Question

In vb.net I have a DataTable that I am adding content to. One column contains a free text field so I want to show the new lines as new lines on the page. I did this:

For Each row As DataRow In dtEmails.Rows
    Dim newBody As String = row.Item("body").ToString.Replace(vbCrLf, "<br>")
    row.Item("body") = newBody
Next

But the cells now just show literal HTML like Line<br>Line. One forum thread I found suggested calling Server.HtmlDecode on the string but that doesn’t work. Is there another way?

Answer 1

I found an answer to this – calling Server.HtmlDecode as each row is bound.

Protected Sub myGridView_RowDataBound(ByVal o As Object, ByVal e As GridViewRowEventArgs) Handles gvEmails.RowDataBound
    Dim cell As String = e.Row.Cells(8).Text.Replace(vbCrLf, "<br>")
    e.Row.Cells(8).Text = Server.HtmlDecode(cell)
End Sub