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OΔuzhan Aslan
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Displaying rich text content, often formatted with HTML, is a common requirement in many Android applications. While Jetpack Composeβs Text composable is powerful for basic text, directly rendering complex HTML can be a challenge. Fortunately, Compose provides a convenient way to parse HTML strings into AnnotatedString objects, which the Text composable can then render. This allows you to display formatted text, including styles, lists, and links, directly within your Compose UI. In this blog post, we'll explore how to use AnnotatedString.fromHtml to display HTML content in your Compose applications, along with important considerations and examples.
Parsing HTML with AnnotatedString
To use AnnotatedString.fromHtml, you typically need to add a dependency to your project, such as :
implementation(platform("androidx.compose:compose-bom:2025.08.00")) // or a higher version.
Jetpack Compose leverages Androidβs built-in HTML parsing capabilities through AnnotatedString.fromHtml. This function converts an HTML string into an AnnotatedString, which can then be passed directly to a Text composable.
Hereβs a basic example demonstrating its use:
Column(
modifier = Modifier.fillMaxSize()
.padding(horizontal = 16.dp),
verticalArrangement = Arrangement.Center,
horizontalAlignment = Alignment.CenterHorizontally
) {
Text(
AnnotatedString.fromHtml("[YOUR HTML CONTENT HERE]")
)
}
In this snippet, the HTML string including <h1>, <p>, <b>, and <i> tags is parsed and rendered within a Text composable.
Important Limitations and Considerations
Itβs crucial to be aware of the limitations of AnnotatedString.fromHtml. Under the hood, it relies on Android's Html.fromHtml() (specifically HtmlCompat.fromHtml), which does not support all HTML tags.
- Limited Tag Support: Tags like <table> (for complex tables) and <img> (for embedding images directly) are often not fully supported or rendered as expected by HtmlCompat.fromHtml.
- Check HtmlCompat Documentation: For a comprehensive list of supported tags and their rendering behavior, it is essential to refer to the official Android Developers documentation for HtmlCompat. This will help you understand what to expect and avoid unexpected rendering issues.
For example, while you might include <img> or <table> tags in your HTML string, AnnotatedString.fromHtml may not render them visually, or they might appear as placeholders or ignored content.
Conclusion
AnnotatedString.fromHtml provides a convenient and effective way to display rich text content from HTML strings directly within your Jetpack Compose Text composables. It handles common formatting, lists, and links, making it a valuable tool for dynamic text presentation. However, always remember its underlying reliance on HtmlCompat and its inherent limitations regarding full HTML tag support. By understanding these nuances and checking the HtmlCompat documentation, you can effectively leverage HTML parsing to create flexible and engaging UIs in your Compose applications.
GitHub - oguzhanaslann/ComposeWebContent: Sample Repository to demostrade integrating web content to Android apps.
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Parsing and Styling HTML in Compose Made Easy was originally published in ProAndroidDev on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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