In XML character returns and line feeds are ignored unless they are data, but since it looks strange without these characters, they are often often added to make the XML more readable.

>Hello all.
>
>I'm receiveing something unusual when I download an XML file from my client site and they don't seem to know why.
>
>

><?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> 
> <string xmlns="http://xxxx.page.com/webservices"><root><Response><FileID>2153</FileID><FileDate>2008-05-29 14:52:10.980</FileDate><FileContents><Collections><Validation><Audit Node="Site" Count="1" /><Audit Node="Resident" Count="0" /><Audit Node="Lease" Count="0" /><Audit Node="Unit" Count="0" /><Audit Node="OpenCharges" Count="0" /></Validation><SiteList><Site EntID="1530345" EntName="Hillside Recreation Communities" SiteID="1530348" PropNo="A0012" SiteName="Hill Landing Park" Adr1="1630 WhiteOak Branch Ave" Adr2="" City="Austin" St="TX" Zip="78728" County="Travis County" Country="US" Phone1="(555) 555-3000" Phone2="" Fax="" Email="" Web="" PropMgr="Site Manager" Long="" Lat="" PropDate="2008-05-29 00:00:00.000" SysDate="2008-05-29 14:52:11.443" /></SiteList><ResidentList></ResidentList><LeaseList></LeaseList>
><UnitList></UnitList><OpenChargesList></OpenChargesList></Collections></FileContents></Response></root></string> 
>

>
>It looks like the content of an XML file but it's a character string.
>
>Am I missing something that will formation this to correct XML format?
>
>Any helpful input is appreciated.