Auto-correct XML indentation in Geany

Question

My problem is auto-formatting/indenting XML in Geany, when XML is not properly indented or has no indentation at all.

As I see no Geany plugins for this purpose, I am thinking about using a custom command through Edit > Format > Send Selection To. I have tried to use xmllint --format for this without success, as it seems like Geany passes it a string, but xmllint expects a file.

• Are there other tools for auto-indenting XML through custom Geany commands?
• Is there another way than custom command to achieve this?

Answer 1

Found a solution. To achieve Xml indentation auto-correction in Geany (Mint/Ubuntu):

1. Install xmlindent CLI tool:

   $ sudo apt-get install xmlindent

2. In Geany, at Edit > Format > Send selection To > Set Custom Commands add a command:

   xmlindent -i 4 -f

This indents lines by 4 spaces and forces newlines on elements without children.