XmlTextAttribute Class

Indicates to the XmlSerializer that the member must be treated as XML text when the class that contains it is serialized or deserialized.

Namespace: System.Xml.Serialization
Assembly: System.Xml (in system.xml.dll)

'Declaration
<AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets.Property Or AttributeTargets.Field Or AttributeTargets.Parameter Or AttributeTargets.ReturnValue)> _
Public Class XmlTextAttribute
	Inherits Attribute
'Usage
Dim instance As XmlTextAttribute

/** @attribute AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets.Property|AttributeTargets.Field|AttributeTargets.Parameter|AttributeTargets.ReturnValue) */ 
public class XmlTextAttribute extends Attribute
AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets.Property|AttributeTargets.Field|AttributeTargets.Parameter|AttributeTargets.ReturnValue) 
public class XmlTextAttribute extends Attribute
Not applicable.

The XmlTextAttribute belongs to a family of attributes that controls how the XmlSerializer serializes and deserializes an object (through its Serialize and Deserialize methods). For a complete list of similar attributes, see Attributes That Control XML Serialization.

Only one instance of the XmlTextAttribute class can be applied in a class.

You can apply the XmlTextAttribute to public fields and public read/write properties that return primitive and enumeration types.

You can apply the XmlTextAttribute to a field or property that returns an array of strings. You can also apply the attribute to an array of type Object but you must set the Type property to string. In that case, any strings inserted into the array are serialized as XML text.

The XmlTextAttribute can also be applied to a field that returns an XmlNode or an array of XmlNode objects.

By default, the XmlSerializer serializes a class member as an XML element. However, if you apply the XmlTextAttribute to a member, the XmlSerializer translates its value into XML text. This means that the value is encoded into the content of an XML element.

The XML Schema Definition Tool (Xsd.exe) occasionally generates the XmlTextAttribute when creating classes from an XML Schema definition (XSD) file. This occurs when the schema contains a complexType with mixed content; in that case, the corresponding class contains a member that returns a string array to which the XmlTextAttribute is applied. For example, when the Xml Schema Definition tool processes this schema:

 <xs:schema attributeFormDefault="qualified" elementFormDefault="qualified" targetNamespace="" 
 xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
   <xs:element name="LinkList" type="LinkList" />
   <xs:complexType name="LinkList" mixed="true">
     <xs:sequence>
       <xs:element minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1" name="id" type="xs:int" />
       <xs:element minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1" name="name" type="xs:string" />
       <xs:element minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1" name="next" type="LinkList" />
     </xs:sequence>
   </xs:complexType>
 </xs:schema>

the following class is generated (extra spaces and remarks have been removed):

<System.CodeDom.Compiler.GeneratedCodeAttribute("xsd", "2.0.50727.42"), _
 System.SerializableAttribute(), _
 System.Diagnostics.DebuggerStepThroughAttribute(), _
 System.ComponentModel.DesignerCategoryAttribute("code"), _
 System.Xml.Serialization.XmlRootAttribute([Namespace]:="", IsNullable:=False)> _
Partial Public Class LinkList
    Private idField As Integer
    Private nameField As String
    Private nextField As LinkList
    Private textField() As String
    Public Property id() As Integer
        Get
            Return Me.idField
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As Integer)
            Me.idField = value
        End Set
    End Property
    Public Property name() As String
        Get
            Return Me.nameField
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As String)
            Me.nameField = value
        End Set
    End Property
    Public Property [next]() As LinkList
        Get
            Return Me.nextField
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As LinkList)
            Me.nextField = value
        End Set
    End Property
    <System.Xml.Serialization.XmlTextAttribute()> _
    Public Property Text() As String()
        Get
            Return Me.textField
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As String())
            Me.textField = value
        End Set
    End Property
End Class

For more information about using attributes, see Extending Metadata Using Attributes.

NoteNote:

You can use the word XmlText in your code instead of the longer XmlTextAttribute.

Imports System
Imports System.Xml.Serialization
Imports System.IO


Public Class Group1
   ' The XmlTextAttribute with type set to String informs the 
   ' XmlSerializer that strings should be serialized as XML text.
   <XmlText(GetType(String)), _
   XmlElement(GetType(integer)), _  
   XmlElement(GetType(double))> _
   public All () As Object = _
   New Object (){321, "One", 2, 3.0, "Two" }
End Class


Public Class Group2
   <XmlText(GetType(GroupType))> _
   public Type As GroupType 
End Class

Public Enum GroupType
   Small
   Medium
   Large
End Enum

Public Class Group3
   <XmlText(GetType(DateTime))> _
   Public CreationTime As DateTime = DateTime.Now
End Class

Public Class Test
   Shared Sub Main()
      Dim t As Test = New Test()
      t.SerializeArray("XmlText1.xml")
      t.SerializeEnum("XmlText2.xml")
      t.SerializeDateTime("XmlText3.xml")
   End Sub

   Private Sub SerializeArray(filename As String)
      Dim ser As XmlSerializer = New XmlSerializer(GetType(Group1))
      Dim myGroup1 As Group1 = New Group1()

      Dim writer As TextWriter = New StreamWriter(filename)

      ser.Serialize(writer, myGroup1)
      writer.Close()
   End Sub

   Private Sub SerializeEnum(filename As String)
      Dim ser As XmlSerializer = New XmlSerializer(GetType(Group2))
      Dim myGroup As Group2 = New Group2()
      myGroup.Type = GroupType.Medium
      Dim writer As TextWriter = New StreamWriter(filename)

      ser.Serialize(writer, myGroup)
      writer.Close()
   End Sub

   Private Sub SerializeDateTime(filename As String)
      Dim ser As XmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(GetType(Group3))
      Dim myGroup As Group3 = new Group3()
      Dim writer As TextWriter = new StreamWriter(filename)

      ser.Serialize(writer, myGroup)
      writer.Close()
   End Sub
End Class

import System.*;
import System.Xml.Serialization.*;
import System.IO.*;

public class Group1
{
    // The XmlTextAttribute with type set to string informs the 
    // XmlSerializer that strings should be serialized as XML text.
    /** @attribute XmlText(String.class)
     */
    /** @attribute XmlElement(int.class)
     */
    /** @attribute XmlElement(double.class)
     */
    public Object all[] = new Object[] { (Int32)321, "One", (Int32)2,
        (System.Double)3.0, "Two" };
} //Group1

public class Group2
{
    /** @attribute XmlElement(GroupType.class, ElementName = "GroupType")
     */
    public GroupType type;
} //Group2

public class GroupType
{
    private int member;
    GroupType()
    {
        member = 0;
    } //GroupType

    GroupType(int n)
    {
        member = n;
    } //GroupType

    public static int small;
    public static int medium;
    public static int large;
} //GroupType

public class Group3
{
    /** @attribute XmlText(Type = DateTime.class)
     */
    public DateTime creationTime = DateTime.get_Now();
} //Group3

public class Test
{
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        Test t = new Test();
        t.SerializeArray("XmlText1.xml");
        t.SerializeEnum("XmlText2.xml");
        t.SerializeDateTime("XmlText3.xml");
    } //main

    private void SerializeArray(String fileName)
    {
        XmlSerializer ser = new XmlSerializer(Group1.class.ToType());
        Group1 myGroup1 = new Group1();
        TextWriter writer = new StreamWriter(fileName);
        ser.Serialize(writer, myGroup1);
        writer.Close();
    } //SerializeArray

    private void SerializeEnum(String fileName)
    {
        XmlSerializer ser = new XmlSerializer(Group2.class.ToType());
        Group2 myGroup = new Group2();
        myGroup.type = new GroupType(GroupType.medium);
        TextWriter writer = new StreamWriter(fileName);
        ser.Serialize(writer, myGroup);
        writer.Close();
    } //SerializeEnum

    private void SerializeDateTime(String fileName)
    {
        XmlSerializer ser = new XmlSerializer(Group3.class.ToType());
        Group3 myGroup = new Group3();
        TextWriter writer = new StreamWriter(fileName);
        ser.Serialize(writer, myGroup);
        writer.Close();
    } //SerializeDateTime
} //Test

System.Object
   System.Attribute
    System.Xml.Serialization.XmlTextAttribute

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

Windows 98, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows CE, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Starter Edition

The Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 is supported on Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, and Windows Server 2003 SP1.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 2.0, 1.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: 1.0

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