import sys f = open(sys.argv[1], "r") w = sys.argv[1].strip().split(".") f2 = open(w[0] + "-fixed.xml", "w") for c,i in enumerate(f.readlines()): if c == 1: f2.write("" + i.replace("\r\n", "")) else: f2.write(i.replace("\r\n", "")) f2.write(""); .