How to Use the XML Formatter Tool

By FinancialDataTools.com Team  ·  March 2026  ·  6 min read  ·  Last updated March 18, 2026

Step 1: Paste or Upload XML

Click into the left input panel and paste your XML, or click Upload XML to load a .xml or .txt file.

Step 2: Choose Indentation

Select 2 spaces, 4 spaces, or Tab in the options bar.

Step 3: Click Format

Click Format. The tool parses the XML using the browser's DOMParser and re-serializes it with the chosen indentation. If the XML is malformed, an error message is shown.

Step 4: Review the Output

The right panel shows the formatted XML. The stats bar confirms valid XML and shows input and output sizes.

Step 5: Copy or Download

Click Copy to copy to clipboard or Download to save as formatted.xml.

Common Errors

• Unclosed tags: Every XML element must have a closing tag or be self-closed (<br/>).
• Unescaped characters: Characters like <, >, and & in text content must be escaped as <, >, &.
• Multiple root elements: A valid XML document has exactly one root element.

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