diff --git a/src/gpgui/gui/xml/xml_edit.cpp b/src/gpgui/gui/xml/xml_edit.cpp
index 84c772e7..caee6c27 100644
--- a/src/gpgui/gui/xml/xml_edit.cpp
+++ b/src/gpgui/gui/xml/xml_edit.cpp
@@ -18,38 +18,3 @@
  */
 
 #include "xml_edit.h"
-
-#include <QStack>
-
-// Look for attribute's node in the document by iterating
-// through all nodes and looking for and attribute with same name
-QDomNode find_attribute_node(const QDomDocument &doc, const QString &attribute_name) {
-    QStack<QDomElement> elements_to_explore;
-    const QDomElement top_element = doc.documentElement();
-    elements_to_explore.push(top_element);
-
-    while (!elements_to_explore.isEmpty()) {
-        const QDomElement element = elements_to_explore.pop();
-
-        QDomNode child = element.firstChild();
-        while (!child.isNull()) {
-            QDomElement child_as_element = child.toElement();
-            const bool is_element = !child_as_element.isNull();
-
-            if (is_element) {
-                elements_to_explore.push(child_as_element);
-            }
-
-                // Check node's attributes
-            const QDomNamedNodeMap attributes = child.attributes();
-            const QDomNode attribute_node = attributes.namedItem(attribute_name);
-            if (!attribute_node.isNull()) {
-                return attribute_node;
-            }
-
-            child = child.nextSibling();
-        }
-    }
-
-    return QDomNode();
-}
diff --git a/src/gpgui/gui/xml/xml_edit.h b/src/gpgui/gui/xml/xml_edit.h
index 5295f455..a251e598 100644
--- a/src/gpgui/gui/xml/xml_edit.h
+++ b/src/gpgui/gui/xml/xml_edit.h
@@ -46,6 +46,4 @@ bool changed() const;\
 bool verify_input(QWidget *parent);\
 bool apply(QDomDocument *doc);
 
-QDomNode find_attribute_node(const QDomDocument &doc, const QString &attribute_name);
-
 #endif /* XML_EDIT_H */
diff --git a/src/gpgui/gui/xml/xml_string_edit.cpp b/src/gpgui/gui/xml/xml_string_edit.cpp
index 3c30da65..c10aada7 100644
--- a/src/gpgui/gui/xml/xml_string_edit.cpp
+++ b/src/gpgui/gui/xml/xml_string_edit.cpp
@@ -24,6 +24,19 @@
 #include <QMessageBox>
 #include <QLabel>
 
+QDomElement get_element_by_tag_name(const QDomDocument &doc, const QString &tag_name) {
+    const QDomNodeList parents = doc.elementsByTagName(tag_name);
+    const QDomNode parent_node = parents.at(0);
+    const QDomElement parent_element = parent_node.toElement();
+
+    // NOTE: should never happen? as long as xml files are validated on load at least
+    if (parent_element.isNull()) {
+        printf("get_element_by_tag_name() failed to find element \"%s\"\n", qPrintable(tag_name));
+    }
+
+    return parent_element;
+}
+
 XmlStringEdit::XmlStringEdit(const XmlAttribute &attribute_arg)
 : attribute(attribute_arg) {
     edit = new QLineEdit();
@@ -36,9 +49,10 @@ XmlStringEdit::XmlStringEdit(const XmlAttribute &attribute_arg)
 }
 
 void XmlStringEdit::load(const QDomDocument &doc) {
-    const QDomNode attribute_node = find_attribute_node(doc, attribute.name());
+    const QDomElement parent_element = get_element_by_tag_name(doc, attribute.parent_name());
+    const QString value = parent_element.attribute(attribute.name(), QString());
 
-    original_value = attribute_node.nodeValue();
+    original_value = value;
 
     edit->blockSignals(true);
     edit->setText(original_value);
@@ -74,9 +88,10 @@ bool XmlStringEdit::apply(QDomDocument *doc) {
         return true;
     }
 
-    QDomNode attribute_node = find_attribute_node(*doc, attribute.name());
     const QString new_value = edit->text();
-    attribute_node.setNodeValue(new_value);
+
+    QDomElement parent_element = get_element_by_tag_name(*doc, attribute.parent_name());
+    parent_element.setAttribute(attribute.name(), new_value);
 
     printf("apply %s: [%s]=>[%s]\n", qPrintable(attribute.name()), qPrintable(original_value), qPrintable(new_value));