format string to XML to include tabs, line breaks etc

Question

I am serializing a string from a multiline text box to an XML. Is send the line breaks and tabs to save in the XML so when I deserialize it, I get it back looking the same?

Example - The textbox will look like:

Hello JohnDoe,

     This is a message
...
Somelines....

Thank you,
...
End

When I serialize this and then deserialize it, the textbox gets populated like:

Hello JohnDoe,This is a message..Some lines....Thank you,...End

It doesn't have to be really pretty, I'm just trying to come up with a good way to get it back in a better format. Thanks.

Okay so the code i have is as follows:

public void SerializeToXML(List<Report> newReport)
        {
            XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<Report>));

            //XmlWriterSettings serializer_settings = new XmlWriterSettings();
            //serializer_settings.Indent = true;
            //serializer_settings.NewLineOnAttributes = true;

            TextWriter textWriter = new StreamWriter(xmlPath);
            serializer.Serialize(textWriter, newReport);
            textWriter.Close();
        }

Where Report is just a class with some string attributes. The commented lines are somethings I was trying to accomplish my goal.

Report class code:

public class Report
    {
        public string name
        { get; set; }

        public string email
        { get; set; }

        public string defectID
        { get; set; }

        public string fixedBuild
        { get; set; }

        public string description
        { get; set; }

        [XmlIgnore]
        public string messageBody
        { get; set; }

     private static readonly XmlDocument _xmlDoc = new XmlDocument();

     [XmlElement("messageBody")]
     public XmlCDataSection TextCData
     {
         get
         {
             return _xmlDoc.CreateCDataSection(messageBody);
         }
         set
         {
             messageBody = value.Data;
         }
     }
    }

the output remains the same (no whitespace formatting).

score 3 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:47

3

One way to preserve all whitespace in your XML is to use a CDATA section. The details depend on the way you do your serialization. See this question for an explanation in a web service context. If you serialize manually, use XmlWriter.WriteCData method.

edited May 23 '17 at 11:47

Community

1
1

answered Feb 11 '12 at 03:09

Sergey Kalinichenko

714,442
84
1,110
1,523

hmm okay i've edited my class to use the CDATA formatting. no change on the output. any ideas? – ikathegreat Feb 12 '12 at 03:25
i'm also thought that the issue may be stemming from the fact that i am deserializing the XML to a LIST, then the textbox (because there is more than one report in the XML. but viewing the XML file itself (before it is deserialized, i see that the formatting is still omitted). – ikathegreat Feb 12 '12 at 03:29
@ikathegreat If CDATA section does not appear, the changes you made are not correct. Try writing a tiny self-contained test project that writes a single element to XML with a CDATA section in it. See [this question](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1379888/how-do-you-serialize-a-string-as-cdata-using-xmlserializer) for additional information on how to do it. Try the second (not accepted) answer first, then the accepted one if that does not work. – Sergey Kalinichenko Feb 12 '12 at 08:43

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 10:24

1

This article seems to offer a valid solution. Also check out this answer here.

Hard to give good advice without seeing your code.

EDIT

You could add it manually.

Or you might be able to get by with something like this (untested, modified from this question):

public class Report
{
    [XmlAttribute("xml:space")]
    public string spacing = "preserve";
}

this way it should get added automatically during serialization. However, if you can figure out a way to set an XmlAttribute that's not based off a field or property, that would be even better.

edited May 23 '17 at 10:24

Community

1
1

answered Feb 11 '12 at 03:13

Brandon Boone

16,281
4
73
100

to preserve the white space, one of the articles suggests `xml:space="preserve"`. I'm not sure where this goes or how to get it in the XML...? During serialization? – ikathegreat Feb 12 '12 at 03:27

format string to XML to include tabs, line breaks etc

2 Answers2