C#, function to replace all html special characters with normal text characters

Question

I have characters incoming from an xml template for example:

& > 

Does a generic function exist in the framework to replace these with their normal equivalents?

Answer 1

You want to use HttpUtility.HtmlDecode.:

Converts a string that has been HTML-encoded for HTTP transmission into a decoded string.

Answer 2

Sometimes the text has parts that has been doubly encoded.

For example: "Lorem Ipsum
   - Blah"

This may help with that:

public static string RecursiveHtmlDecode(string str) {
    if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(str)) return str;  
    var tmp = HttpUtility.HtmlDecode(str);
    while (tmp != str)
    {
        str = tmp;
        tmp = HttpUtility.HtmlDecode(str);
    }
    return str; //completely decoded string
}

Answer 3

Maybe this helps: WebUtility.HtmlDecode("");