Bouncing between debugging, quick data exploration, and model design calls for a viewer that shortens click-paths and keeps your mental context intact. Nodeflip’s all-in-one viewer—with Tree, Nested Grid, and Source modes—delivers exactly that, then goes a step further with filterable grids and instant Compare To diffs.
Why Conventional Viewers Stall
| Pain Point | Typical Online Viewer | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Filtering tabular data | Absent or limited to search-box | Manual eyeballing |
| Switching hierarchies ↔ tables | Separate tools or modes | Context break |
| Listing structural differences | Requires external diff | Extra copy-paste |
| Pulling a filtered subset | Not supported | Redundant scripting |
| Pretty ↔ minify round-trip | Often either/or | Duplicate steps |
Tools like Code Beautify focus on prettify/minify; JSON Studio gives you a grid but no diff; JSONEditorOnline offers tree + code but lacks cross-file compare; XMLSpy covers most bases—yet demands a desktop install.
Inside Nodeflip’s Viewer
Tree View
- Hierarchical display with expand/collapse controls and global Expand, Collapse, Collapse All buttons.
- XPath copy-bar bubbles up the exact path of any node for quick scripting or extracting in the Data Extractor.
- Key/value columns keep names and contents side-by-side, even in deeply nested levels.
Nested Grid View — Sorting & Filtering
Detected arrays morph into an interactive grid:
| Capability | How it Works |
|---|---|
| Column sort | Click header → toggles ↑ / ↓ icons. |
| Filter menu | Hover header → choose contains, equals, is empty, etc. |
| Card-view toggle | Swap between classic table and attribute-oriented (transposed) view. |
| Column totals | In the expanded grid view it is possible to get aggregated values like sum, average, count and distinct count. |
See documentation for more info.
Tip: Use the attribute-oriented card view when you need to scan how a single property varies across many items.
Source View — Editable viewer
- Syntax-highlighted & always beautified as soon as the file loads.
- Compare To… dropdown opens a Monaco-powered side-by-side diff against any other loaded file.
- Tools menu unlocks advanced tricks:
- Hide Values — collapse data, leaving just the skeleton.
- Show Distinct — surface only unique structural nodes.
- Get Filtered Data — export exactly what your Grid filters currently show.
- Convert Format — flip XML ↔ JSON on the spot.
- Download either a prettified or minified version with one click.
Feature Matrix — Nodeflip vs. Popular Viewers
| Capability | Nodeflip | Code Beautify XML Viewer | JSON Studio Grid | JSONEditorOnline | Altova XMLSpy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tree navigation | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Nested grid w/ sort + filter | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ (JSON-only) | ❌ | ✅ |
| Grid with aggregated values | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Card-view toggle | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Compare To diff | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Hide / distinct structure | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Source minify/download | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Browser-based | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ (desktop) |
Conclusion & Next Steps
Nodeflip unites structured browsing, tabular analysis, and diffing in one tab:
- Open any XML or JSON file — Tree view renders instantly.
- Drill into an array — the Nested Grid pops up; sort / filter to isolate rows.
- Click Get Filtered Data — grab that slice in seconds.
- Run Compare To… against any other loaded file.
Ready to streamline your data-inspection workflow? Head over to Nodeflip and let the Tree, Grid, and Source trio replace your current patchwork of viewers.