>/xpath1/*[name()='xpath2' or name()='xpath3']/xpath4

the xpath's are xpaths not names, I just wrote them this way to emphasise what I was talking about.

xpath1 = tag1/tag2[@attrib1='fads']/tag3[@attrib2='ahf']
xpath2 = tag4
xpath3 = tag5[1][attrib3='gf' and tag6/@attrib4 ='flk']
xpath4 = @attrib5

The original reason for trying to write it in

/xpath1/(xpath2|xpath3)/xpath3

form was so that the (xpath2|xpath3) could be stored together.

Thanks for you help.

Edward

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