Mac Automation Scripting Guide: Removing HTML Markup from Text

Removing HTML Markup from Text

When parsing HTML content, it’s often necessary to remove markup entirely. The handler in Listing 34-1 removes all HTML tags from the text provided, returning only the remaining text—the contents of the tags.

APPLESCRIPT

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Listing 34-1AppleScript: Handler that removes HTML markup from text

on removeMarkupFromText(theText)
set tagDetected to false
set theCleanText to ""
repeat with a from 1 to length of theText
set theCurrentCharacter to character a of theText
if theCurrentCharacter is "<" then
set tagDetected to true
else if theCurrentCharacter is ">" then
set tagDetected to false
else if tagDetected is false then
set theCleanText to theCleanText & theCurrentCharacter as string
end if
end repeat
return theCleanText
end removeMarkupFromText

Listing 34-2 shows how to call the handler in Listing 34-1.

APPLESCRIPT

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Listing 34-2AppleScript: Calling a handler to remove HTML markup from text

set theText to "<a href=\"http://www.apple.com/mac\">This is a <B>great</B> time to own a Mac!</a>"
removeMarkupFromText(theText)
--> Result: "This is a great time to own a Mac!"

Parsing HTML

Working with Property List Files