I cannot get the choice to work: it does not copy either <Item> and if I

       <xsl:when test=" preceding-sibling::Item[1] eq ."/> <!-- Ignore
the second (and further) identical sequential Items -->

The "eq" operator compares primitive values, it looks as if you want
  <xsl:when test="deep-equal(preceding-sibling::Item[1], .)">

	Martin Honnen --- MVP Data Platform Development
	http://msmvps.com/blogs/martin_honnen/