Maybe it’s just me… but if I open a new project and drag just one thing (a Radio Group) to the page and update the caption and tag properties…I believed that saving as XML would generate something (an XML text file) where I could search and find things like the control name, the caption, and the tag properties.
I need all my code in a Source Control System and saving as Binary severely limits the ability to see changes between versions. I’m fairly adept at reading Hex and yet the properties of this control seem well hidden.
It’s like saving as XML really just converted the binary project into hex. When I reload the project from the XML file…sure enough all the properties are there.
Is there a reason why we don’t get something more closely representative of this control in XML.
[quote=477512:@Robert Bednar]Maybe it’s just me… but if I open a new project and drag just one thing (a Radio Group) to the page and update the caption and tag properties…I believed that saving as XML would generate something (an XML text file) where I could search and find things like the control name, the caption, and the tag properties.
[/quote]
It does -
XML is sort of “human readable”
Into XML but …
[quote=477512:@Robert Bednar]
Is there a reason why we don’t get something more closely representative of this control in XML.[/quote]
XML is awful for version control
And it predates the plain text/vcp format by a few years
It was the first “human readable” format and really IS just a binary project written as XML
Use a Text Project (or Xojo Project) which is 99% plain text
I dont mind XML…Id prefer JSON, but while the file may technically be valid XML…I would expect to see element names, and properties. If I assign the values CHEECH and CHONG to the tag properties of a radio group, I would expect those strings to appear in the XML somewhere. They do not. I think they are in an field that contains The hex representation of the control. I didnt see the ASCII hex values, or Unicode values. I dont know where its at.
You got a better idea how to get a Xojo project into source control?
As Norman said, use the text project format. More info:
json didnt even exit when the xml was originally crafted
[quote=477540:@Robert Bednar] but while the file may technically be valid XML…I would expect to see element names, and properties.
[/quote]
one might - just thats not how it is and chnaging it now would break a pile of existing ide’s etc
and its still valid xml 
[quote=477540:@Robert Bednar] If I assign the values CHEECH and CHONG to the tag properties of a radio group, I would expect those strings to appear in the XML somewhere. They do not.
[/quote]
there is not reason they must
should - sure - but given how things evolved that just isnt how it is
Probably varies from control property t o control property and then even depends on what kind of project it is (console, web, desktop, ios)
yes - as I already said - use the TEXT format (also referred to as VCP or Xojo Project)
XML is an AWLFUL format for version control esp since merging it is so hard to do
the plain text formats are way better and thats what Xojo uses internally for the IDE and what I recommend to anyone trying to use version control with Xojo