How Can I Easily Format XML Strings for Improved Readability in .NET?

Format XML String for Enhanced Readability

Manipulating XML strings can be challenging, especially when they lack proper formatting. If you're working with densely packed XML like:

<?xml version='1.0'?><response><error code='1'> Success</error></response>

And you want to format it for better readability, there's a convenient solution available in .NET.

Using XDocument to Beautify XML

To format the XML string without manual effort, you can utilize the LINQ to XML (XDocument) library:

string FormatXml(string xml)
{
    try
    {
        XDocument doc = XDocument.Parse(xml);
        return doc.ToString();
    }
    catch (Exception)
    {
        // Handle and throw if fatal exception here; don't just ignore them
        return xml;
    }
}

This method parses the input XML string, creating an XDocument object that can be formatted and converted back to a well-formatted string.

Example Usage

By invoking the FormatXml method, you can effortlessly format your XML string:

string formattedXml = FormatXml("<p>Unformatted XML</p>");

The resulting formattedXml variable will contain the XML string with proper indentation and line breaks:

<p>Formatted XML</p>

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