SharePoint Document Issues

How to Remove HTML Tags from a SharePoint List Column

WPS Content Manager Sep 30, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to remove residual HTML tags from a SharePoint list column after it was changed from rich text to plain text.

How to Remove HTML Tags from a SharePoint List Column

Product: Microsoft SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Cleaning up list data after modifying a multiple-lines-of-text column type from rich text to plain text.
Observed behavior: Raw HTML tags such as <div> and </div> are visible alongside the text in the plain text column.

Before you start

Before modifying column data in bulk, ensure you have sufficient permissions to edit the SharePoint list and export a backup of the current list to a spreadsheet.

Solution 1Recommended

Clean HTML Tags Using Power Automate

Create a Power Automate flow to automatically strip HTML tags from the affected list items and convert them to clean plain text.

Power Automate is the most efficient method for cleaning up backend SharePoint data without manually editing each list item. You can use the built-in Content Conversion actions to strip HTML formatting.

Create a new cloud flow

Log into Power Automate and create an 'Instant cloud flow' or 'Scheduled cloud flow' connected to your SharePoint environment.

Get list items

Add the 'Get items' SharePoint action. Select your Site Address and the List Name containing the HTML tags.

Apply to each loop

Add an 'Apply to each' control and select the 'value' dynamic content output from the 'Get items' step to loop through all records.

Use Html to text conversion

Inside the loop, add the 'Html to text' action (under Content Conversion). Pass the affected column's dynamic content into it. Finally, add the 'Update item' SharePoint action to save the newly converted clean text back to the list column.

Testing the Flow: Test your flow on a small batch of items first by using the 'Top Count' parameter in the 'Get items' action to ensure the HTML is stripped correctly before running it on the entire list.

Solution 2

Export to Excel and Clean Data Manually

For smaller SharePoint lists, you can export the data to a spreadsheet, remove the tags using Find and Replace, and update the list via Edit in Grid View.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Edit SharePoint Data Exports Effortlessly with WPS Office

While complex SharePoint server issues require specific backend Microsoft tools, managing your exported list data is much easier with WPS Office. As a free, lightweight Microsoft Office alternative, WPS Spreadsheet seamlessly handles Excel formats (.xlsx, .csv) exported from SharePoint, allowing you to clean HTML tags and format text quickly.

1. Download and Install WPS Office: Get the free WPS Office suite from the official website and install it on your device.
2. Open SharePoint Export: Launch WPS Spreadsheet and open the .csv or .iqy file exported from your SharePoint list.
3. Clean and Save: Use the built-in Ctrl+H (Find and Replace) function to strip HTML tags, then save the file or copy the data directly back into SharePoint's grid view.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Excel formats (.xlsx, .csv) for seamless SharePoint export handling.Advanced Find & Replace and Text-to-Columns features to easily clean HTML tags and fix formatting.Lightweight application that runs smoothly on Windows, Mac, and Linux without system lag.Familiar user interface ensuring zero learning curve for Microsoft Office users.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do HTML tags appear when changing a SharePoint column to plain text?

When a 'Multiple lines of text' column in SharePoint is changed from rich text to plain text, the existing data retains its underlying HTML markup (like <div> and <br>). SharePoint does not automatically strip these tags retroactively during the conversion.

Can I use column formatting JSON to hide the HTML tags?

JSON formatting only changes how the data is rendered in the list view, not the underlying data itself. While you can sometimes use JSON string manipulation to hide tags, it is restricted and will not permanently remove the HTML from the backend database.

Is PowerShell an effective way to remove HTML from SharePoint lists?

Yes, SharePoint administrators can use PnP PowerShell scripts to iterate through list items, apply regular expressions to strip HTML tags, and update the list items in bulk. This method is highly recommended for very large datasets.

Document & File Issues