also present in it like zoom In/out, expand references, expand types, expand Includes, etc.

Besides XSD tab, this software also contains Editor Tab (to edit documents of various different formats), Validation Tab (to validate XML, XSD, etc. documents and generate schemas), XSLT Tab (to view and edit XSLT file), and Tools Tab (it contains XML comparison, pattern generator, etc.).

XMLFox

XMLFox is the next free XSD viewer software for Windows. Using this software, you can view XSD Schema, Attributes, Groups, etc. as well as edit XSD code. Apart from XSD, it also supports XML files. It shows the entire schema on the left part of the interface with unique signs and colors to help you distinguish between different attributes and elements. Plus, you can also collapse or expand each schema heading if you want. This software also color codes the base XSD code to highlight main functions and types. You can also edit the XSD code from the Script Section. Plus, some editing tools like Cut, Copy, Paste, Undo, Redo, Increase/ Decrease Line Indent, etc. are also provided by this software. After viewing and editing, you can save the XSD document in same (XSD) format or in XML file format.

XML Explorer

XML Explorer is another free XML viewer that can also be used as an XSD viewer software. In this software, you can view both XML and XSD files. It shows the complete schema with schema headings, but it does not show the original XSD code. You can easily expand and collapse each schema heading to view connected elements and attributes. Just below the Schema section, you can view Errors (if found), Namespaces, and Expressions.

The unique property of this XSD viewer is that it can also open/ view online XSD and XML documents. To do that, you need to provide the complete URL of an XSD file to its Open URL section. After viewing an XSD document, you can save the document in formatted or unformatted XML file format.