TIP: “Paste XML as Classes” in Visual Studio 2012

In the past, when you had some XML document that you wanted to translate into classes we had to create / generate a schema based on the XML file. Next, we had to generate a class based on the schema with an external tool. Not all too user friendly and somewhat time consuming.

In Visual Studio 2012 you copy the XML you want to create a class/classes for, place the cursor in a class file on the location you want the code to be added and select the following menu items: Edit – Paste Special – Paste XML as Classes. And you’re done! Just like that…

If you want to try real quick, there’s a sample XML file (books.xml) available here.

EDIT:

The feature is .NET Framework 4.5 specific. Taken from this MSDN article ‘Generating Data Type Classes from XML’:

“.NET Framework 4.5 includes a new feature to generate data type classes from XML.”

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