XmlNode.Clone Method

Definition

Namespace:

System.Xml

Assembly:

System.Xml.ReaderWriter.dll

Source:

XmlNode.cs

Creates a duplicate of this node.

public:
 virtual System::Xml::XmlNode ^ Clone();

public virtual System.Xml.XmlNode Clone ();

abstract member Clone : unit -> System.Xml.XmlNode
override this.Clone : unit -> System.Xml.XmlNode

Public Overridable Function Clone () As XmlNode

Returns

XmlNode

The cloned node.

Examples

The following example clones the root node of the XML document.

#using <System.Xml.dll>

using namespace System;
using namespace System::IO;
using namespace System::Xml;
int main()
{
   XmlDocument^ doc = gcnew XmlDocument;
   doc->LoadXml( "<book ISBN='1-861001-57-5'>"
   "<title>Pride And Prejudice</title>"
   "<price>19.95</price>"
   "</book>" );
   XmlNode^ root = doc->FirstChild;
   
   //Clone the root node.  The cloned node includes
   //child nodes. This is similar to calling CloneNode(true).
   XmlNode^ clone = root->Clone();
   Console::WriteLine( clone->OuterXml );
}

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Xml;

public class Sample {

  public static void Main() {

    XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
    doc.LoadXml("<book ISBN='1-861001-57-5'>" +
                "<title>Pride And Prejudice</title>" +
                "<price>19.95</price>" +
                "</book>");

    XmlNode root = doc.FirstChild;

    //Clone the root node.  The cloned node includes
    //child nodes. This is similar to calling CloneNode(true).
    XmlNode clone = root.Clone();
    Console.WriteLine(clone.OuterXml);
  }
}

Option Explicit
Option Strict

Imports System.IO
Imports System.Xml

Public Class Sample
    Public Shared Sub Main()
        
        Dim doc As New XmlDocument()
        doc.LoadXml("<book ISBN='1-861001-57-5'>" & _
                    "<title>Pride And Prejudice</title>" & _
                    "<price>19.95</price>" & _
                    "</book>")
        
        Dim root As XmlNode = doc.FirstChild
        
        'Clone the root node.  The cloned node includes
        'child nodes. This is similar to calling CloneNode(true).
        Dim clone As XmlNode = root.Clone()
        Console.WriteLine(clone.OuterXml)
    End Sub
End Class

Remarks

Cloning an XmlElement copies all attributes and their values, including those generated by the XML processor to represent defaulted attributes. This method recursively clones the node and the subtree underneath it.

Clone is equivalent to calling CloneNode(true).

The following table describes the specific behavior for each XmlNodeType.

XmlNodeType	Clone
Attribute	Clones the attribute node, including child nodes.
CData	Clones the CData node, including its data content.
Comment	Clones the comment node, including its text content.
Document	Clones the document node, including any child nodes.
DocumentFragment	Clones the document fragment node, including any child nodes.
DocumentType	Clones the document type node.
Element	Clones the element node, its attributes, and any child nodes.
Entity	Entity nodes cannot be cloned.
EntityReference	Clones the entity reference node. The replacement text is not included.
Notation	Notation nodes cannot be cloned.
ProcessingInstruction	Clones the processing instruction node, including its target and data.
SignificantWhitespace	Clones the significant white space node, including its data value.
Text	Clones the text node, including its data value.
Whitespace	Clones the white space node, including its data value.
XmlDeclaration	Clones the XmlDeclaration node, including its data value.
All other node types.	These node types cannot be cloned.

This method is a Microsoft extension to the Document Object Model (DOM).

See also

• CloneNode(Boolean)