Скачать или смотреть Solving the Element Tree Issue: Modifying Element Text in XML with Python

Learn how to effectively use Python's ElementTree library to modify XML element text, specifically when working with XLIFF files.
---
This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/69171769/ asked by the user '70sOcelot' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/16905078/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/69199190/ provided by the user '70sOcelot' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/16905078/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: Element Tree is not modifying element text

Also, Content (except music) licensed under CC BY-SA https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/l...
The original Question post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license, and the original Answer post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license.

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
Solving the Element Tree Issue: Modifying Element Text in XML with Python

If you've been working with XML files in Python and using the ElementTree library, you might have encountered an issue where modifying element text does not reflect in the generated XML file. This can lead to frustration, especially when you're trying to repopulate elements with new text based on data from sources like Excel. In this guide, we'll explore how to address this problem and ensure your XML elements are modified correctly and saved as expected.

Introduction

Let's set the stage with an example scenario: You are utilizing ElementTree to edit an XLIFF file, matching elements by their mid attributes with values from an Excel spreadsheet. After identifying the relevant elements, you intend to populate them with new text values. Despite your code appearing to work flawlessly (where the text value seems set correctly during execution), the final output XML shows these element texts as empty. Why does this happen? Let’s dive into the solution.

Understanding the Problem

In your existing code, you might notice that although the mrk.text attribute is updated as expected, this change doesn't persist when you write the modified tree to file. This could be the result of several factors:

Namespace handling: If namespaces are not handled correctly, the relevant elements may not be correctly targeted for modification.

Element references: Simply referencing the element may not correctly apply the changes you intend to make.

Step-by-Step Solution

Let’s break down a working solution that resolves the issue of XML element text not being updated and saved correctly.

Step 1: Setup the XML Structure

You'll need to ensure your XML file is structured properly, including all necessary namespaces. Here is a sample of what the XML might look like:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 2: Implement the Python Code

Here is the code that correctly updates the text in the XML elements:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 3: Validate the Output

After running your script, check the output XML file generated. You should now see that the mrk elements within the target elements are populated with the text from your mapping dictionary. This validates that your changes have been correctly applied and saved.

Conclusion

Modifying XML with Python's ElementTree can be simple when the proper steps are followed, especially regarding name handling and element references. By ensuring your namespace is registered and correctly referencing the mrk elements, you can modify the XML as desired. If you find you're still having issues, consider simplifying your code to a minimal version that replicates the problem, making debugging more straightforward.

Now that you understand the underlying issues and the solution, you can implement the changes needed to your XLIFF files or other XML structures! Happy coding!