Remove (child) node from XML DOM object using VBA (Excel) - excel

Question

I am creating quite complex XML files using a template, replacing special search strings with values which can be entered in an Excel sheet, and then storing the xml-file.
Dim strInpPath As String
Dim strOutpPath As String
Dim fso
Dim f
Dim oDomRd As Object, oNode As Object, i As Long, oAtt As Object, oGroup As Object, oDomWr As Object
Dim oTest As Object
strInpPath = ActiveWorkbook.ActiveSheet.Cells(3, 4).Value
strOutputPath = ActiveWorkbook.ActiveSheet.Cells(4, 4).Value
Set oDomRd = CreateObject("MSXML2.DOMDocument")
oDomRd.Load strInpPath
Set oDomWr = CreateObject("MSXML2.DOMDocument")
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set f = fso.OpenTextFile(strOutputPath, 2, True)
Set oGroup = oDomRd.SelectNodes("/")
Set oNode = oGroup.NextNode
If Not (oNode Is Nothing) Then
strout = oNode.XML
strout = ScanTable("_S_AND_R_TABLE_1", strout)
oDomRd.LoadXML (strout)
Set oGroup = oDomRd.SelectNodes("/")
Set oNode = oGroup.NextNode
If oNode.HasChildNodes() Then
Set oLists = oNode.DocumentElement
Run RemoveOptionalEmptyTags(oLists)
End If
strout = oNode.XML
f.write (strout)
Else
strout = "001 error reading file"
End If
MsgBox strout
End Function
Some of the field values are not mandatory so they can be left empty. In this case, the first procedure (scantable) enters "##REMOVE##" as value. In the second step, I want to step through the entire DOMObject and remove the nodes having the value "##REMOVE##"
for this second step I created a procedure:
Public Function RemoveOptionalEmptyTags(ByRef oLists)
For Each listnode In oLists.ChildNodes
If listnode.HasChildNodes() Then
Run RemoveOptionalEmptyTags(listnode)
Else
lcBasename = listnode.ParentNode.BaseName
lcText = listnode.Text
If lcText = "##REMOVE##" Then
listnode.ParentNode.RemoveChild listnode
Exit For
End If
End If
Next listnode
End Function
This works pretty fine, the only problem is, that the node is not removed, it only is empty ():
<Cdtr>
<Nm>Name Creditor</Nm>
<PstlAdr>
<Ctry>DE</Ctry>
<AdrLine>Street</AdrLine>
<AdrLine/>
</PstlAdr>
</Cdtr>
now the question:
How can I completely REMOVE the node, so it would look like this (the second is gone):
<Cdtr>
<Nm>Name Creditor</Nm>
<PstlAdr>
<Ctry>DE</Ctry>
<AdrLine>Street</AdrLine>
</PstlAdr>
</Cdtr>

Answer 1

Basically the RemoveChild syntax is correct:
{NodeToDelete}.ParentNode.RemoveChild {NodeToDelete}
But let's repeat the xml structure and note that each text node (if existant) is regarded as a ChildNode of its parent (i.e. one hierarchy level deeper).
<Cdtr> <!-- 0 documentElement -->
<Nm>Name Creditor</Nm> <!-- 1 ChildNode of Nm = 'Name Creditor' -->
<PstlAdr> <!-- 1 listNode.ParentNode.ParentNode -->
<Ctry>DE</Ctry> <!-- 2 ChildNode of Ctry = 'DE' -->
<AdrLine>Street</AdrLine> <!-- 2 ChildNode of AdrLine[1] = 'Street' -->
<AdrLine> <!-- 2 listNode.ParentNode to be removed -->
<!-- NODETEXT ##REMOVE## --> <!-- 3 ChildNode of AdrLine[2] -->
</AdrLine>
</PstlAdr>
</Cdtr>
Diving down to bottom in xml hierarchy (assuming text values) via
listnode.ParentNode.RemoveChild listnode
you are deleting the textual ChildNode of AdrLine[2] (level 3) which is the string "##REMOVE##",
but not it container node AdrLine[2] (level 2). Therefore you are deleting only the dummy text.
Following your logic in function RemoveOptionalEmptyTags() as close as possible you'd have to code instead:
listNode.ParentNode.ParentNode.RemoveChild listNode.ParentNode
addressing PstlAdr (=level 1) executing a deletion of its ChildNode AdrLine[2] (i.e. at level 2) which
automatically includes deletion of the dummy string "##REMOVE" at level 3.
Related links:
XML Parse via VBA
Obtain atrribute names from xml using VBA