+ +
+

Text Helper

+

The Text Helper file contains functions that assist in working with +text.

+ +
+

Loading this Helper

+

This helper is loaded using the following code:

+
$this->load->helper('text');
+
+
+
+
+

Available Functions

+

The following functions are available:

+
+
+word_limiter($str[, $limit = 100[, $end_char = '…']])
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $str (string) – Input string
    • +
  • $limit (int) – Limit
    • +
  • $end_char (string) – End character (usually an ellipsis)
    • +
+
Returns:

Word-limited string

+
Return type:

string

+
+

Truncates a string to the number of words specified. Example:

+
$string = "Here is a nice text string consisting of eleven words.";
+$string = word_limiter($string, 4);
+// Returns:  Here is a nice
+
+
+

The third parameter is an optional suffix added to the string. By +default it adds an ellipsis.

+
+ +
+
+character_limiter($str[, $n = 500[, $end_char = '…']])
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $str (string) – Input string
    • +
  • $n (int) – Number of characters
    • +
  • $end_char (string) – End character (usually an ellipsis)
    • +
+
Returns:

Character-limited string

+
Return type:

string

+
+

Truncates a string to the number of characters specified. It +maintains the integrity of words so the character count may be slightly +more or less than what you specify.

+

Example:

+
$string = "Here is a nice text string consisting of eleven words.";
+$string = character_limiter($string, 20);
+// Returns:  Here is a nice text string
+
+
+

The third parameter is an optional suffix added to the string, if +undeclared this helper uses an ellipsis.

+
+

Note

+

If you need to truncate to an exact number of characters please +see the ellipsize() function below.

+
+
+ +
+
+ascii_to_entities($str)
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $str (string) – Input string
    • +
+
Returns:

A string with ASCII values converted to entities

+
Return type:

string

+
+

Converts ASCII values to character entities, including high ASCII and MS +Word characters that can cause problems when used in a web page, so that +they can be shown consistently regardless of browser settings or stored +reliably in a database. There is some dependence on your server’s +supported character sets, so it may not be 100% reliable in all cases, +but for the most part it should correctly identify characters outside +the normal range (like accented characters).

+

Example:

+
$string = ascii_to_entities($string);
+
+
+
+ +
+
+convert_accented_characters($str)
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $str (string) – Input string
    • +
+
Returns:

A string with accented characters converted

+
Return type:

string

+
+

Transliterates high ASCII characters to low ASCII equivalents. Useful +when non-English characters need to be used where only standard ASCII +characters are safely used, for instance, in URLs.

+

Example:

+
$string = convert_accented_characters($string);
+
+
+
+

Note

+

This function uses a companion config file +application/config/foreign_chars.php to define the to and +from array for transliteration.

+
+
+ +
+
+word_censor($str, $censored[, $replacement = ''])
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $str (string) – Input string
    • +
  • $censored (array) – List of bad words to censor
    • +
  • $replacement (string) – What to replace bad words with
    • +
+
Returns:

Censored string

+
Return type:

string

+
+

Enables you to censor words within a text string. The first parameter +will contain the original string. The second will contain an array of +words which you disallow. The third (optional) parameter can contain +a replacement value for the words. If not specified they are replaced +with pound signs: ####.

+

Example:

+
$disallowed = array('darn', 'shucks', 'golly', 'phooey');
+$string = word_censor($string, $disallowed, 'Beep!');
+
+
+
+ +
+
+highlight_code($str)
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $str (string) – Input string
    • +
+
Returns:

String with code highlighted via HTML

+
Return type:

string

+
+

Colorizes a string of code (PHP, HTML, etc.). Example:

+
$string = highlight_code($string);
+
+
+

The function uses PHP’s highlight_string() function, so the +colors used are the ones specified in your php.ini file.

+
+ +
+
+highlight_phrase($str, $phrase[, $tag_open = '<mark>'[, $tag_close = '</mark>']])
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $str (string) – Input string
    • +
  • $phrase (string) – Phrase to highlight
    • +
  • $tag_open (string) – Opening tag used for the highlight
    • +
  • $tag_close (string) – Closing tag for the highlight
    • +
+
Returns:

String with a phrase highlighted via HTML

+
Return type:

string

+
+

Will highlight a phrase within a text string. The first parameter will +contain the original string, the second will contain the phrase you wish +to highlight. The third and fourth parameters will contain the +opening/closing HTML tags you would like the phrase wrapped in.

+

Example:

+
$string = "Here is a nice text string about nothing in particular.";
+echo highlight_phrase($string, "nice text", '<span style="color:#990000;">', '</span>');
+
+
+

The above code prints:

+
Here is a <span style="color:#990000;">nice text</span> string about nothing in particular.
+
+
+
+

Note

+

This function used to use the <strong> tag by default. Older browsers +might not support the new HTML5 mark tag, so it is recommended that you +insert the following CSS code into your stylesheet if you need to support +such browsers:

+
mark {
+        background: #ff0;
+        color: #000;
+};
+
+
+
+
+ +
+
+word_wrap($str[, $charlim = 76])
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $str (string) – Input string
    • +
  • $charlim (int) – Character limit
    • +
+
Returns:

Word-wrapped string

+
Return type:

string

+
+

Wraps text at the specified character count while maintaining +complete words.

+

Example:

+
$string = "Here is a simple string of text that will help us demonstrate this function.";
+echo word_wrap($string, 25);
+
+// Would produce:
+// Here is a simple string
+// of text that will help us
+// demonstrate this
+// function.
+
+
+
+ +
+
+ellipsize($str, $max_length[, $position = 1[, $ellipsis = '&hellip;']])
+
+++ + + + + + + + +
Parameters:
    +
  • $str (string) – Input string
    • +
  • $max_length (int) – String length limit
    • +
  • $position (mixed) – Position to split at (int or float)
    • +
  • $ellipsis (string) – What to use as the ellipsis character
    • +
+
Returns:

Ellipsized string

+
Return type:

string

+
+

This function will strip tags from a string, split it at a defined +maximum length, and insert an ellipsis.

+

The first parameter is the string to ellipsize, the second is the number +of characters in the final string. The third parameter is where in the +string the ellipsis should appear from 0 - 1, left to right. For +example. a value of 1 will place the ellipsis at the right of the +string, .5 in the middle, and 0 at the left.

+

An optional forth parameter is the kind of ellipsis. By default, +&hellip; will be inserted.

+

Example:

+
$str = 'this_string_is_entirely_too_long_and_might_break_my_design.jpg';
+echo ellipsize($str, 32, .5);
+
+
+

Produces:

+
this_string_is_e&hellip;ak_my_design.jpg
+
+
+
+ +
+
+ + +