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PHP htmlspecialchars_decode() Function

PHP String Reference Manual

Example

Convert predefined HTML entities "<" (less than) and ">" (greater than) to characters:

<?php
$str = "This is some &lt;b&gt;bold&lt;/b&gt; text.";
echo htmlspecialchars_decode($str);
?>

The HTML output of the above code is as follows (view source):

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
This is some <b>bold</b> text.
</body>
</html>

The browser output of the above code is as follows:

This is some bold text.

Definition and Usage

The htmlspecialchars_decode() function converts some predefined HTML entities to characters.

The HTML entities that will be decoded are:

The htmlspecialchars_decode() function is the inverse of the htmlspecialchars() function.


Syntax

Parameter Description
string Required. Specifies the string to decode.
flags Optional. Specifies how to handle quotes and which document type to use. Available quote types: ENT_COMPAT - Default. Decodes double quotes only.<br> ENT_QUOTES - Decodes both double and single quotes.<br> ENT_NOQUOTES - Does not decode any quotes. Additional flags for specifying the document type: ENT_HTML401 - Default. Handles code as HTML 4.01.<br> ENT_HTML5 - Handles code as HTML 5.<br> ENT_XML1 - Handles code as XML 1.<br> ENT_XHTML - Handles code as XHTML.

Technical Details

Return Value: Returns the converted string.
PHP Version: 5.1.0+
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Changelog: Added additional flags for specifying the document type in PHP 5.4: ENT_HTML401, ENT_HTML5, ENT_XML1, and ENT_XHTML.
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More Examples

Example 1

Convert some predefined HTML entities to characters:

<?php
$str = "Jane &amp; 'Tarzan'";
echo htmlspecialchars_decode($str, ENT_COMPAT); // Default, decodes double quotes only
echo "<br>";
echo htmlspecialchars_decode($str, ENT_QUOTES); // Decodes both double and single quotes
echo "<br>";
echo htmlspecialchars_decode($str, ENT_NOQUOTES); // Does not decode any quotes
?>

The HTML output of the above code is as follows (view source):

The browser output of the above code is as follows:

Jane & 'Tarzan'
Jane & 'Tarzan'
Jane & 'Tarzan'

Example 2

Convert predefined HTML entities to double quotes:

<?php
$str = 'I love &quot;PHP&quot;.';
echo htmlspecialchars_decode($str, ENT_QUOTES); // Decodes both double and single quotes
?>

The HTML output of the above code is as follows (view source):

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
I love "PHP".
</body>
</html>

The browser output of the above code is as follows:

I love "PHP".

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