Extensible Markup Language (XML) is the universal format for data on the World Wide Web. XML allows web developers to easily describe and deliver rich, structured data in a standard, consistent way. XML does not replace HTML; rather, it is a complementary format.

When you work with XML files directly, it's important that the files contain well-formed XML. Since the rules governing the syntax of XML tags are stricter than those for HTML, if an XML file is missing a tag or an attribute, the file will not render correctly.

Microsoft Expression Web can also indent and format your XML for easier editing.

To check for well-formed XML

  • Right-click an open XML page in the editor and click Verify well-formed XML. If there is an error in your XML file, Expression Web opens the XML Validation dialog box with a description of the error, the line number of the error, and a button to take you to the error in the editor.

To format XML for easier editing

  • Right-click an open XML page in the editor and then click Reformat XML.

To change the XML encoding

  1. Right-click an open XML page in the editor, and then click Encoding on the shortcut menu.

    Note:

    You can also edit the text encoding for the XML page directly in the <?xml?> tag.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • To reload the file, in the Reload the current file as box, click a different encoding, and then click Reload.

    • To save the file, in the Save current file as list, click the encoding you want, and then click Save As.

See also