HTML Entities
Encode and decode HTML entities with named and numeric character references.
The HTML Entities tool encodes and decodes HTML entities using both named and numeric character references. It is handy for escaping special characters and reading encoded markup.
What is HTML Encoding?
HTML encoding is the process of converting special characters into their corresponding HTML entity representations. This is necessary because certain characters have special meanings in HTML such as the less than symbol which begins a tag and the greater than symbol which ends a tag. To display these characters as literal text rather than interpreting them as HTML markup, they must be encoded. Common encoded entities include ampersand becomes &, less than becomes <, greater than becomes >, quotation mark becomes " and apostrophe becomes '. This encoding ensures that text displays correctly in web browsers and prevents potential security issues like cross-site scripting attacks.
The HTML entities tool provides bidirectional conversion allowing you to both encode plain text into HTML entities and decode existing HTML entities back to readable text. It supports both named entities using predefined labels like & and numeric character references using either decimal format like & or hexadecimal format like &. This comprehensive approach handles all standard HTML entities including special symbols, accented characters and other Unicode characters that can be represented in HTML. The live conversion means results appear immediately as you type, making it efficient for processing text content for web publishing or debugging HTML code.
This particular HTML entities tool processes all data entirely within your browser using client-side JavaScript. No text or encoded content is ever uploaded to any server, ensuring complete privacy and security for sensitive information. The tool is organized into two clearly separated sections for encoding and decoding operations, each with dedicated copy buttons for convenience. For web developers handling HTML source, content creators preparing copy for publication, and readers who need to decode entity sequences back into plain text, this tool provides a fast and private solution without requiring any external dependencies or network access.
How to use this HTML Entities tool
- For encoding: Type or paste your plain text into the Input text textarea.
- Click Encode to HTML entities to convert special characters to their entity representations.
- Copy the encoded result using the copy button provided.
- For decoding: Paste HTML entities (named like < or numeric like <) into the Encoded input textarea.
- Click Decode HTML entities to convert them back to readable characters.
- Use the copy button to save the decoded text to your clipboard.
FAQ
What are HTML entities?
HTML entities are special codes used to represent reserved characters or symbols in HTML documents. They begin with an ampersand followed by a name or number and end with a semicolon.
How does HTML entity encoding work?
HTML entity encoding replaces special characters like less than (<), greater than (>), ampersand (&), quotation mark (") and apostrophe (') with their corresponding named or numeric character references such as <, >, &, " and '.
Can I decode numeric HTML entities?
Yes, the decoder supports both named entities (like &) and numeric character references (decimal like & and hexadecimal like &) and converts them back to their original characters.
Does this tool store my data?
No, this HTML entities tool runs entirely in your browser using client-side JavaScript. All encoding and decoding happens locally and no data is uploaded or stored anywhere.