Need to convert HTML file to text file

Question

1.00/5 (2 votes)

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hi
I need an idea regarding conversion from HTML file to text file.can anyone please help with this.

What I have tried:

private string StripHTML(string source)
{
    try
    {
        string result;

        // Remove HTML Development formatting
        // Replace line breaks with space
        // because browsers inserts space
        result = source.Replace("\r", " ");
        // Replace line breaks with space
        // because browsers inserts space
        result = result.Replace("\n", " ");
        // Remove step-formatting
        result = result.Replace("\t", string.Empty);
        // Remove repeating spaces because browsers ignore them
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                                                              @"( )+", " ");

        // Remove the header (prepare first by clearing attributes)
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"<( )*head([^>])*>", "<head>",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"(<( )*(/)( )*head( )*>)", "</head>",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 "(<head>).*(</head>)", string.Empty,
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        // remove all scripts (prepare first by clearing attributes)
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"<( )*script([^>])*>", "<script>",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"(<( )*(/)( )*script( )*>)", "</script>",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        //result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
        //         @"(<script>)([^(<script>\.</script>)])*(</script>)",
        //         string.Empty,
        //         System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"(<script>).*(</script>)", string.Empty,
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        // remove all styles (prepare first by clearing attributes)
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"<( )*style([^>])*>", "<style>",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"(<( )*(/)( )*style( )*>)", "</style>",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 "(<style>).*(</style>)", string.Empty,
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        // insert tabs in spaces of <td> tags
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"<( )*td([^>])*>", "\t",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        // insert line breaks in places of <BR> and <LI> tags
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"<( )*br( )*>", "\r",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"<( )*li( )*>", "\r",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        // insert line paragraphs (double line breaks) in place
        // if <P>, <DIV> and <TR> tags
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"<( )*div([^>])*>", "\r\r",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"<( )*tr([^>])*>", "\r\r",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"<( )*p([^>])*>", "\r\r",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        // Remove remaining tags like <a>, links, images,
        // comments etc - anything that's enclosed inside < >
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"<[^>]*>", string.Empty,
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        // replace special characters:
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @" ", " ",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"•", " * ",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"‹", "<",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"›", ">",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"™", "(tm)",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"⁄", "/",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"<", "<",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @">", ">",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"©", "(c)",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"®", "(r)",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        // Remove all others. More can be added, see
        // http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/reference/special_characters/
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 @"&(.{2,6});", string.Empty,
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        // for testing
        //System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
        //       this.txtRegex.Text,string.Empty,
        //       System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);

        // make line breaking consistent
        result = result.Replace("\n", "\r");

        // Remove extra line breaks and tabs:
        // replace over 2 breaks with 2 and over 4 tabs with 4.
        // Prepare first to remove any whitespaces in between
        // the escaped characters and remove redundant tabs in between line breaks
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 "(\r)( )+(\r)", "\r\r",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 "(\t)( )+(\t)", "\t\t",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 "(\t)( )+(\r)", "\t\r",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 "(\r)( )+(\t)", "\r\t",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        // Remove redundant tabs
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 "(\r)(\t)+(\r)", "\r\r",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        // Remove multiple tabs following a line break with just one tab
        result = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(result,
                 "(\r)(\t)+", "\r\t",
                 System.Text.RegularExpressions.RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        // Initial replacement target string for line breaks
        string breaks = "\r\r\r";
        // Initial replacement target string for tabs
        string tabs = "\t\t\t\t\t";
        for (int index = 0; index < result.Length; index++)
        {
            result = result.Replace(breaks, "\r\r");
            result = result.Replace(tabs, "\t\t\t\t");
            breaks = breaks + "\r";
            tabs = tabs + "\t";
        }

        // That's it.
        return result;
    }
    catch
    {
        MessageBox.Show("Error");
        return source;
    }
}

Posted 2-May-17 3:27am

premkumar.r

Updated 2-May-17 3:42am

Add a Solution

Comments

[no name] 2-May-17 9:31am

An HTML file IS already a text file *poof* you are done.

Wessel Beulink 2-May-17 9:33am

What is your goal to trim all HTML tags, so only plain tekst will stay left?

1 solution

Add a Solution

Add your solution here

Treat my content as plain text, not as HTML

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Wessel Beulink · Answer 1 · 2017-05-02T03:42:00

Solution 1

The Html Agility Pack - Home[^] has a function to trim html to plain text.

Easy and quick. And 100% free to use :)

var plainText = ConvertToPlainText(source);

Posted 2-May-17 3:42am

Wessel Beulink

Updated 2-May-17 4:01am

v3