How do i display html tags as plain text in php?

I have an input form on my website where HTML is allowed and I'm trying to add instructions about the use of HTML tags. I'd like the text to

Look just like this line - so then know how to type it

But so far all I get is:

Look just like this line - so then know how to type it

How can I show the tags so people know what to type?

falsarella

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asked Jul 25, 2011 at 13:58

0

Replace < with < and > with >.

isherwood

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answered Jul 25, 2011 at 14:00

DarmDarm

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4

In PHP use the function htmlspecialchars() to escape < and >.

htmlspecialchars('something')

answered Jul 25, 2011 at 14:02

acmeacme

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0

As many others have said, htmlentities() will do the trick... but it will look like shit.

Wrap it up with a

 tag and you'll preserve your indentation.
echo '
';
echo htmlspecialchars($YOUR_HTML);
echo '
';
 answered Mar 25, 2013 at 22:05
 
JarrodJarrod
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0
You should use htmlspecialchars. It
replaces characters as below:
& (ampersand) becomes &
" (double quote) becomes " when ENT_NOQUOTES is not set.
' (single quote) becomes ' only when ENT_QUOTES is set.
< (less than) becomes <
> (greater than) becomes >
 
KetZoomer
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 answered Jul 25, 2011 at
14:00
 
Luiz DamimLuiz Damim
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you may use htmlspecialchars()



Test", ENT_QUOTES);
echo $new; // <a href='test'>Test</a>
?>

answered Oct 29, 2013 at 13:19
 
Nikunj K.Nikunj K.
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You just need to encode the <>s:
<strong>Look just like this line - so then know how to type it</strong>

answered Jul 25, 2011 at 14:00
 
James
MontagneJames Montagne
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To
display HTML tags within a browser, surround the output with < xmp> and < / xmp> tags
 answered Jun 22, 2014 at 14:38
 
Paulo HenriquePaulo Henrique
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2
You can use htmlentities when echoing to the browser, this will show the tag rather than have html interpret it.
See here http://uk3.php.net/manual/en/function.htmlentities.php
Example:
 echo htmlentities("Look just like this line - so then know how to type it"); 
Output:
Look just like this line - so then know how to type it
 answered
Jul 25, 2011 at 14:03
 
martynthewolfmartynthewolf
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The native JavaScript approach -
('Look just ...').replace(//g, '>');
Enjoy!
 answered Apr 18, 2019 at 12:30
 

Simon BorskySimon Borsky
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2
There is another way...
header('Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8');
This makes the whole page served as plain text... better is htmlspecialchars...
Hope this helps...
 answered Sep 1, 2018 at 12:06

AlessandroAlessandro
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badges23 bronze badges
Use htmlentities() to convert characters that would otherwise be displayed
as HTML.
 answered Jul 25, 2011 at 14:03
 
ReubenReuben
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0
 

Can we use HTML tags in PHP?
As you can see, you can use any HTML you want without doing anything special or extra in your PHP file, as long as it's outside and separate from the PHP tags. In other words, if you want to insert PHP code into an HTML file, just write the PHP anywhere you want (so long as they're inside the PHP tags).
How do I display HTML code without executing?
Use HTML Special Character Codes
var myCode = "This is not bold"; $('span#code-span'). text(myCode); Using text instead of html will cause tags to be rendered exposed instead of being executed.
How do I view the HTML code of a website?
To view only the source code, press Ctrl + U on your computer's keyboard. Right-click a blank part of the web page and select View source from the pop-up menu that appears.
How do I render HTML tags from mysql database in PHP?
The only way to display the html content is to simply echo $row3['description'] , however, this leaves you open to vulnerabilities and unless you really trust the data (ie: never) then you should clean it up first. You can try htmlpurifier for this. Show activity on this post.