Web.config file with appSetting Value containing "&" not being parsed

Question

    <appSettings>
    <add key="myKeyName" value="DFG&y:yd%yeZ" />
  </appSettings>

I have a web.config file in an ASP.NET MVC application. In my appSettings section, i have a key whose value contains a character that makes the web.config invalid.

The character is the "&" in value="DFG&y:yd%yeZ", if i remove it, the app works fine, when i put it back i get the error below.

Configuration Error Description: An error occurred during the processing of a configuration file required to service this request. Please review the specific error details below and modify your configuration file appropriately.

Parser Error Message: An error occurred while parsing EntityName. Line 25, position 61.

And my key below is highlighted in red.

 <add key="myKeyName" value="DFG&y:yd%yeZ" />

Is the "&" prohibited in the a web.config's appSettings key Value?

Answer 1

You need to replace the special char "&" by:

&

Here is a list of special chars