A few weeks ago, while I was testing and troubleshooting a RosettaNet BizTalk Server map inside Visual Studio, I endup getting the following error:
XslLoadException
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XSLT compile error.XmlException
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Prefix ‘ns2’ cannot mapped to namespace reserved for “xml” or “xmlns”. Line 2, position 484.
Just to clarify, this map is a standard BizTalk Server map, but it uses a RosettaNet PIP schema as input or output.
📝 One-Minute Brief
While debugging BizTalk Server maps in Visual Studio, especially when working with RosettaNet PIP schemas, you may encounter the error “Prefix ‘ns2’ cannot be mapped to namespace reserved for ‘xml’ or ‘xmlns’.” This post explains why this issue occurs during XSLT debugging, how Visual Studio generates the faulty namespace declaration, and the simple workaround required to successfully debug the map.
Cause
In some, if not all, RosettaNet PIP schemas, we must include an XML schema in the PIP for them to work and open in the Schema Editor.
However, when we try to debug a BizTalk Mapper in Visual Studio, it raises this error, complaining about the prefix. We can test it, and it will provide the test output, but it will fail when we try to debug it.
Solution
The solution to be able to solve this limitation is a small workaround.
- Once you first try to debug the map and it fails, it also produces the XSLT output behind the BizTalk Mapper.
- Access the XSLT code and look for the prefix that is causing the problem. In my case, it was xmlns:ns2
- Remove that prefix – that means remove the entire sentence: xmlns:ns2=”HTTP://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namesapce”
- Now, within the XSLT code, from the Visual Studio menu, click Debug -> Start XSLT Debugging.
Now, you will be able to debug the map. Of course, you must do this workaround whenever you want to debug your map.
I hope you find this helpful! If you liked the content or found it useful and want to help me write more, you can buy (or help me buy) my son a Star Wars Lego!
