MSProject - error opening exported XML file

I exported a large (4,000 tasks) mpp to xml and when I attempt to open it with Project I get the error "An unexpected error occurred... The file may be damaged." I tried exporting it several times but get the same error each time. I don't see anything obvious in the xml, but it is huge and something could be lurking someplace that's not apparent. Does anybody have any ideas?
dgmoore1Asked:
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Pierre FrançoisSenior consultantCommented:
We have to discover what is failing: the export or the import part of the process.

There are several open source programs to check if a XML file is valid. If the XML file is found to be invalid, you know there is a bug in the export process.

If you are not afraid of command line interfaces (this has future, also in MS environments), xmllint can be a good tool to validate XML.
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dgmoore1Author Commented:
The problem turns out to be the formatting of the exported xml, which in turn is due to some stray characters in various mpp fields. When I open the xml in Excel it gives me the offset of the offending character, then I open the xml in HxD, go to the offset, and fix the xml. There are numerous errors, which I have to identify and fix one at a time. The file is enormous, so this is going to take a while, but I think it will ultimately work. I can also use the results of this exercise to go back and fix the mpp. Thanks for your comments.
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