strip_tag() problems - possible workarounds

[maddieboi]

Hi All,

I have created basic HTML document (for formatting) that is included in a page on my site - no big deal.

However, now I need to use the text, in a semi formatted condition, from that HTML document, to be inserted into a TEXTAREA box.

I can use the STRIP_TAGS command to remove all the PHP and HTML no big deal - but it seems when it removes a Tag, it leaves spaces..

for example, if i have :

<TABLE>
<TR><TD>blah blah blah</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>

when this is run through strip_tags, I actually end up with one blank line (to replace <TABLE>), then 8 blank spaces, in place of <TR><TD> then on the last two rows, two new lines.

Any idea how I can remove the HTML and PHP tags, to be replaced with nothing, instead of a space?

Also, the document I am coming from has a number of UL and OL tags, and I would like some way to actually keep the numbering that these generate, to display in the TEXTAREA...

currently, I am doing this by using a <!-- # --> tag, with # being the value for that list entry...

Any suggestions?

[jpmoriarty]

why not trim your result from the strip_tags?

[xblue]

I don't think trim() will work, since the additional line breaks are within the string, not only at the beginning and end.

someone else has had this problem, too:
http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10229041

[superwormy]

while (strstr ($contents, " ")) { // while there are two spaces

$contents = str_replace (" ", " ", $contents); // change them to one

}

Anotehr thought, write a script that does it yourself.

Find the first < tag, trash everything until the > tag. Keep doing this until there are no more < tags. Does tha thelp?