HTML Entity Converter
🔤 What is an HTML Entity?
An HTML entity is a special sequence of characters used to represent reserved or invisible characters in HTML. Entities are used to display characters that would otherwise be interpreted as HTML markup, such as <, >, &, or non-breaking spaces.
HTML entities are essential for ensuring that web content displays correctly and securely, especially when working with user-generated or international text.
⚙️ How This HTML Entity Converter Works
This tool encodes and decodes HTML entities, supporting both standard and Unicode characters. It provides instant conversion and is ideal for web developers, content creators, and anyone working with HTML content.
🔥 Advanced Features:
- Multiple Entity Styles:Choose between Named (&lt;), Decimal (<), Hexadecimal (<), Mixed (Named+Hex), Mixed (Named+Decimal), or None (pass-through)
- Selective Encoding Modes:Encode only essential characters, extended sets, Unicode, everything, or custom user-defined characters
- Custom Character Selection:Define your own set of characters to encode with the Custom mode - perfect for specific use cases
- Interactive Entity Reference:Comprehensive HTML entity table with click-to-insert functionality for all major entities
- Smart Input Recognition:Automatically detect and decode mixed entity formats
- Real-time Error Feedback:Instant validation with detailed error messages
- Flexible Output Styles:Customize entity format based on your needs
- Unicode Support:Handle international characters and symbols
- Copy with Feedback:Click any output field to copy results
📊 Entity Style Examples:
Input text: <div>Hello & "World"</div>
Named entities:<div>Hello & "World"</div>
Decimal entities:<div>Hello & "World"</div>
Hexadecimal entities:<div>Hello & "World"</div>
Mixed (Named + Hex):<div>Hello & "World"</div> (common chars named, others hex)
Mixed (Named + Decimal):<div>Hello & "World"</div> (common chars named, others decimal)
None (Pass Through):<div>Hello & "World"</div> (no encoding applied)
🎯 Selective Encoding Modes:
Essential mode:Only encodes &, <, >, ", ' characters
Extended mode:Common entities + accented characters (á, é, ñ, etc.)
Unicode mode:All non-ASCII characters including emojis and symbols
All mode:Every character that can be represented as an entity
Custom mode:Only encode characters you specify manually - enter characters separated by commas
💡 Common Use Cases
1. Web Development
- Safe Content Display:Prevent HTML injection by encoding user input.
- Template Rendering:Ensure dynamic content displays correctly in templates.
2. Internationalization
- Unicode Characters:Encode and display non-ASCII characters in HTML documents.
- Multilingual Content:Support for accented letters, symbols, and scripts from around the world.
3. Data Exchange & APIs
- XML/JSON Embedding:Safely embed HTML content in XML or JSON payloads.
- Email Templates:Prepare HTML for use in email clients that require entity encoding.
📚 Step-by-Step Tutorial
Example 1: Encoding HTML with Different Styles
Goal:Convert special characters using different entity formats.
- Set the mode to 'Encode'.
- Choose your preferred entity style from the dropdown.
- Select the selective mode based on what you want to encode.
- Enter text containing special characters.
- View the encoded result in your chosen format.
Input:<script>alert('Hello');</script>
Named entities:<script>alert('Hello');</script>
Decimal entities:<script>alert('Hello');</script>
Hexadecimal entities:<script>alert('Hello');</script>
Mixed (Named+Hex):<script>alert('Hello');</script>
Mixed (Named+Decimal):<script>alert('Hello');</script>
None:<script>alert('Hello');</script> (unchanged)
Example 2: Decoding Mixed Entity Formats
Goal:Convert mixed HTML entities back to readable text.
- Set the mode to 'Decode'.
- Enter text containing various entity formats.
- The tool automatically recognizes and decodes all formats.
Input:<div>Hello & "World"</div>
Output:<div>Hello & "World"</div>
Example 3: Using the HTML Entity Reference Table
Goal:Quickly insert HTML entities using the interactive reference table.
- Click 'Show HTML Entity Table' to open the reference.
- Browse through categories: Essential, Currency, Math, Punctuation, Accented characters, etc.
- Click any entity (character, named, decimal, or hex) to insert it into your input field.
- The inserted entity will be automatically processed based on your current mode and settings.
Example workflow:
- Click '©' in the table → '©' is inserted into input
- Click '©' in the table → '©' is inserted into input
- Click '©' in the table → '©' is inserted into input
- Result automatically appears in output based on your current mode
Example 4: Using Custom Character Selection
Goal:Encode only specific characters that you define manually.
- Set the mode to 'Encode'.
- Choose your preferred entity style (Named, Decimal, etc.).
- Select 'Custom' from the Selective Mode dropdown.
- Enter the characters you want to encode in the custom characters field, separated by commas.
- Enter your text and see only the specified characters get encoded.
Custom characters:<, >, @
Input:<div>Email: user@example.com & password</div>
Output (Named entities):<div>Email: user@example.com & password</div>
Note:Only <, >, and @ are encoded while & and other characters remain unchanged
Use cases for Custom mode:
- Email protection: encode only @ symbols
- Template safety: encode only specific template delimiters
- Selective escaping: encode only problematic characters for your specific context
- Performance optimization: minimize encoding overhead by targeting specific characters
📋 HTML Entity Reference Table
The complete HTML entity reference includes the most commonly used entities for web development. This interactive table shows each entity with its named form, decimal numeric form, hexadecimal numeric form, and character description. Click any entity to insert it into your input field.
Understanding these HTML entities is essential for web development, preventing XSS attacks, and ensuring proper text display across different browsers and platforms. Each entity has multiple representations that can be used interchangeably.
🔧 Technical Background
How HTML Entities Work
HTML entities use a special syntax: &name; for named entities (e.g., &lt; for <), and &#xHEX; or &#DEC; for numeric entities. Browsers automatically convert these entities to their corresponding characters when rendering HTML.
Example for Unicode Character:
- Input: Café
- Encoded: Café or Café
Why Use HTML Entities?
- Prevent HTML injection and XSS attacks.
- Ensure correct display of special and international characters.
- Maintain compatibility across browsers and email clients.
Performance & Implementation
- Fast Conversion:Instant encoding/decoding in your browser.
- No Server Required:All processing happens locally for privacy and speed.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between encoding and decoding?
A: Encoding converts special characters to HTML entities, while decoding converts entities back to their original characters.
Q: Can this tool handle Unicode characters?
A: Yes, use the 'Encode with unicode' mode to convert non-ASCII characters to hexadecimal entities.
Q: Is this tool safe for sensitive data?
A: Yes, all processing happens locally in your browser. No data is sent to any server.
Q: Why do I need to encode HTML?
A: Encoding prevents browsers from interpreting special characters as HTML markup, ensuring your content displays as intended.
Q: What if I enter invalid HTML entities?
A: The tool will attempt to decode as much as possible. Invalid entities will remain unchanged in the output.
Q: When should I use the 'None (Pass Through)' option?
A: Use this option when you want to preview text without any encoding, or when working with content that should remain in its original form. This is useful for testing and comparing different encoding styles.
Q: What's the difference between the two Mixed options?
A: 'Mixed (Named+Hex)' uses named entities for common characters and hexadecimal for others, while 'Mixed (Named+Decimal)' uses decimal numbers instead of hexadecimal for uncommon characters.
Q: How does the Custom mode work?
A: Custom mode allows you to specify exactly which characters should be encoded. Simply enter the characters you want to encode in the custom characters field, separated by commas. Only those specific characters will be converted to HTML entities, while all other characters remain unchanged.
Q: What format should I use for the Custom characters field?
A: Enter characters separated by commas. For example: '<, >, &, @, #' will encode only those five characters. You can include special characters, symbols, letters, or numbers - whatever you need to encode for your specific use case.
🎯 Best Practices
- Validate Input:Always check your input for unescaped special characters.
- Error Handling:Handle invalid or incomplete entities gracefully in your applications.
- Performance:Use local tools for instant conversion and privacy.
- Documentation:Document when and why entity encoding is used in your codebase.
- Testing:Test with a variety of characters, including Unicode and edge cases.
- Security Awareness:Remember that encoding is essential for preventing XSS and injection attacks.
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