htmlreact-nativereact-native-webviewreact-native-render-html

HTML Render with RenderHTML and Webview React Native

Comparison of RenderHTML and Webview

I try to render HTML with display: 'inline' instead of 'block' with RenderHTML library, is there anyway I can achieve display: 'inline' like Webview? When a long text breaks line, in Webivew and many HTML online, the background color does not affect on the first line while with RenderHTML, it has background on all lines ( I think default of RenderHTML is display: 'block', I only see "flex" / "none" as the options of display property ) Thanks!

Solution

  • No. Currently, react-native-render-html does not support the CSS property display: inline. Its default behavior is block or flex-based, due to React Native styling constraints. This is why inline behavior like partial background coloring for multiline texts can't be directly achieved.

    Why does this happen?

    react-native-render-html internally translates HTML into React Native components (<Text>, <View>), which rely exclusively on Flexbox layout. CSS display values like "inline" or "inline-block" don't directly map to React Native styling.

As a result, elements that you'd normally style inline in the browser get converted to block or flex-based components, causing background styles to span entire lines.

    Possible Solutions/Workarounds:

    1. Use WebView instead: (Recommended for complex inline HTML/CSS needs)

    If accurate inline display is crucial for your HTML content, consider switching to WebView, as it fully supports browser-based rendering:

    Example:

    import { WebView } from 'react-native-webview';

    <WebView originWhitelist={['*']} source={{ html: <span style="display:inline; background-color:yellow;"> This is a long inline text example that wraps into multiple lines. </span> }} />

    ✅ Pros:

    Complete CSS support, exactly like browsers.

Handles complex inline layouts effortlessly.

    ❌ Cons:

    Slightly heavier in terms of performance.

Less native feel compared to RenderHTML.
    1. Manual workaround with React Native components:

    If your HTML is simple, you can manually simulate inline behavior using React Native's components:

    import { View, Text } from 'react-native';

    <View style={{ flexDirection: 'row', flexWrap: 'wrap' }}> <Text style={{ backgroundColor: 'yellow' }}> This is a long inline text example that wraps into multiple lines.

    ✅ Pros:

    Purely native approach.

Good performance.

    ❌ Cons:

    Not scalable for complex or dynamic HTML.

Manual effort required to handle complex scenarios.

    Final Recommendation:

    For complete and accurate inline rendering of HTML/CSS: use WebView.

For performance and simple cases, manually style with React Native's <Text> components or accept RenderHTML’s limitations.

    Currently, there's no direct solution within react-native-render-html to fully replicate the browser's inline CSS rendering behavior.