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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

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
#using <mscorlib.dll>
#using <System.Xml.dll>
#using <System.dll>
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Xml::Serialization;
using namespace System::IO;


public __gc class Group1{
   // The XmlTextAttribute with type set to string informs the 
   // XmlSerializer that strings should be serialized as XML text.
public:
   [XmlText(__typeof(String))]
   [XmlElement(__typeof(Int32))]  
   [XmlElement(__typeof(Double))]
   Object* All[];
   Group1(){
      Object* temp[]= {__box(321), S"One", __box(2), __box(3.0), S"Two" };
      All = temp;
   }
};

public __value enum GroupType{
   Small,
   Medium,
   Large
};

public __gc class Group2{
public:
   [XmlText(Type = __typeof(GroupType))]
   GroupType Type;
};

public __gc class Group3{
public:
   [XmlText(Type=__typeof(DateTime))]
   DateTime CreationTime;
   Group3(){
      CreationTime = DateTime::Now;
   }
};

public __gc class Test{
public:
   static void main(){
      Test* t = new Test();
      t->SerializeArray(S"XmlText1.xml");
      t->SerializeEnum(S"XmlText2.xml");
      t->SerializeDateTime(S"XmlText3.xml");
   }

private:
   void SerializeArray(String* filename){
      XmlSerializer* ser = new XmlSerializer(__typeof(Group1));
      Group1* myGroup1 = new Group1();

      TextWriter* writer = new StreamWriter(filename);

      ser->Serialize(writer, myGroup1);
      writer->Close();
   }

   void SerializeEnum(String* filename){
      XmlSerializer* ser = new XmlSerializer(__typeof(Group2));
      Group2* myGroup = new Group2();
      myGroup->Type = GroupType::Medium;
      TextWriter* writer = new StreamWriter(filename);

      ser->Serialize(writer, myGroup);
      writer->Close();
   }

   void SerializeDateTime(String* filename){
      XmlSerializer* ser = new XmlSerializer(__typeof(Group3));
      Group3* myGroup = new Group3();
      TextWriter* writer = new StreamWriter(filename);

      ser->Serialize(writer, myGroup);
      writer->Close();
   }   
};

int main()
{
   Test::main();
}

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 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC, Xbox 360, Zune

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 2.0, 1.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: 3.0, 2.0, 1.0
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