XmlTextReader.IsEmptyElement tells whether the current node is an empty element (for example,
Option Strict Option Explicit Imports System Imports System.IO Imports System.Xml Public Class Sample Public Shared Sub Main() Dim reader As XmlTextReader = Nothing reader = New XmlTextReader("elems.xml") While reader.Read() If reader.IsStartElement() Then If reader.IsEmptyElement Then Console.WriteLine("<{0}/>", reader.Name) Else Console.Write("<{0}>" + " ", reader.Name) reader.Read() 'Read the start tag. If (reader.IsStartElement()) 'Handle nested elements. Console.WriteLine() Console.Write("<{0}>", reader.Name) End If Console.WriteLine(reader.ReadString()) 'Read the text content of the element. End If End If End While End Sub End Class