15

I have a string containing XML document using LinqtoXML

What is the best way of displaying it on an asp.net page as is.

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6 Answers 6

Reset to default
17

I would have liked to do it the way Dennis has mentioned (using an <asp:Xml> control). But that necessitates the use of an XSL stylesheet to format the XML. The Xml control does not allow an HTML encoded string to be passed as the DocumentContent property and does not expose any method to encode the content.

As I have mentioned in the comments to Dennis' post, the defaultss.xsl contained within msxml.dll is not available publicly (and is not XSL 1.0 compliant). However, a public converted version was posted here: http://www.dpawson.co.uk/xsl/sect2/microsoft.html#d7615e227. I have tested it and it works, though a bit buggy.

Therefore, I think the simplest way would be to use an <asp:Literal> control to output pre-encoded XML to the page. The following sample demonstrates this method:

<%@ Page Language="C#" %>

<%@ Import Namespace="System.IO" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="System.Xml" %>

<script runat="server">
  protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
  {
    string theXML = Server.HtmlEncode(File.ReadAllText(Server.MapPath("~/XML/myxmlfile.xml")));
    lit1.Text = theXML;
  }
</script>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head runat="server">
  <title>Untitled Page</title>
</head>
<body>
  <form id="form1" runat="server">
    <div>
      <pre>
        <asp:Literal ID="lit1" runat="server" />
      </pre>
    </div>
  </form>
</body>
</html>
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4 Comments

Will this also render the line feeds?
another way to display xml in your html page by replacing < sign with &lt;
your answer useful for me. but this code only load XML as a text on .aspx page, how can i load whole XML format (with default collapsible CSS) ?
Needs to include Mode="Encode" <asp:Literal ID="ReportXML" runat="server" Mode="Encode" />
6

Use the asp:Xml control together with this Default Stylesheet as the TransformSource. This will give you a look very similar to what you see when you open an xml file in Internet Explorer complete with syntax highlighting and coloration.

I removed the expanding/collapsing node functionality because I couldn't get that to work. This file is xsl 1.0 and works great without bugs for my purposes.

To avoid any future problems with my linked file, here are the contents:

<!--
|
| XSLT REC Compliant Version of IE5 Default Stylesheet
|
| Original version by Jonathan Marsh (jmarsh@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)
| http://msdn.microsoft.com/xml/samples/defaultss/defaultss.xsl
|
| Conversion to XSLT 1.0 REC Syntax by Steve Muench (smuench@xxxxxxxxxx)
|
+-->
<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">
<xsl:output indent="no" method="html"/>
<xsl:template match="/">
    <xsl:apply-templates/>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="processing-instruction()">
    <DIV class="e">
        <SPAN class="b">
            <xsl:call-template name="entity-ref">
                <xsl:with-param name="name">nbsp</xsl:with-param>
            </xsl:call-template>
        </SPAN>
        <SPAN class="m">
            <xsl:text>&lt;?</xsl:text>
        </SPAN>
        <SPAN class="pi">
            <xsl:value-of select="name(.)"/>
            <xsl:value-of select="."/>
        </SPAN>
        <SPAN class="m">
            <xsl:text>?></xsl:text>
        </SPAN>
    </DIV>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="processing-instruction('xml')">
    <DIV class="e">
        <SPAN class="b">
            <xsl:call-template name="entity-ref">
                <xsl:with-param name="name">nbsp</xsl:with-param>
            </xsl:call-template>
        </SPAN>
        <SPAN class="m">
            <xsl:text>&lt;?</xsl:text>
        </SPAN>
        <SPAN class="pi">
            <xsl:text>xml </xsl:text>
            <xsl:for-each select="@*">
                <xsl:value-of select="name(.)"/>
                <xsl:text>="</xsl:text>
                <xsl:value-of select="."/>
                <xsl:text>" </xsl:text>
            </xsl:for-each>
        </SPAN>
        <SPAN class="m">
            <xsl:text>?></xsl:text>
        </SPAN>
    </DIV>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="@*">
    <SPAN>
        <xsl:attribute name="class"><xsl:if test="xsl:*/@*"><xsl:text>x</xsl:text></xsl:if><xsl:text>t</xsl:text></xsl:attribute>
        <xsl:value-of select="name(.)"/>
    </SPAN>
    <SPAN class="m">="</SPAN>
    <B>
        <xsl:value-of select="."/>
    </B>
    <SPAN class="m">"</SPAN>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="text()">
    <DIV class="e">
        <SPAN class="b"> </SPAN>
        <SPAN class="tx">
            <xsl:value-of select="."/>
        </SPAN>
    </DIV>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="comment()">
    <DIV class="k">
        <SPAN>
            <!--<A STYLE="visibility:hidden" class="b" onclick="return false" onfocus="h()">-</A>-->
            <SPAN class="m">
                <xsl:text>&lt;!--</xsl:text>
            </SPAN>
        </SPAN>
        <SPAN class="ci" id="clean">
            <PRE>
                <xsl:value-of select="."/>
            </PRE>
        </SPAN>
        <SPAN class="b">
            <xsl:call-template name="entity-ref">
                <xsl:with-param name="name">nbsp</xsl:with-param>
            </xsl:call-template>
        </SPAN>
        <SPAN class="m">
            <xsl:text>--></xsl:text>
        </SPAN>
        <SCRIPT>f(clean);</SCRIPT>
    </DIV>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="*">
    <DIV class="e">
        <DIV STYLE="margin-left:1em;text-indent:-2em">
            <SPAN class="b">
                <xsl:call-template name="entity-ref">
                    <xsl:with-param name="name">nbsp</xsl:with-param>
                </xsl:call-template>
            </SPAN>
            <SPAN class="m">&lt;</SPAN>
            <SPAN>
                <xsl:attribute name="class"><xsl:if test="xsl:*"><xsl:text>x</xsl:text></xsl:if><xsl:text>t</xsl:text></xsl:attribute>
                <xsl:value-of select="name(.)"/>
                <xsl:if test="@*">
                    <xsl:text> </xsl:text>
                </xsl:if>
            </SPAN>
            <xsl:apply-templates select="@*"/>
            <SPAN class="m">
                <xsl:text>/></xsl:text>
            </SPAN>
        </DIV>
    </DIV>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="*[node()]">
    <DIV class="e">
        <DIV class="c">
            <!--<A class="b" href="#" onclick="return false" onfocus="h()">-</A>-->
            <SPAN class="m">&lt;</SPAN>
            <SPAN>
                <xsl:attribute name="class"><xsl:if test="xsl:*"><xsl:text>x</xsl:text></xsl:if><xsl:text>t</xsl:text></xsl:attribute>
                <xsl:value-of select="name(.)"/>
                <xsl:if test="@*">
                    <xsl:text> </xsl:text>
                </xsl:if>
            </SPAN>
            <xsl:apply-templates select="@*"/>
            <SPAN class="m">
                <xsl:text>></xsl:text>
            </SPAN>
        </DIV>
        <DIV>
            <xsl:apply-templates/>
            <DIV>
                <SPAN class="b">
                    <xsl:call-template name="entity-ref">
                        <xsl:with-param name="name">nbsp</xsl:with-param>
                    </xsl:call-template>
                </SPAN>
                <SPAN class="m">
                    <xsl:text>&lt;/</xsl:text>
                </SPAN>
                <SPAN>
                    <xsl:attribute name="class"><xsl:if test="xsl:*"><xsl:text>x</xsl:text></xsl:if><xsl:text>t</xsl:text></xsl:attribute>
                    <xsl:value-of select="name(.)"/>
                </SPAN>
                <SPAN class="m">
                    <xsl:text>></xsl:text>
                </SPAN>
            </DIV>
        </DIV>
    </DIV>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="*[text() and not (comment() or processing-instruction())]">
    <DIV class="e">
        <DIV STYLE="margin-left:1em;text-indent:-2em">
            <SPAN class="b">
                <xsl:call-template name="entity-ref">
                    <xsl:with-param name="name">nbsp</xsl:with-param>
                </xsl:call-template>
            </SPAN>
            <SPAN class="m">
                <xsl:text>&lt;</xsl:text>
            </SPAN>
            <SPAN>
                <xsl:attribute name="class"><xsl:if test="xsl:*"><xsl:text>x</xsl:text></xsl:if><xsl:text>t</xsl:text></xsl:attribute>
                <xsl:value-of select="name(.)"/>
                <xsl:if test="@*">
                    <xsl:text> </xsl:text>
                </xsl:if>
            </SPAN>
            <xsl:apply-templates select="@*"/>
            <SPAN class="m">
                <xsl:text>></xsl:text>
            </SPAN>
            <SPAN class="tx">
                <xsl:value-of select="."/>
            </SPAN>
            <SPAN class="m">&lt;/</SPAN>
            <SPAN>
                <xsl:attribute name="class"><xsl:if test="xsl:*"><xsl:text>x</xsl:text></xsl:if><xsl:text>t</xsl:text></xsl:attribute>
                <xsl:value-of select="name(.)"/>
            </SPAN>
            <SPAN class="m">
                <xsl:text>></xsl:text>
            </SPAN>
        </DIV>
    </DIV>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template match="*[*]" priority="20">
    <DIV class="e">
        <DIV STYLE="margin-left:1em;text-indent:-2em" class="c">
            <!--<A class="b" href="#" onclick="return false" onfocus="h()">-</A>-->
            <SPAN class="m">&lt;</SPAN>
            <SPAN>
                <xsl:attribute name="class"><xsl:if test="xsl:*"><xsl:text>x</xsl:text></xsl:if><xsl:text>t</xsl:text></xsl:attribute>
                <xsl:value-of select="name(.)"/>
                <xsl:if test="@*">
                    <xsl:text> </xsl:text>
                </xsl:if>
            </SPAN>
            <xsl:apply-templates select="@*"/>
            <SPAN class="m">
                <xsl:text>></xsl:text>
            </SPAN>
        </DIV>
        <DIV>
            <xsl:apply-templates/>
            <DIV>
                <SPAN class="b">
                    <xsl:call-template name="entity-ref">
                        <xsl:with-param name="name">nbsp</xsl:with-param>
                    </xsl:call-template>
                </SPAN>
                <SPAN class="m">
                    <xsl:text>&lt;/</xsl:text>
                </SPAN>
                <SPAN>
                    <xsl:attribute name="class"><xsl:if test="xsl:*"><xsl:text>x</xsl:text></xsl:if><xsl:text>t</xsl:text></xsl:attribute>
                    <xsl:value-of select="name(.)"/>
                </SPAN>
                <SPAN class="m">
                    <xsl:text>></xsl:text>
                </SPAN>
            </DIV>
        </DIV>
    </DIV>
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template name="entity-ref">
    <xsl:param name="name"/>
    <xsl:text disable-output-escaping="yes">&amp;</xsl:text>
    <xsl:value-of select="$name"/>
    <xsl:text>;</xsl:text>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>
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4 Comments

That is how I would do it too... except that defaultss.xsl is not available publicly (and is not XSL 1.0 compliant). However, a public converted version was posted here: dpawson.co.uk/xsl/sect2/…. I have tested it and it works, though a bit buggy. +1
Fixed the link to point to the version of defaultss.xsl that I use.
@sebastian I recently changed web hosts and forgot to move that file over. I'll find the file again and upload it to that same location on my new host.
@Michiel my web host changed yet again. The link should work now.
4

c# solution Thats worked for me:

string encodedXml = String.Format("<pre>{0}</pre>", HttpUtility.HtmlEncode(xmlStr));
testLb.Text = encodedXml;
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1

Displaying XML Formatted Code Without Using an XML Control

Here is a VB.NET solution:

Public Shared Function FormatXml(ByVal xmlDoc As XmlDocument) As String  
    Dim sb As New StringBuilder()  
    `'We will use stringWriter to push the formated xml into our StringBuilder sb.`  
    Using stringWriter As New StringWriter(sb)  
        `'We will use the Formatting of our xmlTextWriter to provide our indentation.`  
        Using xmlTextWriter As New XmlTextWriter(stringWriter)  
            xmlTextWriter.Formatting = Formatting.Indented  
            xmlDoc.WriteTo(xmlTextWriter)  
        End Using
    End Using
    Return sb.ToString()
End Function

Use this Function to set the Text of a multiline TextBox or a Label:

XmlViewTextBox.Text = FormatXml(xmlDoc)

If you are trying to use an XML string, convert it to an XmlDocument first:

Dim xmlDoc As New XmlDocument
xmlDoc.LoadXml(xmlString)

This solution will render the XML code on the HTML page while preserving line-breaks and indents.

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1 Comment

this worked when setting to my asp literal control just needed to wrap my output text in Server.HtmlEncode() - for example: XmlViewLiteralControl.Text = Server.HtmlEncode(FormatXml(xmlDoc))
0

HTML PRE tags in a div, and just echo out the string properly escaped?

Div gives you alignment / formatting, while the PRE should preserve whitespace

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2 Comments

Any Example.i have an XElement xele with me?
<div id="xmlInner"> <pre> <asp:label id="xmllabel" runat="server"> </pre> </div> In your code behind : protected void Page_Load(Object Source, EventArgs E) { string xmlData = GetXmlData(); xmlLabel.Text = Server.HtmlEncode(xmlData); } Add CSS styles to the Div and you're away (if you want to)
0

For me to accomplish this, I needed to bring multiple sources together to make this work in ASP.Net Core MVC.

In Startup.cs

public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IWebHostEnvironment env)
{
     // override XmlException: Resolving of external URIs was prohibited.
     AppContext.SetSwitch("Switch.System.Xml.AllowDefaultResolver", true);

In display.chtml:

<div>
    @Html.Raw(ViewBag.TransformedXml)
</div>

Then in controller:

public string TransformCDA(string xml, HttpContext httpContext)
{
    string TransformedXml = string.Empty;
    XmlDocument XmlDoc = new XmlDocument();
    string xsltPath = httpContext.MapPath("~/lib/xsl/CDA.xsl");

    string xmlPath = httpContext.MapPath("~/lib/xsl/CDA.xml");
    XmlDoc.LoadXml(xml);

    var sb = new StringBuilder();
    using (var stringWriter = new StringWriter(sb))
    {
        using (var xmlTextWriter = new XmlTextWriter(stringWriter))
        {
            // Create the XsltSettings object with document() enabled and script enabled.
            XsltSettings settings = new XsltSettings(true, true);
            // Create the XslCompiledTransform object and load the style sheet.  
            XslCompiledTransform xslt = new XslCompiledTransform();
            var resolver = new XmlUrlResolver();
            xslt.Load(xsltPath, settings, resolver);
            xslt.Transform(XmlDoc, xmlTextWriter);
            XmlDoc.WriteTo(xmlTextWriter);
          }
      }
      ViewBag.TransformedXml = sb.ToString();
}

The "MapPath" genius is from Rick Strahl.

I hope this helps someone from having to bring all the pieces together.

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