IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Services and service-related functions > Building mediation flows > Create XPath expressions

XPath Expression Builder

The XPath Expression Builder allows you to quickly and easily create or edit an XPath 1.0 expression.

You can use XPath 1.0 expressions in your flow to access specific parts of a message. You can then process the message; for example you can transform, filter or retrieve values from a message.

The input message is displayed in the XPath Expression Builder's Data Types Viewer. Wire the primitive's input terminal before you launch the XPath Expression Builder so that the complete message is available in the data types viewer.

The XPath Expression Builder is available in various editors. It is typically launched by clicking the Edit... button in the properties view of an artifact.

If you are new to XPath, click Insert Simple XPath... and let the user interface guide you. You can also type your expression directly in the text box, and press Ctrl+Space for code assist. Using code assist you can navigate the data types tree and access available functions.

You can also click Insert Simple XPath while typing an expression. The expression that you build using the insert button will be inserted at the current cursor location in the text box.


If : Take notice of the messages displayed at the top of the XPath Editor window. While the editor will allow you to enter an invalid path and even save it, there will be a warning or an error at the top of the window letting you know the path is invalid.

If you are in a field which accepts an XPath expression, you can press Control+Space to get code-assist. This will provide you with available XPath functions and operators for your expression. For more information about using XPath 1.0 see the following websites:

Create XPath expressions