How To Fix W3_TOOL080 - No start tag character '<' found

SAP Error Message - Details

• Message type: E = Error

• Message class: W3_TOOL - ITS: Maintenance Messages

• Message number: 080

• Message text: No start tag character '<' found

Self-Explanatory Message

Since SAP believes that this specific error message is 'self-explanatory,' no more information has been given.The majority of messages in the SAP system have a message text, however this is frequently insufficient to comprehend or resolve the problem.

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Smart SAP Assistant

• What is the cause and solution for SAP error message W3_TOOL080 - No start tag character '<' found ?

  SAP Error Message:
  W3_TOOL080 No start tag character '<' found
  
  Cause
  This error typically occurs when the SAP Web Service or XML processing tool expects an XML document but does not find the expected start tag character <. In other words, the system tries to parse an XML input or response, but the content is either:
  
  Not XML at all (e.g., plain text, HTML error page, or empty content), or  
  Malformed XML missing the opening < tag, or  
  The response from a web service or HTTP call is not XML (e.g., an error message, HTML page, or some other format).
  
  Common scenarios include:
  
  Calling a web service and receiving an HTTP error page (like 404 or 500) instead of the expected XML response.  
  Network or connectivity issues causing incomplete or corrupted data.  
  Incorrect URL or endpoint leading to a non-XML response.  
  Proxy or firewall returning an HTML error page instead of