How can I properly create this xml file in Powershell using XmlWriter()?

Question

I want to create an xml document like this using XmlWriter() in powershell but I'm having trouble, this is the expected output:

<Item version="1">
  <Name>Myproject</Name>
  <GUID>4821CC01-CDB0-4FD7-9F1E-0B1EDF32ACE9</GUID>
</Item>

Current code:

$xmlsettings = New-Object System.Xml.XmlWriterSettings
$xmlsettings.Indent = $true
$XmlWriter = [System.XML.XmlWriter]::Create("$PSScriptRoot\Myproject.xml", $xmlsettings)

# As mentioned above, I don't want the default output of WriteStartDocument(), so I used this
$xmlWrite.WriteStartElement("Item") 
$xmlWrite.WriteAttributeString("Version", "1.0")
$xmlWriter.WriteElementString("Name",$myProject) # I have a string variable containing the project name

<#From here it throws the error: Exception calling "WriteElementString" with "2" argument(s): "Token StartElement in state EndRootElement would result in an
     | invalid XML document. Make sure that the ConformanceLevel setting is set to ConformanceLevel.Fragment or ConformanceLevel.Auto if
     | you want to write an XML fragment."#>
$xmlWriter.WriteElementString("GUID",(New-Guid).Guid.ToUpper())
$xmlWriter.WriteEndElement()

$xmlWriter.Flush()
$xmlWriter.Close()

Error output of the above code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Name>Myproject</Name>

Do not know why still output the contents of WriteStartDocument(), I'm sure I didn't type the wrong code and this obviously doesn't apply the indentation.

Anyone willing to help? thanks in advance！

Genusatplay · Accepted Answer · 2022-07-06 06:02:46Z

4

Your current code does not compile, but with corrected variable names it works fine.

if you need remove xml version just add $xmlsettings.OmitXmlDeclaration = $true

$myProject = 'Myproject'
$path = "c:\temp\Myproject.xml"

$xmlsettings = New-Object System.Xml.XmlWriterSettings
$xmlsettings.Indent = $true

$xmlWriter = [System.XML.XmlWriter]::Create($path, $xmlsettings)
$xmlWriter.WriteStartElement("Item") 
$xmlWriter.WriteAttributeString("Version", "1.0")
$xmlWriter.WriteElementString("Name",$myProject)
$xmlWriter.WriteElementString("GUID",(New-Guid).Guid.ToUpper())
$xmlWriter.WriteEndElement()

$xmlWriter.Flush()
$xmlWriter.Close()

Result

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Item Version="1.0">
  <Name>Myproject</Name>
  <GUID>3CA7FBFA-1585-44A1-B4D9-D59E9371FE1B</GUID>
</Item>

answered Jul 6, 2022 at 6:02

Genusatplay

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1 Comment

user19418817 Over a year ago

Well, that is, parameter outputFileName only accepts absolute paths, solved, thanks for your answer!

Charlieface · Accepted Answer · 2022-07-06 09:21:40Z

3

This kind of thing is far easier using XDocument. You are really only supposed to use XmlWriter for very customized XML.

using namespace System.Xml.Linq;

$doc = [XDocument]::new(
   [XElement]::new("Item",
     [XAttribute]::new("version", "1"),
     [XElement]::new("Name", "Myproject"),
     [XElement]::new("GUID", "4821CC01-CDB0-4FD7-9F1E-0B1EDF32ACE9")
   )
 );

$doc.ToString();
$doc.ToString() | Out-File "$PSScriptRoot\Myproject.xml";

Output

<Item version="1">
  <Name>Myproject</Name>
  <GUID>4821CC01-CDB0-4FD7-9F1E-0B1EDF32ACE9</GUID>
</Item>

answered Jul 6, 2022 at 9:21

Charlieface

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1 Comment

user19418817 Over a year ago

This is also a helpful answer, thanks for your answer！

PSDude · Accepted Answer · 2022-07-06 05:02:27Z

0

Try this -> $xmlWriter.WriteElementString("Name","$($myProject)")

answered Jul 6, 2022 at 5:02

PSDude

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1 Comment

user19418817 Over a year ago

No, the output of the variable $myProject is correct.

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