Troubleshooting Zapier: Removing HTML Formatting from Your Workflows

If you're an avid user of Zapier, the powerful tool that helps automate tasks between different web services, you may have encountered the need to remove unwanted HTML formatting when transferring text data between apps. This type of cleanup is a common requirement for ensuring your workflows run smoothly and your data is presented cleanly, whether that's within notifications, databases, or any other text-based outputs.

Why Remove HTML Formatting in Zapier?

HTML tags are often added to text for formatting purposes when it originates from web pages, emails, or rich text editors. While this formatting is useful for display purposes, it can be problematic when the text is used in places where HTML is not supported or desirable.

Steps to Strip HTML from Text in Zapier:

1. Use the Formatter By Zapier: This utility step in Zapier allows you to perform transformations on your data. One such transformation is ‘Strip HTML,’ which will remove HTML tags from your input text.

   
   



2. Add the Formatter step: In your Zap, click on '+ Add a Step,' choose ‘Formatter,’ select ‘Text’ as the transform type, and then choose 'Strip HTML' from the list of transformations.

   
   



3. Configure Formatter Inputs: Set up the Formatter step to take the HTML-containing field as the input. Zapier will then process this text, stripping out all HTML tags and providing you with clean text.

   
   

1. Test the Formatter Step: Always test your Formatter step to make sure that it's removing the HTML as expected. If the HTML isn’t completely gone, you might need to adjust your setup or include additional Formatter steps.

   
   



2. Continue the Zap: Once you're satisfied with the output, continue setting up the rest of your Zap. The text output from the Formatter can be mapped to subsequent actions in your workflow without any HTML formatting concerns.

   
   

Using Advanced Techniques:

For power users, Zapier also allows for custom JavaScript code through a 'Code by Zapier' action. This can provide additional control for complex HTML cleaning tasks, but typically, the Formatter step will be sufficient for most users' needs.

Best Practices:

• Always preview the changes before implementing the step to ensure that your data appears as intended.


• Consider if any HTML formatting, such as links or bold text, is needed before stripping it out.

Conclusion:

Removing HTML formatting in Zapier is an essential skill for maintaining clean and professional workflows. With the steps outlined above, you can ensure that your text data is transferred cleanly across apps and services without any unwanted formatting.

Remember, keeping your data processing streamlined and effective is key to leveraging the full potential of automated workflows through Zapier.