HTML Decoder

Decode HTML entities back to plain text

Overview

A comprehensive online HTML decoder that converts HTML entities back to plain text. This free tool helps developers, content managers, and web professionals decode HTML-encoded text, making it readable and editable while maintaining proper character representation.

Key Benefits

  • Instant HTML entity decoding with preview
  • Support for all HTML entities
  • Named and numeric entity handling
  • Automatic format detection
  • Special character preservation
  • Batch processing capability
  • Error detection and reporting

Primary Use Cases

  • Reading HTML source code
  • Content management and editing
  • Email template development
  • Web scraping cleanup
  • CMS content preparation

Features

Main Features

  • Real-time HTML entity decoding
  • Named entity recognition
  • Numeric entity conversion
  • Special character handling
  • Error validation
  • Copy functionality
  • Download options

Technical Specifications

  • W3C standards compliance
  • UTF-8 support
  • Cross-platform compatibility
  • Large text handling
  • Batch processing

How It Works

The HTML decoder identifies HTML entities in the input text and converts them back to their original characters, ensuring proper representation while maintaining text integrity.

Steps

  1. Input text is scanned for HTML entities
  2. Entities are identified and categorized
  3. Conversion to original characters
  4. Special character handling
  5. Output validation
  6. Result generation

Limitations

  • Invalid HTML entities may cause errors
  • Some special characters may need additional processing
  • Browser memory constraints apply

Examples

Basic Entity Decoding

Converting HTML entities to special characters

Input:

< > & " '

Output:

< > & " '

Mixed Content Decoding

Decoding text with various HTML entities

Input:

&copy; 2024 Company&trade; &mdash; All rights reserved

Output:

© 2024 Company™ — All rights reserved

Frequently Asked Questions

What is HTML decoding?

HTML decoding converts HTML entities back to their original characters, making encoded text readable and editable again.

When should I use HTML decoding?

Use HTML decoding when working with HTML source code, processing web scraping results, or editing content that contains HTML entities.

Does it handle all HTML entities?

Yes, our decoder handles both named and numeric HTML entities, including special characters and symbols.

What about invalid entities?

The decoder includes validation and will notify you of any invalid or malformed HTML entities in the input.

Tips & Best Practices

Best Practices

  • Validate input before decoding
  • Check for malformed entities
  • Handle special cases properly
  • Preserve important formatting
  • Test decoded output

Common Pitfalls

  • Incorrect entity formats
  • Missing semicolons
  • Double decoding
  • Character encoding mismatches
  • Special character handling

Technical Details

Supported Formats

  • Named HTML entities
  • Numeric HTML entities
  • Hexadecimal entities
  • Special characters
  • Unicode characters

Limitations

  • Browser memory constraints
  • Input size limitations
  • Character set restrictions

Browser Compatibility

  • Modern browsers
  • Mobile devices
  • Different platforms
  • Various character sets

Security & Privacy

Data Handling

  • Browser-based processing
  • No server data transmission
  • No data storage
  • Memory-only operations

Privacy Considerations

  • No data collection
  • No cookies used
  • No tracking
  • Open source code

Resources & References

Documentation

References