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XamlSerializer Class

Definition​

Namespace:Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Xaml
Assembly:Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Xaml
Package:Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Xaml

Serializer for Avalonia XAML (.axaml) documents.

public class XamlSerializer

Inheritance: object -> XamlSerializer

Implements:IDocumentSerializer

Remarks​

Produces lossless XAML that maps directly to the FlowDocument model. Supports all block and inline types with their full formatting properties.

Uses System.Xml.XmlReader and System.Xml.XmlWriter for parsing and generation, avoiding dependency on Avalonia's XAML runtime loader.

This serializer is thread-safe for concurrent operations.

Constructors​

NameDescription
XamlSerializer (2 overloads)Initializes a new instance with the default options.

XamlSerializer overloads​

XamlSerializer Constructor​

Initializes a new instance with the default options.

public XamlSerializer()

XamlSerializer Constructor​

Initializes a new instance of Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Xaml.XamlSerializer with optional serialization options.

public XamlSerializer(Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.DocumentSerializerOptions options)
Parameters​

options Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.DocumentSerializerOptions

Serialization options; defaults are used when .

Methods​

NameDescription
CanDeserializeChecks if a stream appears to contain this format.
Deserialize (2 overloads)Deserializes a document from a stream on the calling thread.
DeserializeAsyncRuns Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Xaml.XamlSerializer.Deserialize(System.IO.Stream,System.Threading.CancellationToken) on a pool thread.
Serialize (2 overloads)Serializes a document snapshot to a XAML string.
SerializeAsyncRuns Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Xaml.XamlSerializer.Serialize(Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot,System.IO.Stream,System.Threading.CancellationToken) on a pool thread.

CanDeserialize Method​

Checks if a stream appears to contain this format.

public bool CanDeserialize(System.IO.Stream stream)

Parameters​

stream System.IO.Stream

The stream to check. Must be readable and seekable.

Returns​

bool

True if the stream likely contains this format; otherwise, false.

Remarks​

This method does not consume the stream; it restores the original position after checking.

Deserialize overloads​

Deserialize Method​

Deserializes a document from a stream on the calling thread.

public Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot Deserialize(System.IO.Stream stream, System.Threading.CancellationToken cancellationToken)
Parameters​

stream System.IO.Stream

The stream to read from. Must be readable.

cancellationToken System.Threading.CancellationToken

Cancellation token.

Returns​

Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot

The deserialized Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot.

Remarks​

Defaults to blocking on Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.IDocumentSerializer.DeserializeAsync(System.IO.Stream,System.Threading.CancellationToken), so a serializer written against the released interface keeps working. Implement this member instead: no format here performs asynchronous I/O, so the asynchronous pair only moves processor-bound work onto a pool thread.

Exceptions​

Deserialize Method​

Deserializes a document from a XAML string.

public Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot Deserialize(string xaml)
Parameters​

xaml string

The XAML content string.

Returns​

Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot

A new Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot containing the parsed content.

DeserializeAsync Method​

Runs Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Xaml.XamlSerializer.Deserialize(System.IO.Stream,System.Threading.CancellationToken) on a pool thread.

public System.Threading.Tasks.Task<Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot> DeserializeAsync(System.IO.Stream stream, System.Threading.CancellationToken cancellationToken)

Parameters​

stream System.IO.Stream

The stream to read from.

cancellationToken System.Threading.CancellationToken

Cancellation token.

Returns​

System.Threading.Tasks.Task<Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot>

The deserialized snapshot.

Remarks​

A thread-offload convenience, not asynchronous I/O: no format here reads asynchronously. Where you are already off the UI thread, call Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Xaml.XamlSerializer.Deserialize(System.IO.Stream,System.Threading.CancellationToken) and keep the thread you are on.

Serialize overloads​

Serialize Method​

Serializes a document snapshot to a XAML string.

public string Serialize(Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot snapshot)
Parameters​

snapshot Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot

The document snapshot to serialize.

Returns​

string

The XAML content string.

Serialize Method​

Serializes a document snapshot to a stream on the calling thread.

public void Serialize(Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot snapshot, System.IO.Stream stream, System.Threading.CancellationToken cancellationToken)
Parameters​

snapshot Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot

The document snapshot to serialize.

stream System.IO.Stream

The stream to write to. Must be writable.

cancellationToken System.Threading.CancellationToken

Cancellation token.

Remarks​

Defaults to blocking on Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.IDocumentSerializer.SerializeAsync(Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot,System.IO.Stream,System.Threading.CancellationToken), so a serializer written against the released interface keeps working. Implement this member instead.

Exceptions​

SerializeAsync Method​

Runs Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Xaml.XamlSerializer.Serialize(Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot,System.IO.Stream,System.Threading.CancellationToken) on a pool thread.

public System.Threading.Tasks.Task SerializeAsync(Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot snapshot, System.IO.Stream stream, System.Threading.CancellationToken cancellationToken)

Parameters​

snapshot Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.Snapshot.DocumentSnapshot

The snapshot to serialize.

stream System.IO.Stream

The stream to write to.

cancellationToken System.Threading.CancellationToken

Cancellation token.

Returns​

System.Threading.Tasks.Task

Remarks​

A thread-offload convenience, not asynchronous I/O. The snapshot is already detached from the document, so the work needs no UI thread either way.

Properties​

NameDescription
CanReadWhether this serializer supports reading. Read-only UIs can filter serializer lists on this instead of catching NotSupportedException from Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.IDocumentSerializer.Deserialize(System.IO.Stream,System.Threading.CancellationToken).
CanWriteWhether this serializer supports writing documents.
FileExtensionGets the file extension including the dot (e.g., ".rtf").
FormatNameGets the format name this serializer handles (e.g., "Rtf", "Docx", "PlainText").
MimeTypeGets the MIME type for the format (e.g., "application/rtf").

CanRead Property​

Whether this serializer supports reading. Read-only UIs can filter serializer lists on this instead of catching NotSupportedException from Avalonia.Controls.Documents.Serialization.IDocumentSerializer.Deserialize(System.IO.Stream,System.Threading.CancellationToken).

public bool CanRead { get; set; }

Remarks​

Defaults to so a serializer written before this member existed still compiles. A serializer that cannot read says so.

CanWrite Property​

Whether this serializer supports writing documents.

public bool CanWrite { get; set; }

Remarks​

Defaults to so a serializer written before this member existed still compiles. A serializer that cannot write says so.

FileExtension Property​

Gets the file extension including the dot (e.g., ".rtf").

public string FileExtension { get; set; }

FormatName Property​

Gets the format name this serializer handles (e.g., "Rtf", "Docx", "PlainText").

public string FormatName { get; set; }

MimeType Property​

Gets the MIME type for the format (e.g., "application/rtf").

public string MimeType { get; set; }

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