This document describes a system and method that incrementally transforms and renders changes to a hierarchical data file. This system and method allows a user to incrementally see changes that the user has made to the hierarchical data file through entry of data in a rendered form. A hierarchical data processing engine may perform partial transformations of data files and produce partial rendering files of changes made to data files. By so doing, the hierarchical data processing engine improves a user's editing experience by allowing for quicker updating of the rendered form being edited by the user.