---
title: "XML Namespaces"
slug: "xml-transformer-namespaces"
description: "Describes how to use namespaces in Lasernet XML Transformer 11."
updated: 2026-01-30T08:52:06Z
published: 2026-01-30T08:52:06Z
canonical: "kb.lasernetgroup.com/xml-transformer-namespaces"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.lasernetgroup.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# XML Namespaces

**Applies to:** Lasernet Core 11

XPath 1.0 is unable to find nodes in a default namespace unless the namespace is mapped to a known prefix.

The picture below shows a default namespace. As can be seen in this example, no prefixes are used.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c831ef63-c6b3-48ee-b443-3e33644e4e2e/Images/Documentation/xml-namespaces-image-tk0qxcwr.png)

If you are to create an action (e.g. Delete) to any element of the output, it is not transformed. To correctly transform the file, you have to create a namespace.

To add a namespace, follow the steps listed below:

1. On the **XML** menu, click **Namespaces**.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c831ef63-c6b3-48ee-b443-3e33644e4e2e/Images/Documentation/xml-namespaces-image-metxpyvv.png)
2. With the **Namespaces** dialog displayed, click the **Add** button.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c831ef63-c6b3-48ee-b443-3e33644e4e2e/Images/Documentation/xml-namespaces-image-0np1jicf.png)
3. With the **Edit Namespace** dialog displayed, type a name for the namespace which is a prefix and URI.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c831ef63-c6b3-48ee-b443-3e33644e4e2e/Images/Documentation/xml-namespaces-image-s1on1jnp.png)
4. Once you are done, click **OK**.

Next, edit the action you have created (e.g. the Delete action). Within the **Add Action** dialog, type a prefix in the **XPath** field for the node, as shown in the picture below:

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c831ef63-c6b3-48ee-b443-3e33644e4e2e/Images/Documentation/xml-namespaces-image-y8t2m67q.png)

As a result, the action is applied:

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c831ef63-c6b3-48ee-b443-3e33644e4e2e/Images/Documentation/xml-namespaces-image-dvv73b0a.png)

In addition, the prefix defined in the **Namespaces** dialog allows you to override any prefix defined in the XML file. This is useful when an incoming XML file uses a default namespace or when the prefixes in the incoming XML file vary from one document to another.

The picture below shows two XML files which contain a common URI and different prefixes.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c831ef63-c6b3-48ee-b443-3e33644e4e2e/Images/Documentation/xml-namespaces-image-5v7iy7rs.png)

To override prefix defined in the XML file, follow the steps listed below:

1. Open one of the available XML files by clicking the **Select Grab Files** button in the *XML Transformer Editor*.

Namespaces are automatically added. To access the list of namespaces which are automatically added, click **Namespaces** on the **XML** menu.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c831ef63-c6b3-48ee-b443-3e33644e4e2e/Images/Documentation/xml-namespaces-image-j9atdues.png)
2. Create an action to apply it to any element of the output (for example, the Delete action), and the output is transformed accordingly.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c831ef63-c6b3-48ee-b443-3e33644e4e2e/Images/Documentation/xml-namespaces-image-ejzkm2qi.png)
3. Afterwards, the same action is applied to all documents regardless of the prefixes available. As the result, each file is transformed in the same way.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/c831ef63-c6b3-48ee-b443-3e33644e4e2e/Images/Documentation/xml-namespaces-image-jdmswd6h.png)