ASP.NET: convert plain hyperlink in html hyperlink

Question

Hi folks, anyone know how to "discover" hyperlink in some text and convert that hyperlink in html hyperlink with asp.net (or javascript). For example, if a user enter this text:

You found it at http://www.foo.com

How can i found and convert in html like :

You found it at <a href='http://www.foo.com'&gt;http....&lt;/a&gt;

? Thanks in advance

Answer 1

You should be able to use Regular Expressions for this easily enough.

string InsertHyperLinks(string input)
{
    string pattern = @"((https?|ftp|gopher|telnet|file|notes|ms-help):((//)|(\\\\))+[\w\d:#@%/;$()~_?\+-=\\\.&]*)";
    Regex r = new Regex(pattern);
    MatchEvaluator myEvaluator = new MatchEvaluator(delegate(Match m) { return String.Format("<a href=\"{0}\">{0}</a>", m.ToString()); });
    return r.Replace(input, myEvaluator);
}

Regular expression taken from here; http://www.geekzilla.co.uk/View2D3B0109-C1B2-4B4E-BFFD-E8088CBC85FD.htm

Use of MatchEvaluator based on this example; http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.text.regularexpressions.matchevaluator(v=VS.71).aspx