Read settings file into NameValueCollection

Have you thought about creating a custom object and serializing it into a XML file so as to get the basic skeleton needed and then adding on to it and using a deserializer to convert it back to the custom class?

U can use the above solution if u were not particular with using only the SETTINGS file

I got it working with the following format using the code from http://www.codeproject.com/csharp/ConfigurationReader.asp:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>
   <appSettings>
      <add key="Key1" value="Value1" />
   </appSettings>
</configuration>

However this is not exactly what I wanted, as I know have to maintain my own config files in addition to the settings file already there.

I would appreciate any hints in what I would need to do to process a file like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>
   <configSections>
      <sectionGroup name="applicationSettings" type="System.Configuration.applicationSettingsGroup, System, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=a77a5c561034e089" >
         <section name="MyProject.Properties.Settings" type="System.Configuration.ClientSettingsSection, System, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=a77a5c561034e089" allowExeDefinition="MachineToLocalUser" requirePermission="false" />
      </sectionGroup>
   </configSections>
   <applicationSettings>
      <MyProject.Properties.Settings>
         <setting name="Key1" serializeAs="String">
            <value>Value1</value>
         </setting>
      </MyProject.Properties.Settings>
   </applicationSettings>
</configuration>