HTML::...Tables(3pm)

💖 HTML::FormatText::WithLinks::AndTables 💖

okay bestie, welcome to the perl manual page for HTML::FormatText::WithLinks::AndTables (3pm) — the module that turns your HTML into text and, crucially, keeps your tables intact. it's giving "email template glow-up" and honestly? obsessed. 💅

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✨ NAME ✨

HTML::FormatText::WithLinks::AndTables — Converts HTML to Text with tables intact

no cap, that's the whole pitch. 🎀

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🌸 VERSION 🌸

version 0.07

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

the basic vibe, one line, no notes:

use HTML::FormatText::WithLinks::AndTables;

my $text = HTML::FormatText::WithLinks::AndTables->convert($html);

Or optionally... (yes, you can pass config, main character energy):

my $conf = { # same as HTML::FormatText excepting below
    cellpadding   => 2,  # defaults to 1
    no_rowspacing => 1,  # bool, suppress vertical space between table rows
};

my $text = HTML::FormatText::WithLinks::AndTables->convert($html, $conf);

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💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

so this module was inspired by HTML::FormatText::WithLinks, which has proven to be a useful lynx -dump work-alike. iconic behavior, truly. 🫶

but here's the thing — one frustration was that no other HTML converters the author came across had the ability to deal affectively with HTML <TABLE>s. like, at all. zero table rizz. 😭

this module can, in a rudimentary sense, do so. the aim was to provide facility to take a simple HTML based email template, and to also convert it to text with the <TABLE> structure intact for inclusion as "multipart/alternative" content. yes bestie, multipart/alternative — we're doing the fancy email thing. ✨

further, it will preserve both the formatting specified by the <TD> tag's "align" attribute, and will also preserve multiline text inside of a <TD> element provided it is broken using <BR/> tags. the way that it just... keeps your line breaks? so thoughtful. 🥹

🌈 EXPORT 🌈

None by default.

(she's shy. you gotta ask for things by name. iykyk 💅)

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👑 METHODS 👑

⭐ convert

that's it. that's the list. one method, and the original page gives it no extra prose — so we're not making anything up, bestie, we're just here to say hi. hi. 🎀

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🍓 EXAMPLE 🍓

Given the HTML below ... (look at this lil template, it's so cute, it's so 2008):

<HTML><BODY>
<TABLE>
    <TR>
        <TD ALIGN="right">Name:</TD>
        <TD>Mr. Foo Bar</TD>
    </TR>
    <TR>
        <TD ALIGN="right">Address:</TD>
        <TD>
            #1-276 Quux Lane,     <BR/>
            Schenectady, NY, USA, <BR/>
            12345
        </TD>
    </TR>
    <TR>
        <TD ALIGN="right">Email:</TD>
        <TD><a href="mailto:foo@bar.baz">foo@bar.baz</a></TD>
    </TR>
</TABLE>
</BODY></HTML>

... the (default) return value of convert() will be as follows.

       Name:  Mr. Foo Bar

   Address:  #1-276 Quux Lane,
             Schenectady, NY, USA,
             12345

     Email:  [1]foo@bar.baz

             1. mailto:foo@bar.baz

see how the align="right" actually did something?? and the <BR/>s kept the address on separate lines?? ATE. no crumbs. 🔥

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• HTML::FormatText::WithLinks
• HTML::TreeBuilder

go read those too, bestie, they're the supporting cast 🫶

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💀 CAVEATS 💀

listen. we love her. but we gotta be honest about her limits. 🙈

• <TH> elements are treated identically to <TD> elements
• It assumes a fixed width font for display of resulting text.
• It doesn't work well on nested <TABLE>s or other nested blocks within <TABLE>s.

so like. nested tables? it's not giving. set your expectations accordingly, babe. 💅

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🎀 AUTHOR 🎀

Shaun Fryer, "<pause.cpan.org at sourcery.ca>" (author emeritus)

Dale Evans, "<daleevans at cpan.org>" (current maintainer)

two icons. passing the torch. generational. 👑

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🐛 BUGS 🐛

found a bug? want a feature? bestie, tell someone, don't just suffer in silence 😭

Please report any bugs or feature requests to "bug-html-formattext-withlinks-andtables at rt.cpan.org", or through the web interface at <http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=HTML-FormatText-WithLinks-AndTables>.

I will be notified, and then you'll automatically be notified of progress on your bug as I make changes. (mutual notif journey fr fr 🫶)

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💖 SUPPORT 💖

You can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command.

perldoc HTML::FormatText::WithLinks::AndTables

You can also look for information at:

• RT: CPAN's request tracker

<http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=HTML-FormatText-WithLinks-AndTables>

• AnnoCPAN: Annotated CPAN documentation

<http://annocpan.org/dist/HTML-FormatText-WithLinks-AndTables>

• CPAN Ratings

<http://cpanratings.perl.org/d/HTML-FormatText-WithLinks-AndTables>

• Search CPAN

<http://search.cpan.org/dist/HTML-FormatText-WithLinks-AndTables>

four whole links. click responsibly. 🌸

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🧚 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 🧚

Everybody. :)

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_on_the_shoulders_of_giants>

"Everybody. :)" is genuinely the most wholesome acknowledgements section in all of CPAN and i will not be taking questions 💜

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⭐ COPYRIGHT & LICENSE ⭐

Copyright 2008 Shaun Fryer, all rights reserved.

Copyright 2015 Dale Evans, all rights reserved

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! 🎀✨

this was perl v5.34.0, dated 2022-06-14, straight from the HTML::...Tables(3pm) manual — she's an older queen but she still serves tables. slay, stay hydrated, and remember: <BR/> or it didn't happen. 💅🦋💖