Document Formatting (XAML)

Sep 25, 2020
2 minutes to read

XAML markup has a complex structure that can be difficult to understand. CodeRush can format any XAML document to improve code readability and layout.

How to Format an XAML Document

Place the caret into a XAML document.
Press the Ctrl + . or Ctrl + ~ shortcut to invoke the Code Actions menu.
Select Format Document from the menu.

After execution, the indentation of each tag corresponds to its folding level.

XAML

xaml

<Window x:Class="MyWpfApplication.MainWindow"
        xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
        xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
        xmlns:dxm="http://schemas.devexpress.com/winfx/2008/xaml/map"
        Height="350"
        Width="525"
        mc:Ignorable="d"
        Title="MainWindow">

    <Grid>
        <Grid>
            <dxm:MapControl>
                <dxm:ImageLayer>
                    <dxm:OpenStreetMapDataProvider />
                </dxm:ImageLayer>
            </dxm:MapControl>
        </Grid>
    </Grid>

</Window>

Configuration

You can configure formatting of a XAML document on the Editor | XAML | Formatting options page.

Document Formatting Options

Attribute Formatting - configures in which cases and how to break apart the element attributes.
Attribute Reordering - switches Attribute Reordering on and off, and configures attribute order.
Element Formatting - configures multiple aspects of XAML element formatting.
Element Reordering - enables or disables the Grid , Canvas , and Setter sorting.
Element Spacing and Text Lines Spacing - uses Visual Studio’s Element Spacing formatting options. You can override these settings, for example, to use the CodeRush’s “Place empty lines between elements in text content” option.
Markup Extension Formatting - configures the formatting options for XAML markup extensions.