Render Dynamic MetaTags in ASP.NET Page in Separate Lines

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I received a mail today from a DevCurry.com reader after reading my article SEO Enhancements with MetaKeywords and MetaDescription properties in ASP.NET 4.0. Her question was as follows:

In ASP.NET using code with the HTMLMeta class, we can define the HTML meta elements on an ASP.NET page. But the output is all mixed in one line. Can i separate it ?

Let me explain what she means. Here’s a sample code:

HtmlMeta metakeywrd = new HtmlMeta();
metakeywrd.Name = "keywords";
metakeywrd.Content = "add keywords here";

HtmlMeta metadesc = new HtmlMeta();
metadesc.Name = "description";
metadesc.Content = "add meta description here";

Page.Header.Controls.Add(metakeywrd);
Page.Header.Controls.Add(metadesc);

When the page renders, ASP.NET generates meta tags on the same line as shown below.

She wanted the meta tags generated on separate lines and I am not sure why!

Anyways the solution is to did this line of code wherever a separate line is needed.

Page.Header.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl("\n"));

Here’s the entire code again

Page.Header.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl("\n"));
HtmlMeta metakeywrd = new HtmlMeta();
metakeywrd.Name = "keywords";
metakeywrd.Content = "add keywords here";

HtmlMeta metadesc = new HtmlMeta();
metadesc.Name = "description";
metadesc.Content = "add meta description here";

Page.Header.Controls.Add(metakeywrd);
Page.Header.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl("\n"));
Page.Header.Controls.Add(metadesc);
Page.Header.Controls.Add(new LiteralControl("\n"));

As you can see now, the meta tags are generated on separate lines. If anyone knows a better way or knows the reason why is this really needed, I would love to hear it!

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About The Author

Suprotim Agarwal, Developer Technologies MVP (Microsoft Most Valuable Professional) is the founder and contributor for DevCurry, DotNetCurry and SQLServerCurry. He is the Chief Editor of a Developer Magazine called DNC Magazine. He has also authored two Books - 51 Recipes using jQuery with ASP.NET Controls. and The Absolutely Awesome jQuery CookBook.

Follow him on twitter @suprotimagarwal.