HTML Activity

HTML Tidy

W3C Open Source utility for fixing up HTML and converting it into XHTML

Tidy corrects the markup in a way that matches where possible the observed rendering in popular browsers

Missing or mismatched end tags are detected and corrected

   <h1>heading
   <h2>subheading</h3>

is mapped to

   <h1>heading</h1>
   <h2>subheading</h2>

End tags in the wrong order are corrected:

   <p>here is a para <b>bold <i>bold
   italic</b> bold?</i> normal?

is mapped to

   <p>here is a para <b>bold <i>bold
   italic</i> bold?</b> normal?</p>

Fixes problems with heading emphasis
```
   <h1><i>italic heading</h1>
   <p>new paragraph
```
In Netscape and Internet Explorer this causes everything following the heading to be in the heading font size, not the desired effect at all!

Tidy maps the example to
```
   <h1><i>italic heading</i></h1>
   <p>new paragraph</p>
```

Recovers from mixed up tags

   <i><h1>heading</h1></i>
   <p>new paragraph <b>bold text
   <p>some more bold text

Tidy maps this to

   <h1><i>heading</i></h1>
   <p>new paragraph <b>bold text</b></p>
   <p><b>some more bold text</b></p>

Getting the <hr> in the right place:

   <h1><hr>heading</h1>
   <h2>sub<hr>heading</h2>

Tidy maps this to

   <hr>
   <h1>heading</h1>
   <h2>sub</h2>
   <hr>
   <h2>heading</h2>

Adding the missing "/" in end tags for anchors:

   <a href="#refs">References<a>

Tidy maps this to

   <a href="#refs">References</a>

Perfecting lists by putting in tags missed out:

   <body>
   <li>1st list item
   <li>2nd list item

is mapped to

   <body>
   <ul>
   <li>1st list item</li>
   <li>2nd list item</li>
   </ul>

Missing quotes around attribute values are added
Tidy inserts quote marks around all attribute values for you. It can also detect when you have forgotten the closing quote mark, although this is something you will have to fix yourself.
Unknown/Proprietary attributes are reported
Tidy has a comprehensive knowledge of the attributes defined in the HTML 4.0 recommendation from W3C. This often allows you to spot where you have mistyped an attribute or value.
Proprietary elements are recognized and reported as such.
Tidy will even work out which version of HTML you are using and insert the appropriate DOCTYPE element, as per the W3C recommendations.
Tags lacking a terminating '>' are spotted
This is something you then have to fix yourself as Tidy is unsure of where the > should be inserted.

For more information see: