C# Read XML files in the Resources folder

Question

I'm trying to read some xml files which I have included in the Resources folder under my project. Below is my code:

public void ReadXMLFile(int TFType)
{
        XmlTextReader reader = null;

        if (TFType == 1)
            reader = new XmlTextReader(MyProject.Properties.Resources.ID01);
        else if (TFType == 2)
            reader = new XmlTextReader(MyProject.Properties.Resources.ID02);


        while (reader.Read())
        {
            if (reader.IsStartElement())
            {
                switch (reader.Name)
                {
                    case "Number":
                   // more coding on the cases.
}

But when I compile, there's an error on "QP2020E.Properties.Resources.ID01" saying: 'Illegal characters in path.' Do you guys know what's wrong?

Answer 1

The XmlTextReader constructor requires either a stream or a string. The one that requires a string is expecting a url (or path). You are passing it the value of your resource. You'll need to convert the string value into a stream.

To do this Wrap it in a StringReader(...)

reader = new XmlTextReader(new StringReader(MyProject.Properties.Resources.ID02)); 

Answer 2

You should provide the XMLTextReader with the file path not the file content. For instance, change

reader = new XmlTextReader(MyProject.Properties.Resources.ID01);

To:

StringReader s = new StringReader(MyProject.Properties.Resources.XmlFile);
XmlTextReader r = new XmlTextReader(s);

Answer 3

To read an XML file from a resource, use XDocument.Parse as described in this answer

I think you need to modify your code to be like this:

public void ReadXMLFile(int TFType)
{
        XDocument doc = null;

        if (TFType == 1)
            doc = XDocument.Parse(MyProject.Properties.Resources.ID01);
        else if (TFType == 2)
            doc = XDocument.Parse(MyProject.Properties.Resources.ID02);


        // Now use 'doc' as an XDocument object
}

More info on XDocument is here.