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I need to decode HTML characters in .NET Core (MVC6). It looks like .NET Core doesn't have WebUtility.HtmlDecode function which everybody used for that purpose before. Is there a replacement exist in .NET Core?

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  • 1
    Take a look: msdn.microsoft.com/library/73z22y6h%28v=vs.100%29.aspx Commented Feb 16, 2016 at 16:15
  • 2
    @duDE, he is asking .NET Core rather than .NET 4. Commented Feb 16, 2016 at 16:16
  • Take a look at my answer. it is replacement of webutility.htmldecode in .net core as httputility.HtmlDecode . Commented Jun 4, 2019 at 9:22
  • WARNING: When searching and replacing be careful not to confuse HtmlEncode and UrlEncode especially if you're changing many at once. One is for HTML tags and the other for URLs. I almost made that silly mistake when searching and replacing! Commented Jan 20, 2023 at 20:23

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This is in the System.Net.WebUtility class (Since .NET Standard 1.0) :

// // Summary: // Provides methods for encoding and decoding URLs when processing Web requests. public static class WebUtility { public static string HtmlDecode(string value); public static string HtmlEncode(string value); public static string UrlDecode(string encodedValue); public static byte[] UrlDecodeToBytes(byte[] encodedValue, int offset, int count); public static string UrlEncode(string value); public static byte[] UrlEncodeToBytes(byte[] value, int offset, int count); }
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nuget package nuget.org/packages/Microsoft.AspNet.WebUtilities
For .NET Core 1.1 use nuget.org/packages/Microsoft.AspNetCore.WebUtilities
For .NET Core 2.1 see Gerardo's response below, no need to install another nuget package.
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This is in .NET Core 2.0

using System.Text.Encodings.Web;

and call it:

$"Please confirm your account by <a href='{HtmlEncoder.Default.Encode(link)}'>clicking here</a>.");

UPDATE: Also in .NET Core 2.1:

using System.Web; HttpUtility.UrlEncode(code) HttpUtility.UrlDecode(code)

UPDATE: Also works from .NET Core 3.1 up to .NET 5 and .NET 6.

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There are also HttpUtility.HtmlEncode and HttpUtility.HtmlDecode methods.
@xhafan Since ASP.NET 4.0 in 2010 those methods just call System.Net.WebUtility.HtmlEncode (either directly, in 4.0, or via HttpEncoder in 4.5).
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I've found the HtmlDecode function in the WebUtility library to work.

System.Net.WebUtility.HtmlDecode(string)
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You need add reference System.Net.WebUtility.

  • It's already included in .Net Core 2 (Microsoft.AspNetCore.All)

  • Or you can install from NuGet - preview version for .Net Core 1.

So example, your code will be look like the below

public static string HtmlDecode(this string value) { value = System.Net.WebUtility.HtmlDecode(value); return value; }
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Or just call WebUtility.HtmlDecode there's no reason to wrap it in an extension method...
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namespace System.Web { // // Summary: // Provides methods for encoding and decoding URLs when processing Web requests. // This class cannot be inherited. public sealed class HttpUtility { public HttpUtility(); public static string HtmlAttributeEncode(string s); public static void HtmlAttributeEncode(string s, TextWriter output); public static string HtmlDecode(string s); public static void HtmlDecode(string s, TextWriter output); public static string HtmlEncode(string s); public static string HtmlEncode(object value); public static void HtmlEncode(string s, TextWriter output); public static string JavaScriptStringEncode(string value); public static string JavaScriptStringEncode(string value, bool addDoubleQuotes); public static NameValueCollection ParseQueryString(string query); public static NameValueCollection ParseQueryString(string query, Encoding encoding); public static string UrlDecode(string str, Encoding e); public static string UrlDecode(byte[] bytes, int offset, int count, Encoding e); public static string UrlDecode(string str); public static string UrlDecode(byte[] bytes, Encoding e); public static byte[] UrlDecodeToBytes(byte[] bytes, int offset, int count); public static byte[] UrlDecodeToBytes(string str, Encoding e); public static byte[] UrlDecodeToBytes(byte[] bytes); public static byte[] UrlDecodeToBytes(string str); public static string UrlEncode(string str); public static string UrlEncode(string str, Encoding e); public static string UrlEncode(byte[] bytes); public static string UrlEncode(byte[] bytes, int offset, int count); public static byte[] UrlEncodeToBytes(string str); public static byte[] UrlEncodeToBytes(byte[] bytes); public static byte[] UrlEncodeToBytes(string str, Encoding e); public static byte[] UrlEncodeToBytes(byte[] bytes, int offset, int count); [Obsolete("This method produces non-standards-compliant output and has interoperability issues. The preferred alternative is UrlEncode(String).")] public static string UrlEncodeUnicode(string str); [Obsolete("This method produces non-standards-compliant output and has interoperability issues. The preferred alternative is UrlEncodeToBytes(String).")] public static byte[] UrlEncodeUnicodeToBytes(string str); public static string UrlPathEncode(string str); } }

You can use HttpUtility class in .net core for decoding or encoding.

hope it will work.

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This answer only applies to .NET Framework, .NET Core 3.1 and .NET 5 (and later), other versions of .NET (such as .NET Core 1.x and 2.x) did not have System.Web.HttpUtility: learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/…
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HtmlDecode and most of the *Decode methods were not ported to CoreFx. Only the *Encode methods are available.

Here's what's available today: https://github.com/dotnet/corefx/blob/1dfe38aeb2811fbbd6d4de36d210f060e80d50a6/src/System.Text.Encodings.Web/src/System/Text/Encodings/Web/HtmlEncoder.cs

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This answer is from 2016 and is no-longer applicable to .NET Core 3.1 or later.

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