Format XML in C#
September 09, 2009
Below is a small snippet showing how to format (or re-format) XML so it’s indented. XML isn’t stored in this humanly readable way in databases (or in System.XML’s various writers), so this method makes the XML easier on the eyes.
This file contains bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
Learn more about bidirectional Unicode characters
/// <summary> | |
/// Formats the provided XML so it's indented and humanly-readable. | |
/// </summary> | |
/// <param name="inputXml">The input XML to format.</param> | |
/// <returns></returns> | |
public static string FormatXml(string inputXml) | |
{ | |
XmlDocument document = new XmlDocument(); | |
document.Load(new StringReader(inputXml)); | |
StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder(); | |
using (XmlTextWriter writer = new XmlTextWriter(new StringWriter(builder))) | |
{ | |
writer.Formatting = Formatting.Indented; | |
document.Save(writer); | |
} | |
return builder.ToString(); | |
} |
I'm Chris Small, a software engineer working in London. This is my tech blog. Find out more about me via Github, Stackoverflow, Resume