Tool usage guide

Learn when to use this tool, what it supports, and how real users apply it.

Key facts

Category: Format Conversion
Input types: textarea, number, select, checkbox
Output type: text
Sample coverage: 4
API ready: Yes

Overview

The XML Formatter is a utility tool designed to format, beautify, and minify XML data. It allows you to configure indent sizes, toggle between beautification and minification modes, preserve comments, and collapse whitespace while keeping CDATA sections intact.

When to use

When you need to clean up unformatted, single-line XML payloads received from APIs or web services for easier debugging.
When you want to reduce the file size of XML configuration files by minifying them and removing unnecessary whitespace.
When you need to format complex XML structures with custom indentation while preserving critical CDATA sections and developer comments.

How it works

1Paste your raw XML data into the XML Input text area.
2Select the desired mode (Beautify or Minify) and configure options like Indent Size, Preserve Comments, and Collapse Whitespace.
3Click the format button to process the XML and instantly view or copy the structured output.

Use cases

Beautifying minified SOAP API responses to inspect payload structures and troubleshoot integration errors.
Compressing Android layout XML files or Maven pom.xml files to minimize deployment package sizes.
Formatting configuration files with custom indentation to maintain clean, readable codebases in version control.

Examples

1. Beautifying a Minified SOAP API Response

Backend Developer

Background

A developer receives a minified, single-line XML response from a legacy SOAP service and needs to inspect the nested elements.

Problem

The raw XML is unreadable, making it difficult to locate specific data nodes and debug a payload mismatch.

How to use

Paste the minified XML into the input area, set the Mode to 'Beautify', choose an Indent Size of 4, and ensure 'Preserve Comments' is checked.

{"indentSize": 4, "mode": "beautify", "preserveComments": true}

Outcome

The XML is formatted into a clean, hierarchical structure with 4-space indentation, making the nested elements easy to read.

2. Minifying XML Configuration Files for Production

DevOps Engineer

Background

An engineer needs to prepare a large XML configuration file for a production deployment where file size and load times are critical.

Problem

The configuration file contains extensive comments and whitespace that increase the file size unnecessarily.

How to use

FAQ

Can I format XML without losing my comments?

Yes, enable the 'Preserve Comments' option to keep all XML comments intact during formatting.

What indentation sizes are supported?

You can configure the indent size anywhere from 0 to 8 spaces.

Does this tool support minification?

Yes, switch the Mode option to 'Minify' to strip out unnecessary whitespace and compress your XML.

Will my CDATA sections be modified?

No, the formatter preserves CDATA sections to ensure your data integrity is maintained.

What does the Collapse Whitespace option do?

It removes redundant spaces, tabs, and newlines within text nodes while keeping the XML structure valid.

{"mode": "minify", "preserveComments": false, "collapseWhitespace": true}

XML Formatter

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Learn when to use this tool, what it supports, and how real users apply it.

Key facts

Overview

When to use

How it works

Use cases

Examples

1. Beautifying a Minified SOAP API Response

2. Minifying XML Configuration Files for Production

FAQ

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