Free Online XML Formatter

What is XML?

XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a markup language that defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. It's designed to store and transport data, with a focus on what the data is rather than how it looks.

XML has become a widely used format for various applications, including configuration files, web services (SOAP), document formats (like DOCX, SVG), and data interchange between systems.

How XML Formatting Works

XML formatting (or "pretty printing") is the process of adding proper indentation, line breaks, and spacing to make XML documents more readable for humans. The formatting process involves:

1. Parsing the XML document to understand its structure
2. Applying consistent indentation for nested elements
3. Adding appropriate line breaks between elements
4. Preserving attributes and their values
5. Maintaining the document's content and structure while improving readability

Well-formatted XML is easier to read, debug, and maintain, which is particularly important when working with complex XML structures.

Key Features of Our XML Formatter

• Customizable indentation options (2, 4, or 8 spaces, or tab)
• Option to collapse content for more compact display
• Preserves XML structure and attributes
• Detailed error feedback for invalid XML
• Client-side processing (your data never leaves your browser)
• Works with large XML documents

Common Use Cases

• Making XML configuration files more readable
• Debugging SOAP API responses
• Inspecting XML data structures during development
• Preparing XML examples for documentation
• Analyzing SVG code
• Formatting XML data for presentation
• Understanding structure of complex XML documents

XML Structure Basics

XML documents are composed of these key components:

• Elements: The building blocks of XML, defined by tags (e.g., <element>content</element>)
• Attributes: Provide additional information about elements (e.g., <element attribute="value">)
• XML Declaration: Specifies the XML version and encoding (e.g., <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>)
• Comments: Notes that are not part of the document content (e.g., <!-- This is a comment -->)
• CDATA Sections: Blocks of text that are not parsed by the XML parser (e.g., <![CDATA[ special characters like < > & ]]>)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<bookstore>
  <book category="fiction">
    <title>The Great Gatsby</title>
    <author>F. Scott Fitzgerald</author>
    <year>1925</year>
    <price>10.99</price>
  </book>
  <book category="non-fiction">
    <title>A Brief History of Time</title>
    <author>Stephen Hawking</author>
    <year>1988</year>
    <price>12.99</price>
  </book>
</bookstore>