When an XML-annotated document is saved, a process automatically stores the document's data in the tables of a database. The database server validates the document's data against a user-specified XML schema. Queries can be executed against a set of documents in order to find documents in which a specified XML element contains specified content. Query results can be customized to return only the contents of specified XML elements. The document data can be linked with other data in the database such that the document data is updated based on the other data every time that the document is opened, thereby producing a “live” and dynamic document. Different file formats can be generated based on the document data, thus separating the presentation of the document data from the data itself. Contents of different elements may be obscured based on users' privileges, thereby maintaining the privacy of the document's information.