Unable to remove empty xmlns attribute from XElement using c#

Question

Before posting this question I have tried all other solution on stack, but with no success.

I am unable to remove empty xmlns attribute from XElement using C#, I have tried the following Codes.

XElement.Attributes().Where(a => a.IsNamespaceDeclaration).Remove();

Another one which postted here

foreach (var attr in objXMl.Descendants().Attributes())
{
    var elem = attr.Parent;
    attr.Remove();
    elem.Add(new XAttribute(attr.Name.LocalName, attr.Value));
}

Do not treat "xmlns" as attributes. They are namespace declarations. They just happen to _look_ like attributes. Why do you want to remove these declarations? They actually _mean_ something, you know. — John Saunders, May 01 '15 at 05:20
@JohnSaunders yes I know it is namespace declaration, but it is appearing in child node. When I am using XElement.ReplaceWith(); — naim shaikh, May 01 '15 at 05:27
I have to pass the xml to a service, which is not accepting it with that empty xmlns namespace... — naim shaikh, May 01 '15 at 06:13
Which namespace does the service require? BTW, this is a _strong hint_ as to how you should fix the problem. — John Saunders, May 01 '15 at 06:15

score 22 · Accepted Answer · answered May 01 '15 at 05:06

Image This is you xml file

<Root xmlns="http://my.namespace">
    <Firstelement xmlns="">
        <RestOfTheDocument />
    </Firstelement>
</Root>

This is you expect

<Root xmlns="http://my.namespace">
    <Firstelement>
        <RestOfTheDocument />
    </Firstelement>
</Root>

I think the code below is what you want. You need to put each element into the right namespace, and remove any xmlns='' attributes for the affected elements. The latter part is required as otherwise LINQ to XML basically tries to leave you with an element of

<!-- This would be invalid -->
<Firstelement xmlns="" xmlns="http://my.namespace">

Here's the code:

using System;
using System.Xml.Linq;

class Test
{
    static void Main()
    {
        XDocument doc = XDocument.Load("test.xml");
        foreach (var node in doc.Root.Descendants())
        {
            // If we have an empty namespace...
            if (node.Name.NamespaceName == "")
            {
                // Remove the xmlns='' attribute. Note the use of
                // Attributes rather than Attribute, in case the
                // attribute doesn't exist (which it might not if we'd
                // created the document "manually" instead of loading
                // it from a file.)
                node.Attributes("xmlns").Remove();
                // Inherit the parent namespace instead
                node.Name = node.Parent.Name.Namespace + node.Name.LocalName;
            }
        }
        Console.WriteLine(doc); // Or doc.Save(...)
    }
}

in node.Name line, check node parent for null if (node.Parent != null) node.Name = node.Parent.Name.Namespace + node.Name.LocalName; — Alex, Jun 15 '20 at 06:16
The `node.Attributes("xmlns").Remove();` is redundant. all you need is to set the new `Name` of the `XElement`. — itsho, Feb 01 '21 at 11:05

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 27 '17 at 14:08

5

If you add the namespace of the parent element to the element then the empty namespace tag disappears, as it isn't required because the element is in the same namespace.

answered Apr 27 '17 at 14:08

foodfacefiller

51
1
1

Gregg Van Osdol · Answer 3 · 2019-11-15T17:53:56.287

here's a simpler way to do this. I believe it happens when you create separate xml segments and then join them to your document.

xDoc.Root.SaveDocument(savePath);
private static void SaveDocument(this XElement doc, string filePath)
{
    foreach (var node in doc.Descendants())
    {
        if (node.Name.NamespaceName == "")
        {
            node.Name = ns + node.Name.LocalName;
        }
    }
    using (var xw = XmlWriter.Create(filePath, new XmlWriterSettings
    {
        //OmitXmlDeclaration = true,
        //Indent = true,
        NamespaceHandling = NamespaceHandling.OmitDuplicates
    }))
    {
        doc.Save(xw);
    }
}

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered May 01 '15 at 05:17

0

Did you try to get Xelement.Attribute by value to see if the element is the "xmlns" before removing.

Xelement.Attribute("xmlns").Value

answered May 01 '15 at 05:17

NTMS

816
7
22

Unable to remove empty xmlns attribute from XElement using c#

4 Answers4