A programmable object model allows a user/programmer to programmatically access the Extensible Markup Language (XML) functionality of a software application. The programmable object model is comprised of a plurality of object-oriented message calls or application programming interfaces for allowing a user to access the XML functionality of an application by sending one or more object-oriented message calls or application programming interfaces to the XML functionality of a given application along with any required parameters for customizing or otherwise manipulating XML markup applied to a document.