android - Error: "Error parsing XML: XML or text declaration not at start of entity"

Question

I am making a Sudoku Android app and I am getting the following errors under main.xml: "error: Error parsing XML: XML or text declaration not at start of entity" Any help would be appreciated. Here is my code. I put '?' next to the error

  `?<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout 
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:layout_height="fill_parent"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent">

        <TextView
            android:layout_width="fill_parent"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:text="@String/continue_label"/>

        <Button
            android:id="@+id/continue_button"
            android:layout_width="fill_parent"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:text="@string/continue_label" />

        <Button
            android:id="@+id/new_button"
            android:layout_width="fill_parent"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:text="@string/new_game_label"/>

        <Button 
            android:id="@+id/about_button"
            android:layout_Width="fill_parent"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:text="@string/new_game_label"/>

        <Button
            android:id="@+id/exit_button"
            android:layout_Width="fill_parent"
            android:layout_height="wrap_content"
            android:text="@string/exit_label"/>
    </LinearLayout>

`

Answer 1

There can be two cases -

case 1 - If you have an empty space before the first statement.

case 2 - If you have accidently put the same namespacing statement twice ie - ?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?

I did it once and landed with the same error of yours after correcting it my code runs fine. hope this helps