ProductsXMLSpyXBRLXBRL Taxonomy Editor

XMLSpy® 2012 Enterprise Edition includes a graphical XBRL taxonomy editor for visualizing, editing, extending, and documenting XBRL taxonomies.

The XMLSpy XBRL taxonomy editor uses the same editing paradigm as the popular graphical XML Schema editor, providing a graphical view of XBRL taxonomies and intelligent taxonomy editing features. By organizing different components on easy-to-filter tabs and providing informative icons, mouseover messages, detail windows, and context-sensitive entry helpers, the XMLSpy XBRL taxonomy editor makes it easy to both view and understand existing taxonomies, and create new ones by way of extending industry-standard taxonomies. It even includes the handy XBRL Taxonomy Wizard to give you a head start when extending or creating a new XBRL taxonomy.

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Viewing and Editing XBRL Taxonomies

When you open a taxonomy schema file in XBRL View, the various files in the taxonomy are displayed in a tree structure in the XBRL Overview window, where you can open, validate, and edit the files as necessary. Definition, presentation, calculation, and label linkbases are indicated with informative icons, and these can be opened and viewed and/or edited in XMLSpy's Text View or the graphical Grid View. Saved changes are immediately reflected in the taxonomy displayed in XBRL View. Below the linkbases, the Overview Window lists the imported schemas in the taxonomy.

A right click menu allows you to add linkbases and references, as well as to import a standard taxonomy to extend based on your organization's requirements.

The Global Elements window displays the items, tuples, hypercubes, and dimensions present in the taxonomy, and handy buttons let you filter the display based on various criteria, such as type, text, source, and so on. Double clicking any element in the window selects it in the Main Window and displays its configuration in the Details window, where you can easily view and/or edit its properties. (The Details entry helper window also allows configuration of properties when a concept is selected by clicking it in the Main Window.)

XBRL View - Main Window

The Main Window in XBRL view includes four tabs that organize the taxonomy's elements as well as definition, presentation, and calculation relationships.

The Elements tab lists the concepts in the current taxonomy (in black), including those contained in imported taxonomies (in grey). Informative icons and mouse-over messages reveal each concept's substitution group (item, tuple, hypercube, dimension) and key attributes (balance, period, abstract, nillable), which can be editing in this view or in the Details window. Clicking the plus sign to the right of any concept displays its properties in a graphical manner for easy visualization and/or editing. This graphical representation also makes adding and defining new elements a snap and is much more user-friendly than working with XBRL in a text-only view.

The Definitions, Presentation, and Calculation tabs in XBRL View display taxonomy relationships as defined in associated definition, presentation, and calculation linkbase files. The structure resulting from the defined relationships is displayed in a tree view with curved arrows indicating definition arcs. This makes it easy to conceptualize and edit concept relationships, which you can do via drag and drop functionality or by working with XMLSpy's intelligent XBRL entry helpers.

Find in XBRL, Sort XBRL

When working in XBRL View, the Find in XBRL tab of the XMLSpy® 2012 output window (which you can also activate using Ctrl-F) allows you to search an entire XBRL taxonomy or document, with advanced options for narrowing your results. Results are listed in the output window, where multiple tabs let you store numerous queries. Clicking any item in the results window navigates to that specific location in the document.

This functionality makes finding information in XBRL files, which tend to be rather large and complex, much easier.

The XBRL sorting in XMLSpy® 2012 also makes it easier to view and navigate your file in XBRL view, allowing you to sort elements by name, substitution group, or type.

XBRL Taxonomy Wizard

The XBRL Taxonomy Wizard in XMLSpy® 2012 gives you a user-friendly way to get started when extending an industry-standard XBRL taxonomy, or even starting from scratch creating a new taxonomy. It's an invaluable time-saver when you need to create a new taxonomy – even if you're new to XBRL.

You simply use the File/New dialog to begin a new XBRL Taxonomy Schema, and XMLSpy prompts you to select the existing base taxonomy (e.g., US-GAAP, IFRS, etc.) you wish to extend (if any).

Once you enter the company ticker or name, XMLSpy automatically creates and saves the required taxonomy files…

…and allows you to define the entry points of the taxonomy you are extending.

Once you click finish, XMLSpy displays the newly created taxonomy files in XBRL view, where you can continue editing and refining the taxonomy in a graphical manner.

XBRL Documentation

To faciliate communication and analysis of your XBRL taxonomy, XMLSpy generates comprehensive documentation using either the fixed template that ships with the product, or via a custom template modified using Altova StyleVision®.

A snippet generated using the fixed documentation template is shown below. Related components are hyperlinked in the onscreen output, so you can navigate easily from component to component.

If you have StyleVision installed, you can customize your XBRL documentation using its advanced layout and presentation options. Custom documentation via StyleVision integration is available in PDF in addition to the HTML, Word, and RTF outputs available for the fixed documentation template.

In addition to generating complete documentation for your taxonomy, you can print the graphical representation of your XBRL taxonomy as it is displayed in the graphical XBRL View.

With its graphical display of XBRL taxonomy elements, easy-to-understand windows and tabs, and intelligent XBRL editing entry helpers, XMLSpy makes it easy to visualize, edit, and document complex XBRL taxonomies. Learn more about XBRL in the XBRL Whitepaper, or view the XMLSpy Help file for a tutorial on XBRL taxonomy creation.

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