How to: Examine the Content Model of Nodes Using the Content Model View

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This article applies to Visual Studio 2015. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here

This topic describes how to explore your nodes using the Content Model View.

To create a new XSD file and display the root element in the Content Model View

  1. Create a new XML Schema file.

  2. Click Use XML Editor to view and edit the underlying XML Schema file on the Start View.

  3. Copy the XML Schema sample code from Sample XML Schema: Purchase Order Schema and paste it to replace the code that was added to the new XSD file by default.

  4. Select the purchaseOrder element in the Schema Explorer by right-clicking the purchaseOrder element in the XML Editor and selecting Show in XML Explorer.

  5. Right-click the purchaseOrder in the XML Explorer and select Show in Content Model View.

    The Content Model View displays the purchaseOrder element on its design surface.

  6. Expand the shipTo, billTo, and items nodes either by double-clicking each node or by clicking the double arrow to the right of each node.

    The nodes of the purchaseOrder element are now expanded and you can see the content model of the element.

  7. Click on any node under the purchaseOrder element and look at the breadcrumb bar to see where in the schema set the selected node is located.

  8. Click the Show Documentation button in the XSD Toolbar to toggle documenation. You can also right-click the design surface to toggle the documentation.

  9. Rick-click the purchaseOrder node and select Generate Sample XML to see the XML instance document.