Package com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2

Class HtmlToText

java.lang.Object
com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.ChilkatObject
com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.HtmlToText
All Implemented Interfaces:
AutoCloseable
public class HtmlToText extends ChilkatObject
<section class="htmltotext-summary">

Convert HTML into readable plain text with control over links, wrapping, and encoding.

Chilkat.HtmlToText converts HTML content into readable plain text. It can decode HTML entities, wrap output at a configurable right margin, optionally include or suppress hyperlink URLs, convert HTML supplied as a string or StringBuilder, and read or write files using an explicit character encoding.

HTML to plain text

Convert HTML markup into readable text suitable for display, logging, indexing, email alternatives, or text-only output.

Entity decoding

Decode HTML entities so text such as named entities and numeric character references becomes normal readable output.

Line wrapping

Use RightMargin to wrap text at a chosen width, or set it to 0 when no right-margin wrapping is wanted.

Link handling

Suppress hyperlink URLs for cleaner text, or emit URLs when the output needs to preserve the destination of HTML links.

StringBuilder support

Convert HTML directly from a StringBuilder when working with larger or incrementally built HTML content.

File and charset helpers

Read HTML from files and write text output using a specified character encoding.

Common pattern: Provide the HTML as a string, file, or StringBuilder, choose whether to decode entities and include link URLs, set the desired right margin, then convert the result to plain text. Use HtmlToText when the goal is readable text, not structured XML or DOM-style parsing.

For an extended overview, see HtmlToText Class Overview.

</section>

Instances hold a native Chilkat object: close them with ChilkatObject.close() (try-with-resources) when done; an unclosed instance is freed when it becomes unreachable.

See Also:
Online reference

  • Constructor Details

    • HtmlToText

      public HtmlToText()
      Creates a new HtmlToText object.

  • Method Details

    • getDecodeHtmlEntities

      public boolean getDecodeHtmlEntities()
      Controls whether HTML character references are decoded when converting HTML to plain text. The default value is true.

      Value Behavior

      true HTML entities and numeric character references are decoded to their corresponding characters. For example, _AMP_amp; becomes _AMP_.

      false Character references are left encoded in the plain-text output.

      Typical use: Leave this property set to true when the goal is human-readable text. Set it to false when the original entity notation itself must be preserved.

      Returns:
      the value of the DecodeHtmlEntities property

    • setDecodeHtmlEntities

      public void setDecodeHtmlEntities​(boolean value)
      Sets the DecodeHtmlEntities property; see getDecodeHtmlEntities().
      Parameters:
      value - the new value

    • getRightMargin

      public int getRightMargin()
      Controls line wrapping in the generated plain text. The default value is 80. As a line approaches the configured margin, Chilkat attempts to wrap at a SPACE character. Set this property to 0 to disable right-margin wrapping.

      Soft margin: The right margin is a preferred wrapping point, not a guaranteed maximum line length. A long sequence with no suitable SPACE character may extend beyond the configured margin.

      Returns:
      the value of the RightMargin property

    • setRightMargin

      public void setRightMargin​(int value)
      Sets the RightMargin property; see getRightMargin().
      Parameters:
      value - the new value

    • getSuppressLinks

      public boolean getSuppressLinks()
      Controls whether hyperlink destination URLs are included in the generated plain text. The default value is true.

      Value Behavior

      true The visible anchor text is retained, but hyperlink destination URLs are omitted.

      false Hyperlink URLs are included. By default, they are collected in a References: section at the end of the plain text.

      For example, with SuppressLinks set to false, an HTML link whose visible text is chilkat and whose URL is https://www.chilkatsoft.com/ produces the visible text and a numbered reference at the end of the output.

      Related options: When link URLs are enabled, UncommonOptions can be used to suppress the trailing references list with NoReferencesList or emit URLs inline with EmitUrls.

      Returns:
      the value of the SuppressLinks property

    • setSuppressLinks

      public void setSuppressLinks​(boolean value)
      Sets the SuppressLinks property; see getSuppressLinks().
      Parameters:
      value - the new value

    • getUncommonOptions

      public String getUncommonOptions()
      Specifies uncommon HTML-to-text conversion options as a comma-separated list of keywords. The default is the empty string, which is appropriate for normal use.

      Keyword Effect

      NoReferencesList Does not generate the hyperlink-reference list at the end of the plain-text output.

      EmitUrls Emits hyperlink URLs inline in the plain-text output instead of relying on the default trailing reference list.

      Interaction with SuppressLinks: These options control the presentation of hyperlink URLs when URL output is enabled. If SuppressLinks is true, hyperlink URLs are suppressed.

      Returns:
      the value of the UncommonOptions property

    • setUncommonOptions

      public void setUncommonOptions​(String value)
      Sets the UncommonOptions property; see getUncommonOptions().
      Parameters:
      value - the new value (not null)

    • toText

      public String toText​(String html)
      Converts the HTML in html to readable plain text and returns the result.

      The conversion honors DecodeHtmlEntities, RightMargin, SuppressLinks, and UncommonOptions. HTML markup is interpreted to produce readable text rather than simply being removed with a tag-stripping operation.

      Plain-text conversion: The output is intended for reading, indexing, logging, email text alternatives, and similar text-oriented uses. It is not intended to preserve the original HTML markup or visual layout exactly.

      Parameters:
      html - the html argument (not null)
      Returns:
      the result (never null)
      Throws:
      ChilkatException - if the operation fails; ChilkatException.getLastErrorText() says why

    • toTextSb

      public void toTextSb​(StringBuilder sb)
      Converts the HTML currently contained in sb to plain text in place. On success, the same StringBuilder contains the converted plain-text result.

      The conversion honors DecodeHtmlEntities, RightMargin, SuppressLinks, and UncommonOptions.

      StringBuilder workflow: Use this method when the HTML is already held in a StringBuilder and you want the conversion result returned through that same object rather than as a separate string.

      Parameters:
      sb - the sb argument (not null)
      Throws:
      ChilkatException - if the operation fails; ChilkatException.getLastErrorText() says why