3. Attributes tool

  • There are two methods for adding or changing the attributes of the (explicitly or implicitly) selected element:

    1. Using the attribute form (the upper side of the attribute tool).This should be the method of choice for persons who prefer to use the keyboard.

    2. Using the attribute table (the lower side of the attribute tool). This should be the method of choice for persons who prefer to use the mouse.

  • Adding an attribute for an element of the unconstrained type must be done using the attribute form. Simply type the name and value of the attribute in the attribute form and click on the OK button (or press Enter in the value field).

    [Note]What is an element of the unconstrained type?

    The type of an element is unconstrained if

    • the element is contained in a document which is not constrained by a grammar,

    • OR the content of the element is invalid according to the grammar used to constrain the document.

    In both cases, XXE allows the user to add or remove any attribute, the value allowed for these attributes being any string.

    In the latter case, fixing the invalid element will automatically make it recover its actual, constrained, type.

  • Adding an attribute that matches an attribute wildcard must be done using the attribute form. Simply type the name and value of the attribute using the attribute form and click on the OK button (or press Enter in the value field). XXE will of course check that the name you have typed conforms to the attribute wildcard.

    [Note]What is a attribute wildcard?

    Using a W3C XML Schema or a RELAX NG schema (but not a DTD), it is possible to specify an element type which, for example, has 3 ``ordinary'' attributes a1, a2, a3 but also any number of other attributes if the name of these extra attributes belong to certain namespaces, for example, the "http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" namespace.

    The set of allowed namespaces is called an attribute wildcard.