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Elements

property Elements[Index: Integer]: TXMLNode read;

Example​

procedure MarkElements(Node: TXMLNode);
var
  I: Integer;
  Child: TXMLNode;
begin
  if Node = nil then Exit;

  for I := 0 to Node.ElementCount - 1 do
  begin
    Child := Node.Elements[I];
    if Child <> nil then
      Child.Value := 'Processed';
  end;
end;

Usage​

Elements returns a borrowed immediate element by zero-based filtered index, or nil when the receiver or index has no such element.

Additional Technical Info​

Elements returns the Indexth immediate child whose native runtime class is an ordinary TsdElement. The index is zero-based within this filtered view, not within the container's full node list.

Attributes, text, whitespace, comments, CDATA and structural nodes are skipped. The scan does not recurse. Use ElementCount for the valid range and FindNode for descendant search.

The native getter returns nil for a negative index, an index at or above ElementCount, a non-container receiver, or any scan that does not find that filtered element. It does not raise a bounds exception for those ordinary cases. The importer widens the native TsdElement result to TXMLNode, so only the common scripting surface is available.

The returned reference is borrowed and document-owned. Do not Free it. Removing/replacing children, clearing/loading the document or freeing it can invalidate both the reference and the meaning of later filtered indices.

Each access scans from the start of the relevant immediate list until it reaches the requested filtered index. Iterating Elements[I] for every I can therefore become quadratic for a large list. This is normally acceptable for modest configuration XML; avoid repeated indexed scans for very large documents.

The example is source-reviewed only; no element value was changed.

External references

Created 2026-07-15