Editing an open file directly as Xml

If I have a file loaded in syntax editor as an XML Document, is there anyway to directly edit the text by using an xml object? (where I can select elements and attributes)

I am editing the text/xml outside of the syntax editor and want to easily update the contents of the editor without changing positioning, outlining or any other visual aspects that get lost when you reset the entire text.

If it's not possible, what is the easiest way to accomplish this?

Thanks