Mismatched XML End Tag
xml
A closing tag does not match the most recent open tag.
Q-9-3 — Mismatched XML End Tag
A closing tag does not match the most recent open tag.
What this means
XML is strictly nested: every <a> must close as </a>, and
elements must close in reverse opening order. This error fires
when the parser encounters a closing tag whose name does not
match what it was expecting. The message includes both the
expected and the found tag name, plus the location.
Why this happens
Common causes:
- A missing closing tag somewhere earlier in the document. The parser stayed inside the unclosed element and tripped on the next closing tag it saw.
- A typo in the tag name (
</nmae>for</name>). - A copy-paste mistake that pasted a closing tag without the matching opener.
How to fix
The message names the unmatched closing tag — that is where the parser stopped. Read backward from that point until you find the element that was opened but never closed; that is the real source of the problem.
If the closing tag is correct, an XML-aware editor (anything that highlights matching tags) makes the missing opener stand out.