Methods and systems are provided for mapping markup language data and schema, such as
eXtensible Markup Language (
XML) data and
XML schema, to selected fields (cells, columns, rows) of a spreadsheet
application document. An
XML schema file is associated with a spreadsheet
application document by providing a mechanism of adding the schema definitions to the spreadsheet
application document. Furthermore,
XML schema constructs such as elements, attributes, and simple content are associated to regions in the spreadsheet application document by providing a
tree view structure of a generalized instance of a given
XML schema file. A user may
drag and drop markup language nodes representing elements, attributes and simple
data content, from the
tree view structure of the generalized instance of the
XML schema file onto a spreadsheet worksheet grid. Once a
cell, column or row in worksheet grid accepts the dropped element or attribute, an association is made between the target location in the worksheet grid, and the definition,
data type and rules associated with the dropped element or attribute by setting an XML path language (
XPATH) marker to point the target location back to the selected element or attribute in the XML schema file. Having all or partially all desired markup language elements or attributes associated with desired target locations in the spreadsheet grid, a general mapping of marked-up locations in the spreadsheet grid and their associated elements and / or attributes in an associated XML schema file is created.