## Syntax
```mermaid
%%{init: {
'theme': 'base',
'flowchart': { 'padding': '7', 'nodeSpacing': '20', 'rankSpacing': '20' },
'themeVariables': {
'fontSize': '11px',
'fontFamily': 'Arial'
}
}}%%
flowchart LR
Start((START)) --> HTMLDECODE[HTMLDECODE]:::quoted
HTMLDECODE --> End((END))
```
## Purpose
The `HTMLDECODE` SQL function returns the HTML encoded text as regular text, with the HTML representation of special characters replaced by their original meaning.
See also [[HTMLENCODE]].
Parameters:
- Input (`varchar2`): the input which will be decoded from HTML to text.
Returns: A text which is the input decoded from HTML as `varchar2`.
## Examples
The following example retrieves the text representation of a HTML representation:
```sql
select htmldecode('Big Spender & Johnson has > output than ACME')
----------------
Big Spender & Johnson has > output than ACME
```
The following example decodes an HTML fragment with tags and quotes:
```sql
select htmldecode('<b>"bold"</b>')
----------------
<b>"bold"</b>
```